Health insurance policies

Some factors to consider while picking up your best health insurance plan…

It is rightly said “Health is wealth”, without good health a person cannot work hard, earn money and prosper in life. It is important a person should take care of his or her health time-on-time to keep themselves fit enough. However, due to growing uncertainties, environmental degradation, hectic lifestyle an individual can grapple with critical illness, or health issues. Also, at times people might have some hereditary issues or on a bad day meet with an accident. For all this, you require proper medical treatment. In this era of rising inflation costs, medical treatment costs are shooting sky high. A simple surgery or operation goes up to 8 to 10 lakh in metropolitan cities like Mumbai, Delhi, etc.

The little savings that person have might prove insufficient to finance the creeping costs of medical treatments. Borrowing from friends or family during emergencies might also create a fear of having a rift in a relation, if not paid on time. Therefore, the best way to get right financial support for you and your family’s medical treatment would be purchasing a health insurance plan.

Health insurance plan is a type of financial coverage that covers up for the cost of an insured individual’s medical and surgical expenses against the premium paid to the insurance company. Depending on the type of health coverage, either the insured pays cost out-of-pocket and get reimbursed later or the insurer will bear the costs directly. All you have to do is just provide the policy number at the cash counter and walk out without any financial worries.

Indian insurance market has introduced hundreds of customized policies to meet individual and family requirements. Comparing policies online helps you take a right decision for buying the best health insurance plan for you and your family. Today, online tools help you to compare policies of different insurers in terms of benefits and features, discounts offered, premium costs, payment flexibility, claim settlement ratio, company’s past performances, etc.

Let’s understand the primary factors that one needs to consider before purchasing health insurance plan:

•A number of dependents to be included in the insurance plan, their ages, and existing health condition.

•Check your affordability before deciding on the maximum amount of sum insured in your health policy. The higher cover will increase your premium. Check your risk appetite and accordingly, purchase a suitable health cover.

•Right knowledge about the insurance companies offering the most alluring health insurance plan is important. If you’re facing difficult in sorting the data, talk to your financial expert or health agents who have mastered the art of doing so.

•Consult the insurance company personally and then take your buying decision

•Check if your insurance company offers No Claim Bonus, i.e if you don’t make any claim on your health cover policy for a year or more, the sum insured will be increased by a certain percentage at the same premium costs.

•A claim settlement ration is one of the most important aspects of India health insurance. Check the company’s settlement ratio before purchasing the policy. If the insurance claim is not settled on-time then the whole purpose of buying the policy gets wasted.

•The best health insurance company will always have enough funds with efficient underwriting process to pay insured person’s claim as quickly as possible.

Things to remember while buying Health Insurance plan

You may have come across a myriad of options when it comes to buying health insurance plans for yourself. But when it comes to buying a health policy for your parents, who happen to be 60 or above, the same cannot be said. This is simply because the older you are, higher are the chances of falling sick, thus increasing the risk factor for the insurance company. However, insurers do realize that this segment of consumers also form a large part of the market and are in need of adequate insurance cover. Thus, they have come up with products that are more suited for senior citizens. But how do you choose what is best for your parents?

Well, we share a few factors that you need to keep in mind while buying a health insurance policy for your parents.

Waiting period for pre-existing disease

Now, since the policyholders, in this case, are old, hence, it is important to see if the policy has a lower waiting period. This is so because in this case, if the policyholders have any existing conditions, then it will take time for coverage and should the condition worsen to manifest into an illness earlier then they may have issues. For instance, Star Diabetes Safe has a waiting period of a good four years as opposed to Reliquary’s Health Insurance Care Freedom, Max Health Insurance Heartbeat Gold Plan or L&T's My Health Med sure Prime plans that have a waiting period of two years. So, if tomorrow if you have bought a health policy and your parents have pre-existing illness worsens and they are admitted in a hospital, their health policy will hardly be of any use since the waiting for existing illnesses is high. Hence, a lower waiting period is a critical factor to consider while buying a health policy for your parents.

