health insurance Archives -

What Cost Does A Health Insurance Cover?

Thu, 29 Dec 2022 06:29:03 +0000

The Buyt Desk

Since the COVID pandemic people have started understanding the significance of having a health insurance plan. A sudden medical expense can disrupt the financial fabric of any family. The increasing medical costs and rising inflation are making people realize that they need to prepare themselves for unpredictable medical emergencies. Health insurance with clear and comprehensive coverage eases the financial load of medical payments. In this post, you’ll dig into the basics of health insurance and what cost it covers.

What is Health Insurance?

Health Insurance or Medical Insurance includes all medical expenses that happen due to any injury, accident, or illness. The medical expenses consist of pre and post-hospitalization, specialist fees, hospitalization costs, medications, surgery costs, implants, and more.

Significance of Health Insurance

In India, healthcare costs are constantly rising annually. The occurrence of the disease is becoming more common today than ever before. Health risks and worries are unpredictable life aspects. We all want to stay fit and healthy without falling sick, but it’s important to have a plan for unforeseen medical expenses. To remain financially ready for unexpected health dangers, one can opt for health insurance.

As mentioned above, a good health insurance plan includes medical costs such as treatment for accidents, inclusive of doctor fees, ambulance fees, cost of maternity for organ transplantation fees, medical tests, cost of pre and post-hospitalization, and lots more.

When you pay a nominal premium, you can get access to a considerable sum insured which you can easily use in event of medical emergencies.

Benefits of Purchasing Health Insurance Policies

Buying health insurance with comprehensive coverage provides numerous benefits in meeting individual and family health needs. Before purchasing any insurance plan in the best interest, check its features and advantages. Let’s jump ahead over the key benefits of buying a good health insurance policy.

Financial Stability

Medical emergencies happen unexpectedly and often result in severe financial challenges. In some circumstances when the health problem is major, one may have to sell their possessions and assets to pay for treatment. In such a situation, having a health insurance plan proves highly beneficial. It helps in getting financial protection and securing long-term savings.

Access to Good Medical Treatment

Lacking financial support makes many people compromise on their medical treatments. This problem can be resolved with an effective medical insurance plan. With this, one can select the best hospital, doctor, and treatment options.

The following things are included in the health or medical insurance policy.

Ambulance charges
Annual and preventive health check-ups
Consultation fees
Daycare procedures
Maternity and delivery charges
Modern treatments
Pre and Post-hospitalization costs
Room rent charges
Vaccination charges for newborns

And lots more.

Safeguard Your Family

When choosing a health or medical insurance plan, consider your family’s requirements. Given the importance of medical insurance in covering medical expenses, people with dependent family members have to give more value to this. The financial stress level of providing great quality health care access to all family members from one revenue source can’t be described.

So, better examine your needs before spending on a health insurance plan to access the optimum advantages. For example, people having aging parents who have more possibilities of illness will require enough health insurance coverage.

Treatment Cost Management

Lifestyle diseases such as respiratory problems, diabetes, heart strokes, and heart attacks, obesity, etc. are increasing rapidly. These health problems are more common in adults and youngsters nowadays due to pollution, gadget addiction, sedentary lifestyles, poor eating habits, and pollution. Thus, it is significantly crucial to consider your health protection with comprehensive health insurance coverage.

It’s good to invest in medical insurance that consists of diagnostic tests. This will assist you in quickly finding lifestyle disorders and easily paying for medical bills, thereby reducing your stress level. You might also enroll in an effective wellness program provided by several leading insurers to better prevent or manage severe diseases.

Saving Protection

Today, medical expenses are increasing at a great speed. Unfortunately, many people lose their life savings to meet medical emergencies. This is when the importance of medical insurance is realized. You can preserve your savings and use them for other financial emergencies or future requirements. For example, investment in a child’s education, purchasing a home, and others.

