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Everything You Need to Know Before Purchasing Health Insurance in India

by Melissa Bell
4 minutes read

Health is paramount. Ensuring a healthy life is a conscious decision we should all make to live more fulfilling lives where we are at our absolute best.

However, there are times when we might need a little bit of support. And that’s when you need a health insurance policy. Buying a health insurance policy in India not only helps you stay secure in terms of ensuring access to the best of medical care; it’s also an umbrella that’s mostly untouched by inflation thus guaranteeing peace of mind too.

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Health insurance in India has come a long way and today there are tens of hundreds of companies that offer extensive healthcare solutions that cater to individual needs and requirements. However, at times, it might get a little bit confusing to choose from one of those plans because there are simply so many out there offering the same benefits that it’s hard to know which ones deliver on their promise from the ones that overpromise and underdeliver.

If you are on the lookout for a health insurance policy and have been among the confused lot, we are going to break it down into a few of the most critical points you should look for when choosing a policy for your loved ones.

Delve Down into the Exact Coverage Being Offered

When choosing a plan, it’s important to find out exactly how much coverage is on offer. This includes the cost for in-patient hospitalization, coverage for day-care procedures, room rent allowance, co-payments, and deductibles if any. It is important to keep all of these things in mind before purchasing your policy because certain things might not be covered in the policy or there could be some caps that your need to watch out for to avoid having to shell out your hard-earned money if the need for hospitalization arises.

Watch Out for Sub-Limits

A few providers offering health insurance in India put a cap known as sub-limits. A sub-limit is the amount of money that you can claim for certain treatments/procedures and you don’t get 100% coverage for those said ailments. Therefore, you must read the fine lines to determine whether you would have to bear some costs when it comes to specific kinds of treatments like e.g., cataract surgeries. It’s best to purchase a policy that either doesn’t have this cap or offers more coverage when compared to a similar policy.

Restoration of Additional Coverage

This is an added benefit offered by a few of the leading health insurance companies in India. This benefit is highly useful in case you have exhausted your entire sum insured during hospitalization and require more coverage. Having this option on your insurance plan will allow you to add more coverage without making any additional premium payments. However, this benefit varies across providers, so you should read the policy document carefully to better understand how this will work for your chosen policy.

Waiting Period

These days a lot of people suffer from lifestyle diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, etc. And if you suffer from any of these pre-existing conditions, you might need to wait for a certain period before your insurer covers you for the same. This is known as the waiting period, and it varies across insurers. It’s a wise idea to choose a policy that has a short waiting period so that the coverage for pre-existing conditions can begin as soon as possible.

Health insurance is vital to ensuring a safe and secure future for your family in case of unfortunate hospitalization and grants them access to the best in medical care without wiping out your life’s savings. Therefore, it’s always best to have some form of insurance in effect to fall back on, should the need ever arise, because it’s always better to be prepared beforehand.

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