What is Automatic Recharge in Health Insurance?

Posted on: Jan 23, 2025 | 3 mins | Written by: HDFC ERGO Team

What is Automatic Recharge in Health Insurance?

Often, finding the right health insurance plan can be quite tricky. This is primarily because we don’t know what medical emergency we might face. Although we know that having a health insurance policy with wide coverage can help meet the expenses when the treatment goes on for an extended period or pay for complicated surgeries amid medical inflation, we have little idea about the right sum assured. Also, affording the premium for a huge sum insured is not possible for everyone. Is there a way out? Well, let’s introduce you to automatic recharge in health insurance.

What is Automatic Recharge?

Anyone planning to purchase a health insurance policy would have one concern: what if the sum insured falls short? This is an important consideration because if the sum insured is not adequate, then the policyholder will have to pay all the medical bills from his/her own pocket. And bills can keep rising. At times, a healthcare plan with a low sum insured can be as good as having no health plan. Now, obviously, no one wants to spend an exorbitant amount in policy premiums to buy a plan with a massive sum insured unnecessarily. The easy answer to this conundrum is automatic recharge. The moment your sum insured expires in the policy period, the automatic recharge gets activated. The best part of this feature is that the initial sum insured can be used in multiple claims. You can opt for this feature while buying the health plan.

A few insurance providers can offer you a one-time recharge plan or a multi-recharge policy. The former will allow you to use it once after your sum insured gets exhausted, while the other will allow you to use it multiple times. You need to read the terms and conditions carefully before choosing the plan.

How Does Automatic Recharge Work?

Well, let us explain using a scenario. Imagine you have a health insurance policy with INR 10 lakhs. You use INR 8 lakhs during surgery. But three months later, your condition worsens due to another complication, and you get hospitalised to undergo another minor surgery. This time the cost of the surgery is half of the first time, i.e., INR 4 lakhs. Now, your medical expenses add up to INR 12 lakhs in the two claims, while your sum insured is just INR 10 lakhs. Here, the automatic recharge feature will spring into action and pay your outstanding bill.

Benefits of Automatic Recharge

Here are a few reasons why automatic recharge is highly recommended –

• Financial Security

Health insurance is a backup for medical emergencies, as it lets you opt for quality healthcare services without worrying about the cost. Automatic recharge is the backup for that financial security, even if your initial sum insured is exhausted.

• Cost-effectiveness

Compared to buying two separate health plans and using one as a backup, the automatic recharge feature will cost you much less.

• Peace of Mind

Knowing your sum insured will be automatically replenished can help alleviate stress. You won’t get anxious about finances during medical emergencies.

• Hassle-Free Claim Process

If you buy the Mediclaim policy from a reputed and trusted insurance provider, you won’t have to worry about going through the stressful claim approval process.

• Flexibility

It can be availed for various medical expenses; it also covers expenses associated with hospitalisations, surgeries, and outpatient treatments.

How to pick an Automatic Recharge Plan?

Here are a few things you must be mindful of while getting this feature –

• Number of Recharges: You must decide carefully if you need a single or unlimited recharge option.

• Premium: Do market research about the price of this feature quoted by different insurance companies before choosing the best.

• Claim Settlement Process: Always choose an insurance provider that offers a hassle-free claim settlement process.

• Network Hospitals: Make sure your preferred hospitals are included in the insurance provider's network.

• Terms and conditions: This feature comes with many conditions, such as it can’t be carried forward to the next policy period, or the next claim can’t be made for the same treatment as the previous claim. Discuss these terms well with your insurance company to get your claim requests approved in a jiffy.

Conclusion

It's a no-brainer that a health insurance policy with a wide scope of coverage is crucial in today's world of rising healthcare costs. However, one must make wise choices to ensure the plan's affordability, as the cost of the premium goes up along with the scope of the benefits. One of those wise choices is opting for automatic recharge, as even with comprehensive health insurance coverage, unexpected medical emergencies can quickly exhaust the sum insured.

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

Why Should You Buy A Health Insurance Plan With Restoration Benefits?

Mental Health of Children – All You Need to Know

Boast your immunity with yoga this International Yoga Day

5 tips to detoxify and cleanse your body

6 Ways Yoga Can Help You Deal With Stress Of The Corporate Life