Benefits When Existing Insurance Coverage Doesn’t Help

It is always recommended to check the T&Cs (terms and conditions) of the existing medical or health insurance plan to examine what expenses it covers and what is excluded. Some insurance policies provide just the basic protection. This would not prove beneficial when more than one member of your family gets hospitalized at the same time as mostly happened during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In that situation, you can increase the sum insured by purchasing Top-up plans. This will assist you in getting extra coverage. It will financially cover most of your medical requirements. If you are wondering how to get a higher coverage as you can’t afford it, then start buying a basic cover and then increase/built it over time as per the need.

Tax Benefits

Future planning should not make your current income stressful. Considering the significance of health or medical insurance, the Indian government provides tax deductions for getting health insurance. Consider Section 80D of the Income Tax Act 1961 to deeply understand the tax benefits.

Why Consider Health Insurance Plan At Young Age?

Buying medical insurance when you’re young can provide numerous benefits including the following –

The Premium of Health Insurance is computed based on the client’s present age. Young age people can pay a low Premium.
Enrolling for health insurance at young age assures extensive coverage. It helps in better planning your finances. You can also choose an insurance plan with lifetime renewability to enjoy holistic coverage. Moreover, you can access enhanced security while working and after retirement also.
Some insurance plans include pre-existing situations with some waiting periods. At a young age, there is less possibility of becoming ill. Hence, buying insurance with complete coverage will help a lot when you fall sick.

Types of Medical Insurance

There are different types of medical or health insurance policies. For example, top-up plans, individual health insurance, critical illness plan, corporate medical plans, family floater health insurance, and senior citizen health insurance.

Conclusion

Health insurance policies are considered mandatory risk cover. Since medical expenses are increasing every passing day, it becomes more important to have an adequate health insurance policy. There are numerous kinds of health or medical insurance policies. Pick one based on your and your family’s requirements. Carefully read the policy terms and conditions to better understand the inclusions and exclusions.

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How does Health Insurance Help in Tax Saving?

Tue, 08 Nov 2022 14:27:04 +0000

The Buyt Desk

Nowadays healthcare is too costly and buying health insurance is a must for all. Medical insurance helps you in many ways including saving your income tax.

Medical emergencies take us by surprise. And the majority of the Indian population does not have health insurance. Most depend on their savings during medical emergencies or take hand loans from friends and relatives. To encourage Indians, the Government of India allows avail tax deductions on medical insurance premiums under Section 80D of the Income-tax Act.

What is Section 80D of the Income-tax Act?

Under Section 80D, for medical insurance premiums paid in any given year, every individual or HUF (Hindu Undivided Family) is eligible to claim a tax deduction from their total income. The same is applicable to top-up health plans and critical illness plans. Deductions claimed under this section, are over and above the deductions claimed under Section 80C of the Income-tax Act.

Eligibility under Section 80D

No other entity, other than the Individual and HUF like a company or a firm can claim a deduction under this section.
Deduction for senior citizens’ medical insurance premiums and medical expenses is allowed for the Individual or HUF category of taxpayers only
For individual or HUF taxpayers, insurance can be availed for self, spouse and dependent children and parents

Payments eligible as a deduction

A medical insurance premium paid (not in cash) for self, spouse, dependent children, or dependent parents
Expenses of preventive health check-ups
Medical expenses of senior citizens not covered under any health insurance scheme
The contribution made to the government health schemes as notified by the government

What deductions are available under Section 80D?

The deduction allowed under Section 80D is Rs 25000 per financial year for adults and Rs 50000 per senior citizens. Below are various scenarios:

