Introduction:
A recent incident showed us that Saif Ali Khan, who owns property worth thousands of crores, still has health insurance because no matter how much money you have, the risk of health emergencies is the same for everyone. Look at this tweet where Nitin Kam says most Indians are just one medical bill away from bankruptcy, and this is kind of true because most Indians don’t have an emergency fund or health insurance. Even those who do are mostly underinsured. Medical treatment costs these days are really high. They're really high. Everyone knows that. But what people don’t realize is that in the next 5 years, these costs are going to double because medical inflation is at 14%. Nowadays, with our lifestyle, stress and overwork have become normal. Heart problems that used to show up in your late 60s or 70s are now happening in your 30s and even 20s. And the sad part is, it doesn’t seem like this is going to change anytime soon. So, there’s only one way to avoid these medical bills, and that’s by having the right health insurance. Because if we look at the data, even today, 50% of medical bills in India people pay out of their own pockets. Whereas in Western countries, most medical bills are covered by health insurance. Everyone knows by now that health insurance is important. But which company should you choose? Because in India, there are currently over 30 companies offering health insurance. Out of these, 25 are general insurance companies that provide health insurance along with other types of insurance. And there are 8 standalone health insurance companies. With so many options, people often get confused about which insurance is best for them.
What is Health Insurance:
This blog post will clear up your confusion. You just need to
follow these two steps.
Step one: Choose the best health insurance company, and I’ll tell you five key factors to help with that.
Step two: Pick the best
health insurance plan from that company, and I’ll share seven factors to help
you choose the best plan that fits your needs. Finally, I’ll talk about my
personal top three companies and their best plans.
When it comes to picking the best companies, the first thing you need to check is the claim settlement ratio. This ratio shows how many claims an insurance company approves out of 100 claims. When you buy insurance, you do it thinking it’ll help you when you really need it. But if a company has a low claim settlement ratio, what's the point? Looking at the last three years' data, HDFC Ergo has a 98% claim settlement ratio, followed by Aditya Birla at 95%, Bajaj Allianz at 95%, and ICICI Lombard at 90%, because when it comes to claims, we buy insurance, but what’s the point if you never get your claim? Besides that, there’s one more thing you need to keep in mind to make claiming easier.
You should get insurance from a trusted platform that can help you when it’s time to make a claim. Not only will they help you get health insurance, but they’ll also fully support you during claim settlement. And what sets them apart from other insurance aggregators is their no-spam policy—meaning they won’t bother you with constant calls. And their experts won’t suggest a plan that doesn’t suit you. If you haven’t taken health insurance yet or are thinking about porting your insurance, you can connect with their customer care. You can ask any doubts you have about insurance.
The second important factor is the hospital network. The more hospitals an insurance company has in its network, the easier it is for you to make cashless claims. Otherwise, you’ll have to pay the bill first. You’ll have to pay upfront and then apply for reimbursement later. Talking numbers, HDFC Ergo has a network of over 13,000 hospitals, Star Health has over 14,000, Digit has over 16,400. Make sure your nearby hospital is also part of your insurance company’s network. The third thing you need to check is the product portfolio. Everyone has different needs. Healthy people can usually get by with simple health insurance. But sometimes there are pre-existing conditions, and for those, you can opt for disease-specific policies. Which diseases exactly? What policies are available? Also, in the fourth parameter, you can check the company’s track record—like what’s their reputation in the market, what people are saying about them, and so on. And in the fifth parameter, you should look at how good the company’s services are. Generally, private companies have a slightly better process than government ones, whether it’s onboarding or claim processing. Private companies usually offer better service in health insurance as well. So, that covers the five parameters too.
Choose the best health insurance company. You've picked the company, but now they have a bunch of plans. Which one should you go for? Let’s talk about seven things that’ll help you pick the right health insurance plan. First up is co-payment. This means you have to pay a certain percentage of the bill yourself. Make sure this clause is not in your policy at all. Otherwise, if there’s a 40% co-pay, on a 5 lakh bill, you’ll have to pay 2 lakh out of your own pocket. Next is room rent restrictions. Make sure your policy doesn’t have any room rent restrictions. Room rent limits usually come with a lot of extra charges, which end up increasing the final bill. So, ensure your policy at least covers a private room with AC. Next is the waiting period. Companies make you wait before covering pre-existing diseases, so check that your policy has the shortest possible waiting period. If you want to know which plans offer the least waiting time, pre and post-hospitalization charges: Often, when you visit a doctor, they recommend different types of tests like CT scans, MRIs, X-rays, etc. So, your policy should ideally cover at least 30 to 60 days of pre and post-hospitalization benefits. Next point is coverage for alternative treatments. Nowadays, many policies include options for AYUSH treatments, which cover Ayurveda, Yoga, Homeopathy, and the like. It’s great if your policy includes these too.
The next important point is carry forward and NCB (No Claim Bonus). Sometimes you buy a policy, and after a few years, the coverage amount starts to feel insufficient. If your policy has this feature, then every year at renewal, your coverage amount increases by a certain percentage like 25% or 50%, up to a cap of 100% to 500%. So, this is something you can look for in your policy. The last parameter is restoration benefits. This is a great feature if you’re opting for a family floater plan. If two family members get hospitalized in the same year, after the first hospitalization, their coverage amount gets restored. You can use it during the second hospitalization. So, these were the seven parameters that will help you choose the best health insurance plan for yourself. One thing to keep in mind is not to make a decision just by looking at the cheapest premium when selecting a policy. If a policy is cheap, there’s definitely something missing in it, and you need to check that. While focusing on a reasonable price, you should choose a policy that includes all the benefits you actually need. Now, let’s come to the part many people have been waiting for—my top three picks. None of these choices are sponsored. I picked them purely based on data. My top pick is HDFC, then Aitya Birla, and then Care. Talking about their best plans, HDFC has Optima Secure, Aitya Birla has Active 1 Max, and Care has Supreme. I selected these policies by following two steps based on my own criteria. You can see the detailed comparison of all three on the screen. These are the best options, but according to my requirements. Obviously, everyone’s needs are different. Yours might be different.
Requirements can vary. By following step one and step two, you can choose the best plan that suits you. If you face any issues, there’s Dato to help you out. The link is in the description. I request you that if you know anyone who hasn’t taken health insurance yet, please explain it to them and encourage them to get a good health insurance policy. And for those who already have a policy, ask them to verify it so that if there’s any problem, they can port their policy in time.
Conclusion:
I hope this would help you to understand importance of health insurance and also to choose best health insurance for you and your family. If you already have health insurance policy, comment down Insurance company name and your experience which will help readers.
Tags: Finmotive, #Finmotive, #Finmotive001, #healthinsurance, #insurance, #medicalinsurance, #mediclaimpolicy, #healthinsuranceplans
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