Features

A health plan for a senior citizen must have features that suit their needs. So, you must watch out for important features that actually have higher cost implications. These include benefits under room rent limit or capping for various treatments or ailments. Look out for what all is covered by the healthy policy. For instance, an expensive treatment such as organ donation that may easily cost anywhere between Rs 3-4 lakh must be covered. There are plans that provide such specific features. To give you an example, Cigna Pro Health Protect SB02 covers the organ transplant treatment up to the sum insured. If these sub-limits are low or these features are absent, you may end up paying higher amount from your pocket.

Co-payment

This is an important point to remember. Usually, while buying health plans for older members of the family, some insurer keep co-payment requirement i.e. you would have to bear some portion of the medical expenses as and when incurred. The reason for the same is insurers want to mitigate their risk of underwriting a senior citizen - who is much more likely to require medical services and treatment frequently. You might ask - why opt for a co-payment insurance plan? The reason being some of these plans may have features that suit your requirements. As such, the co-payment requirement is typically a minimum of 20% from the insurer. However, some plans offer reduction in the co-payment requirement with renewal of the plan every year. For instance, Max Health Insurance Heartbeat Gold Plan has 20% co-pay, after the age of 65 years, which is reduced by 5% on every renewal. So if the first year, its 20% co-pay, the second time you renew the policy, it will be 15% co-payment. Similarly, L&T's Med sure Prime has 25% co-payment, after the age of 70.

To conclude, these are some basic parameters that one needs to remember while buying a health insurance for your parents or the eldest member of the family. Know your needs and weigh your options to make the best bet.

Source: [http://www.businesstoday.in/opinion/columns/money-today/things-to-remember-while-buying-health-insurance-plan/story/237628.html]

Various types of health insurance

Considering the rising expenses of medical treatment, medicines and remedies, health insurance has become a vital thing. To buy an insurance, firstly, you will have to get an idea of the various types of b available in the Indian market in order to get your hands on the best policy to suit your requirements and protect your family. These insurance plans not just take care of your family needs, but also help you in tax saving investments up to the limit of Rs 1500 and additional limit of 20,000 under section 80 D when getting an insurance policy for your parents (senior citizens).

Individual health insurance

Under this policy, the insured is liable to receive expenses for hospitalization up to the sum assured. For instance, if your family has 3 members in total, and you have opted for an individual insurance for a cover limit of Rs 3 lac each. In this case, if the individual gets hospitalized, the expenses will be taken care by his/her policy up to the maximum sum of Rs 3 lac. The policies of the other two members would remain intact until and unless the need arises and they use their health policies to recover the medical costs. However, there are very rare chances of all the family members getting ill and seeking hospitalization in the same year.

Family floater health insurance

A family floater plan offers a single mediclaim policy which covers all the family members up to the extent of the sum assured. Family floater premiums are relatively lower than that of individual policies. For instance, a family of 3 members can choose a family floater plan with coverage limit of up to Rs 6 lac. If any member of the family requires treatment and the cost incurred is around 2 lac, it will be settled by the insurer and the remaining 4 lac can be later utilized by another family member within the same policy, in case the need arises. This plan is more advantageous as the chances of all the family members falling ill within the same year is comparatively low and the coverage limit for the person who requires treatment also increases. Whenever opting for a family floater plan, choose a higher coverage amount.

Group health insurance

These health insurance policies are usually provided by an employer to his employees which covers their family members as well. Your group health insurance policy remains valid till the time you are part of the organization.After you leave the organization, your policy ceases. Thus, it is advisable to have a personal health insurance policy as well.

Unit Linked health insurance

ULIP (Unit Linked Insurance Plans) is new to the Indian markets. These plans consist of two factors: regular health insurance and market linked investments. If the sum invested in the markets earns fair returns, then, it can help in stabilizing your health insurance. This amount can be utilized to cover other additional medical expenses. In an unfortunate scenario, if the invested assets fail to perform in the market, you might also have to let go of your capital. Thus, it is said that ULIP are suitable for people who have a tendency of bearing risks and have a good knowledge about market investments.