Particulars	Maximum limit
Particulars	Self, spouse, and dependent children are Non- Senior Citizens (NSC) & Parents are NSC	Self, spouse, and dependent children are NSC & Parents are Senior Citizens (SC)	Self, spouse, and dependent children are SC & Parents are SC
1. Medical insurance premium (including preventive health check-up limit of Rs. 5000) of self, spouse and dependent children	Rs. 25000	Rs. 25000	Rs. 50000
2. Medical insurance premium and preventive health check-ups taken for Parents	Rs. 25000	Rs. 50000	Rs. 50000
3. Medical expenditure of self, spouse, and dependent children	Not applicable	Not applicable	Covered within the limit of Rs. 50,000 in 1
4. Medical expenditure for parents	Not applicable	Covered within the limit of Rs. 50,000 in 2	Covered within the limit of Rs. 50,000 in 2
Overall Limit under section 80D	Rs. 50,000	Rs. 75,000	Rs. 1,00,000
Scenario	Premium paid (Rs)		Deduction under 80D (Rs)
	Self, family, children	Parents
Individuals and parents below 60 years	25,000	25,000	50,000
Individuals and family below 60 years but parents above 60 years	25,000	50,000	75,000
Both individuals, family and parents above 60 years	50,000	50,000	1,00,000
Members of HUF	25,000	25,000	25,000
Non-resident individual	25,000	25,000	25,000

Preventive health check-ups under 80D

In 2013-14, to encourage citizens to be proactive toward health, the government introduced preventive health checkup deductions. The aim of this health check-up is to identify illness or potential health conditions and mitigate risk factors at the early stage. Section 80D allows a deduction of Rs 5000 for preventive health check-up expenses. This deduction is included in the overall limit applicable. Cash payments for preventive health check-ups are considered for deductions.

Tax benefits for Single-premium health insurance policies

A new provision was made in Budget 2018 for claiming a deduction on payments made for single-premium health insurance policies. Under Section 80D, the deduction can be claimed on a single premium health insurance policy valid for more than one year. Only a fraction of the premium can be claimed based on policy duration and other conditions.

Summing up

A medical insurance premium can be claimed for deduction only when paid for a spouse, dependent children and dependent parents and not for a brother, sister, grandparents, aunts, uncles, or any other relative.
Premium paid for independent (earning) children cannot be claimed.
Partial payment made by you and a parent can claim a deduction to the partial payment made by each.
The service tax and cess portion of the premium will not be considered for deduction.
A company-provided group health insurance premium is not considered for deduction.
Premium paid cash is not allowed for deduction.

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How To Ensure That Your Health Insurance Claim is Not Rejected?

Tue, 12 Jul 2022 03:52:30 +0000

The Buyt Desk

Health Insurance is a must-have safeguard which can help you at the time of a medical emergency. The insurance claim turns life-saving when a medical emergency hits and you are not prepared for it financially. In the absence of an insurance policy, the incident can drain out all your finances along with mental peace. However, if you have health insurance in place then at least as far as money is concerned it is sorted.

Be Transparent About Your Health Conditions

At the time of claim, the most crucial referred document is the proposal form. This form is filled out at the time of making the insurance claim. To get the maximum coverage and to avoid last-minute hassles in claiming insurance, you must fill out this form correctly.

Many times, while filling out the proposal form, policyholders just sign the document and hand it over to the insurance agent to fill rest of the details. Because the agent is not fully aware of the patient’s health condition, there is always a chance of missing out on critical information.

Note that the insurance form is the contract and an agreement between the insured person and the insurer. It contains all pertinent information that the insurer requires for the claim processing.

The reason why insurance claims get rejected is not filling in the relevant information in the proposal form. Certain health conditions need to be answered correctly in the claim form. And mind it, it is the responsibility of the policyholder to declare all the information accurately.

Non-declaration of old policy can also lead to insurance claim rejection. Thus, you don’t skip informing your insurer about the old insurance policy when taking the new one.

Share Information About Habit and Income Details

Concealing lifestyle habits and income details can hit you hard when the time is tough. If you have the habit of taking tobacco, smoking, alcohol consumption, etc., inform your insurer, even if you take them occasionally.

Other important information is your occupation and income. Both have a high significance in premium calculation and claim. Though a high-risk profession attracts a higher premium, it also ensures hassle-free approval of insurance claims during any unforeseen event.

You must provide the correct salary and ITR information while buying the insurance. Buying insurance providing wrong information will only lead to trouble at the time of the claim and in the worst case, would cause claim rejection.

