Why should you own a good health insurance plan?

We all know that growing environmental degradation, sudden health issues, hereditary disorders, complex treatment procedures, escalating medical expenses etc. have made health insurance plan an important item in our basket of health care. In case you miss out to have a comprehensive plan, you will end up shedding out huge amounts from your pockets on the ever escalating treatment costs.

But you can surely avoid this by buying a suitable health cover. There is a range of health policies available in the market, but the important part is to understand which one caters to your need and most importantly fits into your budgets. An individual needs to compare each segment of insurance policies and then come to a consensus to buy one good health insurance plan for them and their family.

Let’s consider some essential points to ponder before buying any health plan for you and your family.

Pre-Existing Diseases

No one in this world is born fit and fine. At times there are people who suffer from pre-existing ailment while purchasing a policy. Remember, that insurance companies come with a waiting period of 2-4 yrs in case of pre-existing diseases. They are not liable to approve any claim generate during this period for illness occurred because of the diseases which you had been suffering before the purchase of policy. Hence, a customer needs to look for a plan which has shorter waiting period and more pre-existing illness covering.

Pre & Post Hospitalization Expenses

Pre and post hospitalization expenses are those which are calculated before and after hospitalization. The cover of every policy differs in terms of the days, where pre-hospitalization is generally counted for 30 days before hospitalization and post- hospitalization is counted for 60 days after. It is not fixed so try figuring out a policy which offers you maximum number of days of this cover.

No Claim Bonus

No claim bonus is the sign of good health. This benefit can be availed for the year in which you don’t claim to insurance company against any illness. In many policies it gets added for consecutively 5 years. The percentage generally varies from 10-50%.

Co-payment Discount

Co-payment means mutual payment where the insurance company and the insured share some percentage of the total claim amount which is decided earlier. This process might help you reduce your premium, but it is necessary to see if you can pay your part of money even during costly treatments.

Network Hospitals

Network hospitals are the registered hospitals with the insurance companies where you can claim for cashless facility where there is no fuss of filing for reimbursement. These treatment charges are settled directly between the hospital and insurer. The idea is that it’s always beneficial to go for health insurance plan with large number of network hospitals in your area that helps you approach quickly during crisis time.

Room Rent

Room rents are generally very expensive. Whenever there is a case of hospitalization, you have to bear a predefined room rent. Some offer a discount of 1% of sum assured in case of room charges and 2% in case of ICU usage, whereas, few have no maximum limit for such expenses. Therefore, it’s better to go with suitable plans which take care of such accommodation covers during the purchase of policy.

Premium

Setting the required premium is an essential thing to consider but not the top most. Rather than focusing on lower premium try and balance between your health insurance plan and the surrounding premium rates. Otherwise, during an illness you might regret that the disease is not covered under the policy and there is no chance of reimbursement. In such cases you will be piled up with huge bills which might severely hit on your financial conditions.