What Is High-Value Health Insurance, And How Much Coverage Do I Need?
Life is filled with surprises. Expecting always to have enough financial stability to support sudden heavy expenses is not reasonable. There are only a few instances where there is a compulsive and unprecedented need for massive funds. Some of the top contenders on that list are diseases and accidents which do not come around in a scheduled or informed manner. Medical conditions and accidents that require immediate healthcare facilities cannot be postponed or neglected. But abrupt high-priced bills cannot be supported by everyone. This is where high-value health insurance comes into play.
The medical advancements have been phenomenal in the past few years, and with it, the price for accessing these treatments has also been on the rise. Accommodating high-risk life insurance policies in your life can get you high-value coverage for high-expense medical treatments.
Depending on the opted scheme, health insurance coverage can support entire treatments and hospitalization fees—the total which could be unbearable under normal circumstances. But with the high-risk health insurance, the fear of not being able to afford necessary medical treatments can be averted.
What Makes high-Risk Health Insurance different From regular Health Insurance?
Most regular health insurance plans cover unexpected medical conditions like accidents and the sudden discovery of disorders that need immediate aid or other critical illnesses. The coverage for regular health insurance is much lesser compared to high-value health insurance. However, if there exists some sense of security that the chances of encountering any of these unexpected medical needs are not likely to cross paths with you. Per your budget, you can opt for regular health insurance.
Similar to regular health insurance, the way a high-risk health insurance functions is to provide financial support during the unexpected need for medical aid. The perks that high-value health insurance can get you is extended coverage for several more medical conditions usually not included in regular health insurance. The premium amount to be paid for high-value health insurance will be equivalently higher but unlocking several more perks, especially the high-value insurance claim is at a larger budget. Thus, the two factors that make high-value health insurance different are the high amount of sum insured and the comprehensive coverage.
Advantages of High-Risk Health Insurance
Getting into health insurance policies is a mandatory step on the path to a more secure life. Knowing whether you should opt for regular health insurance policies or high-value health insurance policies depends on the perks and health insurance claims within the expectancy range. Another factor that influences this decision for health insurance is the level of security that the individual is trying to achieve. Some of the pros of taking up a high-risk health insurance policy are as follows:
1. Comprehensive Coverage: some health insurance policies do not entirely cover the versatility of medical conditions and treatment options. High-value health insurance provides an extensive range for several common and rare medical conditions. The health insurance coverage supplied by high-value health insurance policies includes advanced staged cancer, organ transplants, maternity, health check-ups, OPD (outpatient department) related expenses, consultations, baby care, organ donations, and several other ailments that are usually not part of regular health insurance coverage.
2. International Treatment Coverage: for people who are bound to travel internationally regularly, their health insurance coverage does not support medical emergencies payments outside of their respective countries. Healthcare expenses can be significantly more in certain foreign countries and are not supported by regular health insurance claims.
For specific ailments requiring international travel for treatment procedures, high-value health insurance is a better choice as it offers that option. High-value health insurance policies undertake healthcare expenses on international grounds too.
3. Absence of sub-limits: usual health insurance coverage does not undertake complete room rent fee during hospitalization for more extended periods of recovery and observation. The high-value health insurance policy issues zero sub-limits for hospital room rents. However, following hospital policies, the price range of the room issued may vary.
Disadvantages of High-Risk Health Insurance
Anything that comes with these high standard perks, is bound to have some cons. The disadvantages of taking up high-risk health insurance are as follows:
1. High premium value: since the expenses offered under the high-value insurance coverage are much higher than those covered by regular insurance policies. Premium payments are also in the higher range. The increased insurance premium range makes it unaffordable for more people.
2. Firm under-writing process: Health insurance companies are very strict about their underwriting procedures. Verifying the personnel before issuing insurance coverage is a standard process in all health insurance companies. But the entire system of under-writing or verification is extra cautious for high-value health insurance. The document requirements and checklist for authorizing high-value health insurance can be a tedious process.
3. Exclusions and waiting periods: The exclusion listing for high-value health insurance is found on all insurance policies. Any conditions on the pre-insurance health examination check-up will be excluded from the coverage, despite being of the high premium range.
4. High co-pay amount for senior citizens: The co-pay clause for senior citizens with high-value health insurance is up to 20%. Partial payment for senior citizens is expensive and can be counter-productive in some cases of the health insurance claim.
5. Utilization of sum amount: The risk of not utilizing the entire sum amount invested is a probability in all health insurance policies. But high-value health insurance comes at a higher premium range, and hence the chances of using up the entire sum amount are lesser in some cases. But the same situation can work in the insured’s favor too.
Conclusion:
High-value health insurance has a high premium range, but they provide equivalent perks. Nevertheless, going through your options, age, medical history, casualties concerning the profession, international travel frequencies, and the income-expense ratio is a vital step before confirming your decision to get high-value health insurance. Weighing out the pros and cons for specific conditions for yourself will help arrive at a better aiding decision.