3 Reasons for Buying Health Insurance Family and Parents in India

Even though Health insurance is not a new concept for the world, I must admit that it's a relatively new thing in India and many people including those who are living in cities and earning well are not aware of benefits of taking health insurance. Many people just focus on life insurance to buy a cover to help their family with money when they are not around, but they don't think about the medical emergency and cost of hospitalization for themselves and family, especially during old age.

In my opinion, health insurance is more important than life insurance because the probability of you getting sick is more realistic. In last 10 years, the cost of hospitalization and medicines has gone through the roof and it's simply not affordable for many people. Some critical illness like Cancer or Heart diseases can cost from anywhere 5 lakhs to 50 lakhs. This makes it imperative for everybody to have health insurance in India. In this article, I am going to share my 10 reasons to buy health insurance reviews for yourself, your family including wife and children and your parents.

3 Reasons for Buying Health Insurance

Well, it's not difficult to explain a family guy to explain why he should buy health insurance. Most of them already have some health cover from their employer, so they know the important of medical cover. It becomes even more important if you are working overseas. The cost of medication and hospitalization is very high on abroad, especially in Europe and America. You simply cannot pay hospital bills by your own; it's simply too much for anyone.

Thankfully most of the IT and Software companies  provides decent health insurance to their employees. So, it's not a problem for them. This health insurance not only cover them but also their family members like spouse and children, what is left behind is the health cover of parents, which often stay behind in India.

To be honest, many highly educated and good working people also don't pay attention until it’s too late. Since our earlier generation was not so used to health insurance, parents of many of us don't have any solid health cover.  They need medical insurance more than us because of their old age.

Thankfully, there are many health insurance companies in India which provide health insurance plans to elders e.g. people with more than 60 years of old. One of the popular ones is complete health plan. So, if you don't have any health insurance for your parents, it's about time you buy one.

Anyway, here are my 3 key reasons to buy health insurance in India for parents:

Expensive Medical Cost

This is the single most important reason why I suggest many NRIs to buy health insurance for their parents and family members living in India. Medical costs are rising on a regular basis; it has become difficult for people to manage expenses such as doctors visiting fees, hospitalization charges, expensive medicines, diagnostic tests etc.

People's thinking has also changed, nobody now likes to go government hospital and try to provide the best healthcare.  Buying a health or medical insurance policy will take care of your expensive health care bills within the permissible limitations of the policy.

Focus on Treatment

The second most important reason is not worrying about money when your parents are going through treatment. Don't take it wrong, but if you don't have insurance the cost of treatment will always haunting you’re back of mind.

A health emergency needs complete rest, relaxation, and highest levels of care. Worrying about paying bills and can deteriorate your health further. With an insurance plan taking care of your bills, you just need to focus on getting the best treatment for yourself or parents.

Tax benefits

This is not the main reasons to buy health insurance policy but this definitely serves as icing on the cake. Under the section 80D of the Income Tax Act, 1961, you can avail tax deduction up to Rs 25,000 per annum on purchasing health policy for self, spouse, and dependent children.

Senior Citizens (60 years and above) can avail deduction up to Rs 30,000. Additionally, you can also avail deduction of Rs 25,000 if you buy a health insurance for your parents. For senior citizens (60 years and above), the deduction is available up to Rs. 30,000. See here for more tax saving options for salaried people in India.

That's all about why you should buy health insurance for your family members and parents living in India.  In short, with an insurance plan in hand, you can have the best of health treatment without worrying about expenses. Buying a good health insurance  policy can help you lead a happy, healthy and peaceful life. Buying a health or medical insurance policy for your parents also ensures you quality financial support during the time of a health emergency and emotional breakdown.

