At the age of 30, know how much a medical insurance policy can cost you?
At the age of 30, know how much a medical insurance policy can cost you?
Published on April 12, 2021. EST READ TIME: 3 minutes
Getting health insurance is an absolute necessity. The amount of cover in your medical insurance policy can differ based upon factors like age and income. For most people, it is very important that adequate cover is maintained along with continuity in the policy. And most importantly, getting insured as early as possible. Let us learn why.
Early start is always the best choice!
Many people get confused about when they should get their first health insurance policy. The fact is that you must get it as soon as you can. There are many factors, which ensure why it is wise to do so.
- Early age premiums are very low. As you advance in age, the cost of getting the same amount of cover goes up by a significant margin. The later you take a health policy, the more premium you will have to pay. On the other hand, if you purchase a medical insurance policy very early, you will not need to pay too much even as you advance in age.
- You can run through the waiting period while you are young. Most insurance companies require mandatory waiting periods for selected and declared/pre-existing problems. If you get your health insurance at a young age, you can complete the waiting periods while you continue to be relatively healthy.
If you start your own health insurance early, say at the age of 24-25, you will be all set by the time you reach the age of 30. This is, generally, the time when people have married and have their first child. You would have completed all waiting period requirements and would also have accumulated good bonuses and discounts if you did not make any claims.
Understanding with examples
Let us take a few cases.
Case 1: Deepak is a professional aged 36 years. He is married and has a child of 4 years. Recently, he has had a health scare and is looking for a health insurance policy. He has decided to get a policy with INR 10 lakhs sum insured. Deepak has never held any kind of health insurance. When he went on to search for a health insurance policy for his family, a cover of 10 lakhs for a single year plan was quoted for almost INR 29,000-30,000, including taxes. If he chose a two-year plan, the price went up to over INR 53,000, which saved him just over 4000 Rs per year cost. For a three-year plan, the quote, including taxes was over INR 75,000, which saved him almost INR 11,000 over the single year plan.
Case 2: Another example is the case of Vikas. Vikas is a young professional of 26 years of age. He is also married and has a child. Vikas has discussed with his wife and decided that they need to get a medical insurance policy as soon as they can. When Vikas went looking for a health policy of 10 lakhs, he was quoted a price of just over INR 24,000 after taxes. His two-year policy quote was just about INR 45,000. The three-year quote for Vikas was around INR 64,000. Buying a two-year policy instead of a one-year policy is saving Vikas around INR 4000 and a three-year plan also saves him almost INR 10,000 to 11,000 over one year policy when calculated on a per year basis.
For the same amount of cover, Deepak has to pay almost a ballpark, 20 per cent higher price for the policy! That is a 2 percent increase for every year Deepak has aged more than Vikas. The conclusion that can be drawn here is very simple. The more you wait to get your first health insurance policy, the higher prices you will end up paying for it.
Conclusion
It is important to realise that by the time many youngsters turn 30, they have spent most of their time and money in partying or having fun. There is nothing wrong in that. But the best approach to life always puts your health as its key focus. It is, therefore, very important to get health insurance for yourself and your family before you turn 30 or the costs will go up higher and higher.
Disclaimer - The above information is for illustrative purpose only. For more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales.