Health Insurance: A Healthy Move

Good health is something very few can take fro granted. With rising healthcare costs it is very expensive to be ill. Though insurance can’t prevent unforeseen events, it can help you and your family cope well in times of need.

If one does not have a good medical insurance to help pay the bills, a serious injury or illness can create major financial problems. Moreover, having no coverage, too little coverage, or the wrong kind of coverage can be a costly mistake.

How to choose:
There are options available that let you protect against health and accident related risks.

One should get the answers to the following questions;
• How much is the cover? Is the entire amount available for a single illness or surgery? What is included and, more importantly, what is not included in the payments that the policy will make?

• Most health insurance policies come with an upper cover limit of Rs. 5 lakh, though some insurance companies go higher. Is that enough?

• Will extra payment be needed for covering existing illness – or if illnesses are discovered? Some insurance companies provide this cover at no extra cost, depending on your claim history. Others will charge an additional premium for such existing illnesses. Some insurers cover existing diseases after the policy has been maintained for at least three years.

• Apart from covering medical bill, there’s tax advantage. Premiums paid under health insurance plans gives the policyholder tax benefits.

How to make a claim:
When choosing insurance, be proactive and critique the post-sale services very carefully. The true test of insurance plan is when you need it most.

• In case of planned hospitalization, contact your TPA (third party administrator) three days in advance, or as specified in the policy, and get admitted to a scheduled hospital. In such cases, the TPA comes into play the moment you are hospitalized. The settlement of claims is cashless.
• In an emergency, the TPA has to be notified about the hospitalization as soon as possible. Based on the network hospital, the TPA will facilitate cashless payment. If that is not possible, the insurance company will reimburse your bills. In case of reimbursements, make sure you have all the necessary documents.