When porting a policy, make sure all the information you have provided to your new insurer is correct. Do not presume that the new insurer has all details.

Claim Insurance Without Delay

Delay in insurance claims would delay the processing time, and you might not get the help at the right time. To avert this, make sure that you connect with your insurer right after the event. The insurance documents carry all contact details, and if there is any change in contact details the insurance company inform the customer. Keep yourself updated with the latest contact information. At the time of need, you can communicate with them via email or toll-free number or call the insurance agent directly to get assistance. The key is to claim insurance as early as possible to prevent delay.

Keep Nominee Details Updated

Your legal heir (The nominee you mentioned in the insurance document) should be alive at the time of claim. You must keep your nominee details updated. If the nominee has passed away, change the nominee and ensure that all the relevant documents contain the nominee’s name.

These checks at the time of insurance claim and before the event show how prepared you are. And this type of preparation never leads to disappointments.

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9 Things That A Health Insurance Buyer Must Check

Wed, 25 May 2022 04:09:23 +0000

The Buyt Desk

Health insurance buyers in their early 30s are confused as to what insurance to buy, what riders to go for and how much coverage to opt for. There are many things that one should know before purchasing a health plan that suits your needs. Here are 9 things that you must take into consideration-

Health insurance policy vocabulary millennials should know

Sum Assured – Sum assured is also known as sum insured which is the maximum amount that can be claimed. And the premiums you pay monthly /quarterly /half-yearly /yearly /one time depend on this sum insured.

Floater Policy – A group insurance especially a health insurance that covers the whole family is known as a Family Floater Health Insurance policy.

Cashless Claim – Cashless claim is when the insured can claim their medical bills without paying any cash at the hospital. The insurer will pay all the bills that are within the limits of insurance.

Exclusions – Not all diseases or health conditions are covered under the health policy. Each plan explicitly pens down the list of health conditions, diseases or situations that the health plan doesn’t pay for. This list is known as exclusions.

Deductible – Some plans do not pay the complete bill but only a portion of it. The amount the insurer pays can be a percentage of the bill or whatever is outstanding after the insured bears the pre-decided amount. This amount which the insured bears is known as the deductible. The higher the deductible lower are the premiums.

No Claim Bonus – When the insured doesn’t claim anything throughout the tenure, he/she gets no claim bonus. This bonus can be a discount offered on subsequent premiums or increasing the coverage at the same premium or offering some health checkups for free. The bonus keeps accumulating every no-claim year.

Insurer experience – Most insurance buyers will look at the sum insured, coverage of aliments, premium and list of hospital tie-ups for cashless transactions. But most fail to see the track record of the insurer and the plan. It is critical to check the time taken by the insurer to settle the claim. Social media and insurance companies’ websites will give you a good sight of customer reviews. Understand the previous customers’ claim settlement experience. Go for an insurer who has a track record of claim settlement ratio being a minimum of 95%.

Critical Illness rider – Knowing your family history and your current health conditions you can go for a Critical illness rider. This is an add-on to your existing health cover. This rider covers conditions like cancer and paralysis.

Waiting period – Health insurance companies have a list of conditions that will be covered only after some tenure from the day of buying insurance. This tenure is known as the waiting period. The waiting period differs for different conditions under different plans. So make sure it suits your requirement. For example – if you are planning to have a baby in the next year and your insurance plan has a waiting period of 3 years to claim pregnancy bills, it will not help you. Even pre-existing conditions have a waiting period.

Summing up

The pandemic has made everyone realize the importance of health insurance. Life is changing rapidly and healthcare is turning out to be very expensive. Now the millennials are more cautious and are securing their health. Serious health conditions will drain you financially and mentally if you do not have a good health insurance plan. In case of a health emergency, one should avoid financial worry but focus on health and recovery. This is possible only when the insurer is taking care of your bills. One should be well informed about all variations that the health insurance company provides so that a good plan can be selected to safeguard oneself and his/her family. Understand terminology and vocabulary used in healthcare policy. This will help you in selecting and buying the perfect health insurance.

