What are the advantages and disadvantages of HospiCash Insurance?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of HospiCash Insurance?
Published on July 19, 2023. EST READ TIME: 3 minutes
What happens when the sole breadwinner of a family gets hospitalised due to an ailment or accident? Well, the family gets worried about unexpected medical expenses that can arise during hospitalisation, not only from medical bills but also due to the absence of regular income. This is where Hospital Cash Insurance, also known as HospiCash Insurance, comes in handy. Not to be confused with cashless hospital insurance, this policy provides daily cash benefits during your stay at a hospital. It eases the financial burden of the policyholder by offering a fixed sum of money for each day spent in the hospital. Let’s explore what is hospicash insurance, its disadvantages and advantages, and its many features.
What is Hospital Cash (HospiCash) Insurance?
Hospital Cash insurance or hospicash insurance is a plan where you get a fixed amount for each day of hospitalisation of more than 24 hours. This money can be used to meet miscellaneous expenses not covered by your medical insurance, such as the cost of surgical equipment, X-ray charges, costs of accompanying family members, and even to compensate for loss of income when you are hospitalised. The amount is fixed at the time of buying the policy and ranges from INR 100 – INR 10,000, depending on the insurer. You can opt for hospicash insurance as a rider to your existing health plan or as a standalone policy.
What are the Features of Hospital Cash Insurance?
Some of the features of hospicash insurance are listed below.
• The insured must be hospitalised for a minimum of 24 to 48 hours to avail of hospital daily cash benefit.
• No supporting bills are required to claim this benefit; valid hospitalisation proof is enough.
• The daily cash amount can range from INR 100 – INR 10,000, depending on your policy’s terms and conditions.
• If the hospital cash benefit comes inbuilt into your individual health insurance plan, then a % of the sum insured of your plan is offered as daily cash.
• Day care procedures are not covered by hospicash insurance.
• The maximum number of days you can avail of this benefit can range from 15 to 90 days, depending on the policy terms and conditions.
• There’s a waiting period during which you cannot make any claims. However, in case of accidents, the waiting period is not applicable.
• Most hospicash insurance policies have a deductible of 1 day or 24 hours that the policyholder must pay to activate the policy. For instance, if you are admitted to the hospital for 5 days, you will be eligible for a hospicash benefit of 4 days after the one-day deductible is paid by you.
Pros of Hospital Cash Insurance
• Fixed daily allowance
Irrespective of the expenses incurred, you will receive fixed daily cash from the insurer. The insurer will neither ask for any supporting bill nor tell you to return the extra amount if the actual expense is less than the daily cash allowance.
• ICU expenses
Since the ICU expenses are high, the daily cash allowance is usually doubled if the insured gets admitted to the ICU.
• Protects No Claim Bonus
If the hospital expenses are negligible or minor, you can use the hospital cash insurance to cover the costs. This way, you can save on the NCB of your health insurance policy instead of losing the bonus for making small claims.
• Tax benefits
You can avail of a tax deduction of up to INR 25,000 for premiums paid towards hospital cash insurance. Senior citizens can claim up to INR 30,000.
• Covers non-medical expenses
The daily cash allowance can be availed to pay for all those additional or non-medical expenses not covered by your health insurance. Such expenses include the cost of surgical accessories, food and travel of family members, attendant expenses, household expenses, etc.
Cons of Hospital Cash Insurance
• If the hospitalisation is less than 24 hours, the policyholder cannot avail of hospital cash insurance benefit.
• You are eligible for the benefit only during your hospitalisation and not after discharge.
• Some exclusions, like cosmetic surgeries, self-inflicted injury, and fertility-related issues, are not covered.
Conclusion
During hospitalisation, some miscellaneous expenses are not covered in your comprehensive health insurance. These extra expenses may be meagre during your short stay but can run in thousands in case of prolonged hospitalisation. Daily hospital cash insurance provides peace of mind by taking care of these costs without denting your savings. Now that you know what is hospicash insurance and its many benefits, you can buy the policy based on your medical needs.
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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