How To Buy The Right Health Insurance Plan In 2021?

It is a highly accepted fact in today’s world that health insurance policies play a major role in shielding an individual’s health and compensating for the medical expenses that can incur from hospitalization in case of an emergency. Health insurance policies cover expenses like pre and post-hospitalization expenses, daycare procedures, in-patient costs, ambulance charges, and a lot more. You must choose the health insurance cover wisely to make sure that you and your loved ones get quality treatment when in need.

There are a plethora of options in health insurance plans to choose from. You can choose a policy considering various factors like age, pre-existing diseases, financial budget, etc to make a decision. With the increase in the sum assured under a certain policy, the rate of premium payments also increases. The inclusions in a health insurance cover differ from one insurance company to the other, and therefore you must be careful with the inclusions and exclusions in your policy cover. 

How To Choose A Health Insurance Policy? 

There are various considerations that should be taken into account before buying a health insurance policy. There are several factors that influence the nature of a health insurance policy and therefore, you as a policyholder should be well aware of your needs and requirements. Let us look at the key points that should be considered while purchasing a health insurance policy: 

• Flexibility 

You must be aware of the flexibility of your insurance policy. With the increase in inflation, some insurance companies allow the policyholders to increase the sum assures under their cover. You can also increase the sum assured by availing benefits like no claim bonus under which if you do not claim a policy for a year in the policy tenure, you are rewarded with an increase in the sum assured by the policyholder. 

• Pre-Existing Disease 

Check that the benefit of the pre-existing ailment covers your disease if you suffer from a pre-existing disease. You must thoroughly go through the fine print of your policy papers to know whether your demands have been customized into the health insurance policy purchased, or not.

• Waiting Period 

It is a period of time for which you cannot claim your policy benefits. You can avail of the benefits of your health insurance cover only after the completion of the waiting period. It varies from 2 to 4 years, as the period differs from one insurer to the other. 

• Renewability

Make sure that the insurance company provides you with the benefit of lifelong renewability under which you can continue to stay connected with the insurance company and enjoy the benefits of your selected health insurance cover. 

• Claim-Settlement Ratio 

You can choose an insurance company based on their claim settlement ratio. The higher the ratio, the better is the company. Claim settlement is one of the essential steps that is taken in case of an emergency and the companies with the high claim settlement ratio can be blindly relied upon as they do their job of compensating your medical expenses really well.

• Cashless Hospitalization

You should be aware of the number of network hospitals that are linked with the insurance company you have preferred to buy your health insurance policy from. If you seek medical treatment in a network hospital then you can avail the benefit of cashless claim settlement under which your medical dues will be cleared by the insurer directly to the hospital, thus making this whole process hassle-free and smooth for you. 

Conclusion 

Taking into consideration the above-mentioned points, you must make a wise move by choosing a suitable health insurance policy for yourself. You must always read the terms and conditions of your policy within the free-look period provided by the insurer to make sure that your demands have been met by the insurer. 

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Disclaimer: This article is issued in the general public interest and meant for general information purposes only. Readers are advised not to rely on the contents of the article as conclusive in nature and should research further or consult an expert in this regard.