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Increase Your Health Insurance Cover With These Ways

Sat, 14 May 2022 07:42:34 +0000

The Buyt Desk

If you are a health insurance policyholder or have taken one for your family, then it means you are aware of the benefits health insurance provides in case of an unforeseen situation or medical emergency.

Health insurance is a layer of protection that safeguards families during medical emergencies. However, to ensure that the health insurance you have purchased covers all the medical costs that might come in future, it is imperative that the sum insured should be adequate.

As we have seen, the treatment cost in private hospitals has gone exorbitant in the last few years. So, if your insurance cover is not enough, you might run out of the sum insured, and there will be an extra burden on your pocket.

Thus, if your health insurance policy is old, and you think that the sum insured will not be sufficient to provide adequate protection, think about increasing your sum insured. So that your health insurance policy can cover the entire treatment cost, whenever it might be.

There are three ways present through which you can increase your health insurance cover.

Get A Super-Top Plan – Increasing the cover of health insurance plans by buying a super-top plan. This plan provides coverage over a selected deductible limit. When your insurance cover has been exhausted, you can use the super top plan to pay the remaining amount. Additionally, the super-top plan provides many other advantages.

The benefits of this plan include in-patient treatment, day-care treatment, cumulative bonus, pre and post hospitalization expenses and much more.

Increase The Sum Insured by Renewing The Policy- At the time of policy renewal, the insurance company gives you the choice of either increasing the policy cover or the sum insured. The benefit of this option is that there remains no change in the waiting period, which happens when you buy a new policy altogether.

By increasing the sum insured at the policy renewal time, you ascertain adequate coverage to fulfil your future medical financial needs.

Get A Comprehensive Health Policy For Your Family – The family insurance policy is a policy you purchase for the entire family. In this policy, each member of the family gets covered. Therefore, the sum insured in this insurance policy remains higher than the single health insurance policy. And on top of that, you will have to pay a single premium for this.

It is more important to have a health insurance policy that provides adequate coverage than having an insurance policy, especially when treatment costs in private hospitals are surging every year.

If you think the sum insured of the health insurance policy you are holding is not enough, talk to your advisor and tell him about all the options to get a redesigned sum insured according to the changing requirements.

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What Does Health Insurance Policy Do Not Cover?

Thu, 12 May 2022 05:08:39 +0000

The Buyt Desk

Health Insurance does not cover everything. Always check with your insurance provider about the illness and services that they do not cover. If you feel the need of a certain specific cover that should be part of your insurance then add riders to your policy.

All health insurances are not the same. The coverage is different for different policies provided by various insurance companies. Check with your insurance provider for a list of inclusions and exclusions for your health insurance plan. These lists adhere to the rules of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). When you claim the health bills and if the illness or service is not covered then the claim will be rejected. So it is advised that you do proper research about the health policy before you buy it. Check if all the illness and services you need are covered if not check the riders that would cover your needs and add it to your health insurance plan. Go for policies with maximum coverage and minimal exclusions. Do check the waiting period for all illnesses. Some are covered from day one but some have a waiting period of 1 or 2 years.

Few common health insurance exclusions in India are dental surgery/ treatment, venereal disease, use of intoxicating drugs/alcohol, Self-inflicted injuries, naturopathy treatments, the cost of spectacles, contact lenses and hearing aids, diagnosis expenses, congenital external defects, convalescence, general debility, AIDS and infertility treatments. Let us look into details of diseases and treatments that are generally not covered under a health insurance plan.

Cosmetic surgeries

Cosmetic surgeries are excluded from a health insurance policy including Liposuction, Botox, plastic surgery and implant surgeries. But cosmetic surgeries needed as part of treatment post accident are covered under health insurance plans. Check with your insurer if you plan a cosmetic surgery or treatment.

Pre-existing illnesses

Each insurance has different rules for pre-existing diseases and related waiting periods. Some health plans cover pre existing conditions like blood pressure, diabetes and heart ailments. Few cover such conditions only after a waiting period of 1, 2 or 4 years. There are very few health plans that cover pre existing diseases from day one.

