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A Complete Guide to Increase Your Health Insurance Coverage

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Staying healthy is not just about eating well, exercising, taking precautions against infections, and going for check-ups. It also involves getting the right treatment on time in case a medical emergency crops up. However, thanks to ever-increasing healthcare costs,your savingscan get exhausted in no time unless you have health insurance. The best health insurance policy can help you avail quality healthcare without worrying about exorbitant hospital bills. However, it is important to reassess your health insurance cover from time to time to stay adequately insured. If you are worried about the premium part, don’t be, as there are ways to increase your medical insurance coverage without the burden of high premiums. Here are some simple ways.

1. Take health insurance at an early age:

Although health insurance is not given much importance at a young age, it is wise to take one early on and stay covered. Here are some reasons:

• Medical emergencies:

Many young people in India and around the world are suffering from lifestyle diseases due to the lack of physical activity, unhealthy diet, smoking, excessive drinking, and other unhealthy lifestyle choices. Hence, taking the best health insurance at an early age is important for medical emergencies.

• Affordable premiums:

When you buy medical insurance early on, you get to pay small premiums. And as you age, the chances of suffering from different health conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney issues and such increase. Hence, insurance companies charge high premiums to cover the risk.

• Employer’s health insurance:

Even if you are covered by your employer’s health plan, you should still take a separate health insurance policy for yourself and your loved ones. The employer’s policy will cease to exist the day you leave the organisation.Hence, having a separate health plan will keep you at peace and increase your insurance coverage too.

2. Choose a good family floater plan:

If you are looking to cover yourself, your spouse and young kids under the best health insurance possible, you must take a family floater policy instead of individual health plans for the following reasons:

• Single premium:

By paying a single premium, you and your family can avail many benefits of the plan. The premium will depend on the oldest family member covered. If all policyholders are young and without any pre-existing conditions, the premiums will be quite affordable. If you have elderly members in your family or senior citizens, you must take a separate health plan for them.

• No-claim bonus:

If all family members covered under the family floater are young, the chances of making a claim against the health plan are low. Hence, you can availtheno-claim bonus (NCB) for every claim-free year. This bonus can be in the form of reduced premiums or an increased sum insured.

• Higher coverage:

When you insure more people under one plan, the sum insured is higher. For instance, instead of buying individual health plans of INR 4 lakhs for a family of four, you can take a family floater of INR 16 lakhs. In case a family member gets hospitalised, they can avail the best treatment without worrying about the expenses.On the other hand, if you take individual health insurance and the treatment costs INR 5 lakhs, you will need to pay INR 1 lakh from your own pocket.

3. Take super top-up plans:

If you feel your existing health plan is not adequate, you can invest in a super top-up plan. This is a special health plan that offers additional coverage above the deductible amount. This deductible is a fixed amount that you pay from your pocket or through an existing health plan for your medical expenses. Once the deductible is met, the insurance company will take care of the remaining hospitalisation expenses.

For instance, say you take a super top-up plan with the total sum insured of INR 15 lakhs and a deductible of INR 5 lakhs. In case your hospital bill is for INR 15 lakhs, you will need to pay the deductible of INR 5 lakhs and your super-top plan will pay INR 10 lakhs.

Unlike top-up plans that cover the expenses of a single hospitalisation, super top-up plans cover multiple hospitalisations within the policy period of one year. The premiums of super top-up plans are quite affordable, and they offer many financial benefits as well.

Conclusion

So, now you know about the simple ways in which you can increase your health insurance coverage. Health insurance is an important investment, so make sure you check and compare some good policies before choosing the best health insurance for yourself and your loved ones. And considering the ever-increasing healthcare costs, make sure the coverage is adequate to avoid financial hassles later.

Disclaimer: The above information is for illustrative purpose only. For more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales.

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