Moving to Another City? Get Ready for Changes in Health Insurance!
Health insurance is a must for every individual, living in any city within the country. After all, there are ‘n’ number of health insurance Plan benefits that one gets to make the most of and take care of their physical & mental health as well as financial condition.
When buying one of the best health insurance policies, people look for numerous features before finalising their choice. The same applies when changing a city. In other words, when moving to a new city, policyholders should look out for certain elements and be ready for a few changes in their health insurance.
Needless to say, every person keeps features like age, gender, health condition, premium amount and various others in mind when buying a health insurance policy. However, factors such as health insurance portability and location remain ignored during a health insurance policy purchase. Those moving to a new city, irrespective of the reason, should keep a few aspects in mind and be ready for a few significant changes in their health insurance policy.
Here’s a list of health insurance factors that you should keep in mind before making a health insurance switch when moving to a new city:
- Health Insurance Premium Rate Changes
Premium amount is one of the most significant aspects of health insurance. It is important for you to know that there are ‘n’ number of health insurers or health insurance companies that determine health insurance cover on the basis of zone under which a specific city falls.
Classification of cities into zones such as Zone 1, Zone 2, and Zone 3 is done at the present time. Yet another important feature to note is that different health insurers have their own way of classifying cities. For instance, under Zone 1 Mumbai and Delhi are covered. Tier-I cities are classified into Zone 2 while the other cities of India fall under Zone 3. Note that all metro cities are classified as Zone 1.
If moving from a Tier1-I city to a Tier-II or III city, you can expect a health insurance policy at a discounted rate. If unwilling to changing the policy, you can enjoy a refund. Note that both, the cost of hospitalisation as well as chances of infectious lifestyle diseases are lower in smaller cities as compared to the large ones.
At last, it depends on the insurance and its coverage that whether or not it will cover a specific treatment. Therefore, make sure you check the policy thoroughly before jumping to the conclusion of switching your health insurance policy.
- Medical Cover Restrictions
When a policyholder moves from a low zone area and demands advanced treatment in the new city (high zone), there are high chances of facing restrictions from some insurance companies. However, note that the restriction level may vary from company to company. If such a situation arises, it would be better for the policyholders to opt for the clause of co-payment, so that they can avail the higher treatment and not compromise on their medical situation.
If willing to choose co-payment, policyholders have to bear the cost of a certain, but fixed percentage of medical expenses, consultation fees, and hospitalisation from their own pocket.
On the other hand, if not willing to choose co-payment when they require advanced treatment, they can go for a higher premium.
- Medical Facilities & Network Hospitals Access
Every policyholder has one or two specific network hospital that they prefer getting their medical treatment from. Since network hospitals provide the facility of cashless treatment without any hassle, policyholders have the top network hospital names of their preference pre-decided in their mind. When changing the city, policyholders are advised to check whether or not network hospitals of their preference feature in the list or not. In case, the list lacks their preferred network hospitals, it might be a call to choose a policy with a different insurer.
Also Read
10 Factors That Determine the Premium Amount of Health Insurance Plans
IRDAI Approves Reliance Health Insurance’s Operations
Conclusion
Now that you are aware of the key aspects to consider when moving to a new city, keep the same in mind to avoid any kind of discomfort.
You can free yourself from the hassle of switching health insurance policy by opting for all-India coverage. Nonetheless, if the premium amount for a policy with all-India cover seems too much for you, it would be better to choose a zone-based cover only after considering factors such as age, health condition, and time duration of stay in the new city.
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