All about Health Insurance

Medical or health insurance is vital for your well being, to tide over any major medical expenses.  Your employers will cover your medical expenses until you are their employee. If you retire, switch jobs or begin some new enterprise, you may not be covered by any health insurance. Therefore, it is always wise to have your own policy for you and your family.

In addition, a health insurance policy can complement your existing cover, especially when cost of a specific medical treatment exceeds your present medical insurance cover.

 A health insurance policy give you access to thousands of hospitals country wide. You can enjoy cashless hospitalization or post hospital stay re-imbursement. Policy will be provided for a certain period like 1 or 2 years with a limit on basic sum insured. It can cover pre-hospitalization expenses, in-patient treatment, surgery cost, etc.

Some companies offer benefit of cumulative bonus for passing of every claim-free year in the medical insurance plan. Health checkups after a certain period of cashless service may also be reimbursed. You can also enjoy concessions in Income tax by taking health insurance. Good companies provide hassle free claim settlement after hospitalization.

 One can choose either a family floater health insurance policy or individual health insurance. A floater option is one where a single sum insured covers all the insured members of the family. Usually by family members, the following are covered:

·         Self

·         Daughters/sons

·         Spouse

·         Father/ mother

·         Siblings

·         Grandfather/ grandmother

·         Grandson/ grand daughter

·         Son in law/ daughter in law

As per an Individual plan option, one can get a single policy for all family members. However, the same sum insured is applicable, particularly for each member. There is a limit on the number of family members, who can be ensured in a policy. All family members must opt for same sum insured.  In some cases, infants will not be covered under the family floater plan.

There are two types of settlement of claims: 1) Cashless hospitalization:  A facility provided by insurer where all medical expenses are covered directly by the insurer to the extent of pre- authorization approval. 2) In this type, you the insured pay expenses to the nursing home or hospital for any treatment. You can get this amount reimbursed from the insurance company later on, as specified in the policy guidelines.

There is also a facility for Re-instatement of insured base sum. This is a situation in which you have totally exhausted all sum insured as well as cumulative bonus and also require further hospitalization for whatever reason. Some companies will fully reimburse you this extra amount at no additional cost.