Tips to buy health insurance policy

A viable option is to choose a lifetime plan or one that provides insurance cover post-retirement as well.

Growing incidence of lifestyle diseases and rapidly rising medical costs have made health insurance one of the most bought insurance products these days. To meet the growing demand, health insurance companies have introduced several innovative plans to cater to the needs of the consumers and the target buyer group. The consumers are literally spoilt for choice. However, buying health insurance calls for greater awareness and cost-benefit balancing by consumers in order to buy the best product to provide maximum cover at reasonable cost.

THE RIGHT POLICY

First , the customer should buy a plan with maximum renewable age or lifetime insurance policy. The sole purpose of buying health insurance is to protect yourself and the family from mounting healthcare costs throughout your life. A viable option is to choose a lifetime plan or one that provides insurance cover for post-retirement as well.

Second and the most important point to keep in mind is that the policy should provide adequate cover to protect all the dependent members of the family. Accordingly, the sum insured should be decided according to the family size, past medical history and the area of residence.

A buyer needs to be careful as many companies do not pay for pre-existing diseases and the complications arising from them. These days, however, some companies allow for pre-existing diseases after a specific waiting period and if the insurance policy renewals are continuous.

Similarly, women insurers need to ensure whether maternity benefits are covered under given health insurance.

COST FACTOR

Third, buying health insurance entails a premium which depends on the number of family members and their age group. A buyer must check for all the limitations in an insurance cover and choose the one that provides maximum benefit within the affordable cost to him.

Fourth, for availing cashless insurance facility, it is important to check the list of empanelled hospitals as well. This would help avoid any problems in case of an emergency.

Some insurance companies also offer co-pay and sub-limits in insurance coverage, where the company pays certain percentage of the total amount incurred (say 90 per cent) or provides insurance with a limit for a particular treatment. In such cases, the buyer has to pay rest of the amount himself.

Fifth, till recently, health cover was popular as a group insurance product provided by employers in the organised sector. In such a case, an insurance cover can end abruptly depending upon the employers' policy to offer such a facility. It will be prudent on the part of the employees to have individual protection to cover themselves.

Also, check the credibility of an insurance company. It should be certified by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority. An insurance advisor or a broker firm can help in taking the right decision by presenting cost-benefit analysis of various schemes for a given option as against limited information by a company's insurance agent who may not be aware of other companies' products.

(The author is CFO, Max Bupa)

Keywords: tips to buy health insurance policy, choose a lifetime plan, provides insurance cover post-retirement as well