Infertility and Pregnancy related conditions

Hospitalization expenses of abortions, maternity and pregnancy are not covered under basic health insurance. Maternity health plans cover these expenses. Some policies covering pregnancy and delivery have a waiting period. Check with your insurer explicitly while buying a policy if you want these to be covered.

Dental Coverage

Dental treatments mostly do not need hospitalization, so are not covered by health insurance plans. But the dental treatment as part of post accident treatment is covered.

Hearing and Vision

If conditions are pre existing, check with the insurer if it is covered. Hearing and vision treatments that do not need hospitalizations are not covered. Only when it is part of post accident treatment, expenses are covered by health insurance.

Health supplements

Health tonics and supplements are not covered by health insurance policy. When it is part of the treatment and prescribed by a doctor, the expenses might be claimable.

Conditions due to overconsumption of Alcohol

Claims of conditions like liver damage caused because of overconsumption of alcohol can be rejected by the insurance company as they hold the right to reject.

Alternative therapies

Few alternative therapies are reflexology, naturopathy, acupuncture, acupressure etc. Expenses incurring in such treatments are not covered by health insurance plans.

Suicide attempt

Health insurance plans do not cover intentional self-injury, including attempt to commit suicide and injury or illness due to drugs or alcohol.

Criminal activities

Health insurance plans do not cover health bills directly or indirectly related to criminal acts including wars and nuclear power damage.

Extra charges during hospitalization

Health insurance plans do not cover registration fees, admission fees and service charges.

Few medical conditions

Health insurance plans do not cover a few specific medical conditions including cataract, calculus diseases, hydrocele, hernia, benign prostatic hypertrophy, joint replacement, sinusitis, piles, gallbladder removal, fistula in anus and osteoporosis. Some insurers cover partial costs or have waiting periods.

Diagnostics Charges

Health insurance plans do not cover diagnostic or pathological services. Scans, blood tests, x-Rays, MRI and other body tests are not covered by the policy.

Summing up

Always check with your insurer the things that are covered. You will know a few things based on your health conditions, family history and family plans, health issues that need to be covered. To keep yourself away from negative experience and financial crunch during health issues, go through the terms and conditions, inclusions and exclusions of your health insurance plan when you buy it. You can buy the riders if you feel you will need some extra cover in the near future.

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6 Things You Should Know Before You Buy A Health Insurance

Wed, 26 Jan 2022 08:59:19 +0000

The Buyt Desk

Health Insurance has become an essential part of financial planning. Sudden illness can play havoc with your finances. Life is not certain and does not run as per our plans. Anything can happen at any time including medical emergencies. Currently, healthcare is very costly in India making health insurance a must for self and family. There are many options available in health insurance and making appropriate preferences while buying one can be very confusing. Deciding on what all might be needed in our insurance policy and our requirements is a task by itself.

Hundreds of options given by insurance companies make choosing a policy a difficult task. A good study and survey are needed to make sure we know our needs and understand what to expect out of a health insurance policy. A policy with less premium may not be a good choice as it has the least coverage, so do not just look for the least premium policy. When buying health insurance policies, never buy what your friends or peers brought. What is good for them may not be for you as the requirements will not be the same. Always study the policy well look for all major clauses and understand if it satisfies your requirements. To help you make better choices here are 6 areas that you must look into before buying health insurance.

1)Hospital Network

Every hospital has a tie-up with a few insurance companies to offer cashless service to the patients against the health insurance of the patient. Always study the list of hospitals the insurance provider has tied up with. The bigger the network the better it is. Do not forget to see if your preferred hospitals are listed in their network and if they provide cashless payment in case of emergency. If you have all this information beforehand, it will be easier during a medical emergency.