Source: [https://savingsfunda.blogspot.in/2016/05/3-reasons-for-buying-health-insurance.html]

3 Reasons for Buying health insurance policies for Family

Even though Health insurance is not a new concept for the world, I must admit that it's a relatively new thing in India and many people including those who are living in cities and earning well are not aware of benefits of taking health insurance. Many people just focus on life insurance to buy a cover to help their family with money when they are not around, but they don't think about the medical emergency and cost of hospitalization for themselves and family, especially during old age.

In my opinion, health insurance is more important than life insurance because the probability of you getting sick is more realistic. In last 10 years, the cost of hospitalization and medicines has gone through the roof and it's simply not affordable for many people. Some critical illness like Cancer or Heart diseases can cost from anywhere 5 lakhs to 50 lakhs. This makes it imperative for everybody to have health insurance in India. In this article, I am going to share my 10 reasons to buy health insurance reviews for yourself, your family including wife and children and your parents.

3 Reasons for Buying Health Insurance

Well, it's not difficult to explain a family guy to explain why he should buy health insurance. Most of them already have some health cover from their employer, so they know the important of medical cover. It becomes even more important if you are working overseas. The cost of medication and hospitalization is very high on abroad, especially in Europe and America. You simply cannot pay hospital bills by your own; it's simply too much for anyone.

Thankfully most of the IT and Software companies like Infosys, TCS, Wipro, CTS, and Tech Mahindra provides decent health insurance to their employees. So, it's not a problem for them. This health insurance not only cover them but also their family members like spouse and children, what is left behind is the health cover of parents, which often stay behind in India.

To be honest, many highly educated and good working people also don't pay attention until it’s too late. Since our earlier generation was not so used to health insurance, parents of many of us don't have any solid health cover.  They need medical insurance more than us because of their old age.

Thankfully, there are many health insurance companies in India which provide health insurance plans to elders e.g. people with more than 60 years of old. One of the popular ones is complete health plan from ICICI Lombard. So, if you don't have any health insurance for your parents, it's about time you buy one.

Anyway, here are my 3 key reasons to buy health insurance in India for parents:

Expensive Medical Cost

This is the single most important reason why I suggest many NRIs to buy health insurance for their parents and family members living in India. Medical costs are rising on a regular basis; it has become difficult for people to manage expenses such as doctors visiting fees, hospitalization charges, expensive medicines, diagnostic tests etc.

People's thinking has also changed, nobody now likes to go government hospital and try to provide the best healthcare.  Buying a health or medical insurance policy will take care of your expensive health care bills within the permissible limitations of the policy.

Focus on Treatment

The second most important reason is not worrying about money when your parents are going through treatment. Don't take it wrong, but if you don't have insurance the cost of treatment will always haunting you’re back of mind.

A health emergency needs complete rest, relaxation, and highest levels of care. Worrying about paying bills and can deteriorate your health further. With an insurance plan taking care of your bills, you just need to focus on getting the best treatment for yourself or parents.

Tax benefits

This is not the main reasons to buy health insurance policy but this definitely serves as icing on the cake. Under the section 80D of the Income Tax Act, 1961, you can avail tax deduction up to Rs 25,000 per annum on purchasing health policy for self, spouse, and dependent children.

Senior Citizens (60 years and above) can avail deduction up to Rs 30,000. Additionally, you can also avail deduction of Rs 25,000 if you buy a health insurance for your parents. For senior citizens (60 years and above), the deduction is available up to Rs. 30,000. See here for more tax saving options for salaried people in India.

That's all about why you should buy health insurance for your family members and parents living in India.  In short, with an insurance plan in hand, you can have the best of health treatment without worrying about expenses. Buying good health insurance policies can help you lead a happy, healthy and peaceful life. Buying a health or medical insurance policy for your parents also ensures you quality financial support during the time of a health emergency and emotional breakdown.

Source: [https://savingsfunda.blogspot.in/2016/05/3-reasons-for-buying-health-insurance.html]