There are wants and there are needs. For instance, food is a need and food in a fancy restaurant is a want. Often, we tend to confuse our wants for needs, and ignore the things we actually need. Health insurance is a classic example of this. According to various surveys on health insurance, Indians are not well insured. What could be the possible reasons for this? Low awareness on health insurance is one of the main reasons. Often, we don’t even know why we should buy health insurance. So, here we give you five reasons to buy health insurance right now.
Expensive if purchased later
One of the factors that determines the health insurance premium you will pay is your age. Generally, the older you are, the more health insurance premium you pay. This is so because it is believed that the older you get, the higher are your chances of falling ill. For instance, as you age, you can develop eye problems such as cataract, dental problems, heart problems. Therefore, if you had convinced yourself that you would buy a health insurance problem only after a few years, it might be time to rethink your decision as you may ending up paying a higher premium later.
Coverage may not be sufficient
Most health insurance policies have a waiting period for pre-existing illnesses. This means that if you have an illness at the time of buying a health insurance period, you might have to wait for some time before that illness will be covered by your health insurance policy. This waiting period can range from weeks to years. So, if you decide that you would be buying a health insurance policy only after a couple of years, and you happen to fall ill during this interim period, you might have to wait some more years to get health insurance coverage for your pre-existing illness. In some cases, you might not get no coverage for your pre-existing condition, especially if the illness is severe. Therefore, the right time to buy a health insurance policy is right now as the future cannot be predicted.
Medical check-up might be necessary later
Generally, if you buy a health insurance in your 40s, you are required to go through a medical check-up. This check-up may or may not be covered by your insurance policy. In several cases, partial costs of a health check-up have to be covered by the health insurance policyholder. If you buy a policy right now when you are young, you won’t have to go through the hassle of getting medical tests done, and you can also save thousands of rupees which you would otherwise spend on the mandatory medical check-up.
The future is unpredictable
You eat healthy food, you exercise regularly, you maintain a healthy lifestyle, so you think you don’t need a health insurance today or even a few years from now. Maybe it is something that you would buy in your old age. But, can you tell how the future will shape? What is you suffer a fall and have to be hospitalized, and even asked to undergo surgery if your condition is severe? If you don’t have a medical insurance plan, you will have to bear all the hospitalization expenses from your pocket. Nowadays, even a few days of hospitalization can result in a bill of lakhs. To ensure that all your savings are not drained in one go, you should invest in a health insurance policy today.
Tips on buying the best health insurance policy in India
1) Determine your sum insured as per your requirement
You should choose your coverage amount as per your need. For instance, if you are a family of four, a group health insurance plan of Rs2 lakh may not be sufficient. Moreover, with the costs of medical treatment on the rise, even a minor surgery can cost one lakhs of rupees. Therefore, decide your health insurance coverage keeping this in mind.
2) Check list of network hospitals
You can avail yourself of the cashless advantage only at a network hospital This means that your insurance provider will directly settle your bills with the medical services provider. Therefore, it is important to know which hospitals have a tie-up with your insurance provider. Also, you should be able to reach the connected hospital on time during emergency.
3) Pay attention to the exclusions
No matter how comprehensive your health insurance policy is, there will always be some exclusions. So, watch our for these before making a purchase. The standard exclusions are HIV/AIDS treatment, cosmetic surgeries, STDs and more.
