Health is Wealth. Surely, one has said it right. if we are healthy, we can earn and make as much wealth but if we catch a deadly or chronic disease, we could lose as much wealth. We all might have suffered or witnessed someone suffering from a disease, accident or any medical issue. And it feels bad when the hospital & medicine bills ruin our savings or investment. But, can we do anything? Of course, we could maintain hygiene, eat well, do exercise, avoid accidents. But still, we would not be sure that we will never need to visit a doctor or a hospital.

We all have some dreams and goals and save money to fulfil them. But, do we ever save for medical expenses or hospital bills? Wish, we would never need to do that. But, being practical we must think of it. So, what can we do? Health Insurance is a solution. Saving for an uncertain medical treatment wouldn't be feasible and wise. Why save more when buying health insurance by paying a small premium can assure a large sum of money? Yes, we just need to pay little and get a big sum assured to cover our medical expenses.

Now that we understand the need for Health Insurance, we must get one that is suitable and affordable. But, how to choose one? Below are some of the basic notes we must follow before buying it.

 

Plan it Early.

Health Insurance premium is cheaper if we buy it at an early age. As it seems simple, at a young age we have strong immune and can fight any disease. Moreover, buying at early age can also help us avoid disease. Almost every Health Insurance plan offers free health check-up every claim-free year. Thus, if we do our health check-up every year, we can find any developing disease at an early stage. Furthermore, some plans also give a discount on future premiums if you stay healthy and do regular exercise.

 

Opt that Suits.

Health Insurance has two plans: Individual & Floater. Individual Plans cover only a single person whereas the Floater plan can also add up family members. Thus, if we have a family and want to apply for everyone can opt for a Floater Plan. However, we can also buy an individual plan for every family member for extensive coverage with a little extra premium.

 

How much is good enough?

This is quite difficult to decide. How much money shall we need in a medical emergency? Sum assured is the maximum amount we shall get paid against a claim. Every plan has a sum assured to choose and some basic thump rule says that we must consider our standard of living, the locality where we live, number of family members in the policy, the hospital we want to get treated before choosing the sum assured. The premium also depends on the sum assured and thus we must consider the affordable premium.

 

Critical Illness Coverage.

Wish no one experience this. But no one knows the future. Health Insurance also covers certain critical illnesses like Coronary Heart Disease, Heart Attack, Cancer, Stroke, Paralysis, etc. But all these medical emergencies are generally not covered in a basic plan and we need to buy it additionally. Buying it also doubles the total sum assured in case of any critical illness. This might seem unnecessary, but we must consider opting for the critical illness cover.

 

Insurance deals with uncertainty.

Yes, Insurance only deals with uncertainty. It means it won't cover a disease or medical issue which pre-exist before buying the plan. However, some diseases are covered after a few months or years and only if we declare it while applying for the plan. Thus, it is important that we honestly disclose all medical history and health-related information without fail, because suppression or misrepresentation of facts can lead to claim rejection in the future.

 

Do not miss this too.

Apart from what mentioned above, we could also lookup for a few more things before choosing the right health Insurance:

Co-Payment: For some health insurance plan, we might need to pay a certain percentage of the bills, say 10%, 20% or 30%. We must check this and only apply if we agree to avoid future chaos.

Day-Care & Domiciliary Treatment: Not every time we need to get hospitalised. And an ideal plan should also cover if we are treated at home or just need to visit the hospital for a Day-care treatment.

No Claim Bonus: Many Insurers reward us for being healthy. Thus, we get our Sum Assured increased for every claim-free year by a certain percentage and rule. We also get a free health check as a reward on some plans.

Restoration & Recharge: This benefit helps in case we end up with our sum assured. Restoration & Recharge option top-up the sum assured to 100% if we catch the same or another disease again in the same year. This option might charge for a little extra premium.

 

Hope this has helped in understanding the Health Insurance and checkpoints before buying it. Now, if this has increased the urge to buy it for you and your family, you can connect with us by filling a form in the link or write to us at contact@lsfs.co.in

 

[Note: This article is for information purposes only and readers must go through the policy documents for detailed features and policy wordings before buying the plan.]