Avoid 5 mistakes made while buying Health Insurance

by Baijnath Pardhan consultant

With the rising cost of medical care, possessing a health insurance has become mandatory to meet unforeseen health expenditure and maintain financial security during medical emergencies. But it is vital not to rush into buying medical insurance without proper research and analysis. With the many number of choices of health insurance offered by different companies, it is crucial to take an informed decision before you choose the right plan for you and your family.

Choosing the right Health Insurance Plan

Knowing and selecting the right health insurance plan that is a best fit for your needs and requirements is not an easy task. It is common practice for people to blindly choose the plan that costs the least. But this will cost dearly when you find out while reimbursement that the policy does not provide enough coverage to pay off all your medical bills. There are a lot of factors that go into choosing a plan but you must make sure to avoid common mistakes while doing so.

Religare Health Insurance

Religare health insurance Policy is one of the well-known insurance providers in the country. Religare health insurance has a wide range of insurance policies with affordable premiums. Religare health insurance have a huge presence of 1700 locations and associated to a huge hospital network. Religare health insurance policies are available online easily in the form of individual and family floater plans. 5 Common Mistakes made while choosing Health Insurance

Relying on your employers group insurance coverage

This is a fairly common mistake where people blindly rely only on group health policy provided by their employer. This may not be a great idea for the following reasons: The company may provide policy that may be inadequate for all your family members. It is advisable to pick an independent Mediclaim policy preferably a Family Floater plan. Secondly, quitting the job will relieve you of the insurance leaving you without protection until you get a new policy. Moreover, your new employer may or may not offer an insurance plan. Even if he does, it may be some time until the benefits kick in. Porting of existing policy to the new company is rarely allowed.

Comparing Premiums instead of Plans

Choosing a health insurance plan only looking at the less premium is probably the biggest blunder. The cheap cover may look good only on paper. When you or your family is in actual need of medical help, the amount be inadequate for your requirements. The premium must be seen in totality with other factors as well like amount of coverage, policy tenure, waiting time for pre-existing diseases, network of hospitals, your family needs, budget and insurer’s track record and reputation. An insurance policy with a low premium may only provide basic cover. Experts always recommend going for a comprehensive insurance plan for availing the complete benefits. A basic policy along with a personal accident cover or critical illness cover and features like ambulance cover, cashless hospitalization and so on is the best buy.

Buying Health Insurance only for Tax Benefit

Deductions to up to rs.25000 of the Income Tax Act are given towards health insurance premium under section 80 D of the Income Tax Act. Although these benefits look attractive, they must not be the only reason to choose a health insurance plan. Through research must be done on the policy features, benefits and amount of coverage.

Concealing Medical History

Some people are under the misconception that disclosure of medical history may lead to the company rejecting your insurance policy. But after a minimum waiting period, cover is available for pre-existing diseases. In fact, concealing medical history is a serious lapse. Non-disclosure of pre-existing medical conditions may lead to even rejection of your claim at the time of a contingency. In fact, hiding medical facts is considered a fraud and may cause a permanent damage to your profile. Not checking terms and conditions of policy properly Many people only care about the basic things covered in their health insurance policy and fail to read the fine print before signing up for the policy. The following key

features are often overlooked:

Exclusions - Knowing the policy’s exclusions or what conditions are not covered is as vital as knowing about its coverage. Free lock period- Many people are not aware of the free look period insurance companies offer. Co-Pay clause - Insurers also often tend to miss out on the details of the co-pay clause of the various plans. Insurers keep a co-pay clause to keep a check on the outgo of claims. Usually, co-pay is offered to holders with pre-existing medical conditions and whose medical costs are very high. Co-pay is the percentage of treatment costs (usually 10 to 20%) that the insurance company shares with the policyholder.

This is a good option to save some money instead of opting for a low premium policy as a higher co-pay percentage policy means lower premium outgo. Zone based pricing - The policyholders must do research on the premium amounts for their area and district before buying the policy as many insurers price their insurance plans based on the city zones. For instance, health insurance premium will be much lower for people in tier 2 and tier 3 cities than those in tier 1 cities.

Go for city specific plans only if your city has a good network of hospitals and reliable medical facilities. It must be noted that some insurance companies restrict their coverage if you move out of your existing zone for any advanced treatment. Health insurers must keep in mind the above points and avoid making these mistakes before signing on the dotted line while purchasing any insurance policy for them or for their loved ones. To prevent any unwanted surprises later, make sure you read through the fine print and clear all queries.