2)Capping on Room Rent

Capping on room rent is done by most insurance providers. Room rent can be claimed only up to the prescribed limit. Enquire the room rents in your preferred hospitals and buy policies that meet your needs so that you do not have to pay more from your pockets in case of hospitalization. The insurer will not bear more than the agreed hospital room rent. This capping is either the specified amount or percentage of the total bill. Choosing health insurance with no room rent capping will give you the flexibility of choosing a hospital and room of choice as per the conditions and make a comfortable stay at the hospital.

3)Availability of Co-Pay

Health insurance policy co-pay is a kind of arrangement where the policyholder pays a percentage of the medical expenses from his/her pocket and the insurance provider will pay the remaining amount that is within the limit of the sum insured. As the term “co-pay” is not clear, many policy buyers will just ignore the term and get into trouble when medical emergencies arise. If a policyholder has pre-existing health conditions or is a senior citizen then the insurance company will add a co-pay clause. Policies with co-pay clauses have lesser premiums compared to the ones without. If the buyer is young and healthy and has very little chance of using health insurance then he/she should opt for a policy with a co-pay clause so that they will have cheaper premiums.

4) No claim bonus (NCB)

NCB is a remunerative advantage provided to the policyholder for all the claim-free years. When a policyholder has not filed any claim in the previous tenure, he/she is rewarded with a bonus. Bonus is either Cumulative or Discount on Premium. The sum insured of the policy increases by a specific percentage in cumulative bonus whereas the renewal premium amount is decreased by a certain percentage for every claim-free year in Discount on Premium bonus. Choose a policy that provides NCB.

5)Pre and post hospitalization

Yes, all health insurance policies cover hospitalization expenses. But very few even cover the expenses that happen before hospitalization such as medicines, medical tests, ambulance charges, doctor fees, etc. It is better to opt for health insurance plans that cover expenses before and after the hospitalization.

6)Maternity benefits

Many insurance buyers ignore looking into maternity as they consider it covered under hospitalization. But it is a different clause in health insurance. Not all policies cover maternity and delivery expenses. Also, check on the waiting period, most of the policies that cover maternity expenses have 2-4 years of waiting before you can claim the expenses. Also, opt for policies that cover newborn health expenses under maternity. Study this clause carefully as it has many variations to it.

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Your Health Insurance will not Cover Certain Medical Conditions and Treatment

Wed, 18 Aug 2021 05:37:24 +0000

The BuyT Desk

Health Insurance has taken a centre stage in our lives. People have understood the importance of health insurance and are buying it. While buying health insurance we are concerned about what all it covers. We never forget to check the room rent, ICU cost, medicine bill and how much of these expenses will be covered in your insurance. But there is another very important aspect which may miss your eyes. It is an exclusion which means there will be certain medical conditions, procedures or treatment that will not be covered by your insurance. Exclusion may differ from company to company and from one policy to another. That is why it is very important for you to know what your policy will not cover.

Let’s look at some of the exclusions that you should look at minutely

1) Pre-existing Disease (PED)

When you buy a health cover you must find out what is the cooling-off period for any kind of pre-existing disease. If you suffer from any ailment you must clearly disclose it while buying insurance. The health insurance policy will cover your pre-existing disease but only after you have spent a certain number of years with the policy. You need to wait before the insurance company covers your PED and that is why it is also called the waiting period which could range from 2- 4 years. So before you finalize your policy you must check out with the company about the waiting period duration of the policy.

2) Suicide Attempt or self-inflicted Injuries

In case the person has hurt himself/herself intentionally which leads to hospitalisation will not be paid by the insurance company.

3) Alternative modes of treatment

Treatments like naturopathy, ayurveda, acupressure or magnetic therapy will not be covered by the health insurance4)Cosmetic surgery or procedure

Cosmetic Treatment is one of the most common exclusions in health insurance policies. If you have plans to undergo weight loss surgery you must double-check with your insurer. It has been recently allowed under health insurance but there could be a waiting period clause of 2 to 4 years. But if you have to go through plastic surgery following an accident then you need not worry.

5) Know About the Cooling Off Period

Besides the waiting period for pre-existing conditions, all the insurance companies have specified time which specified coverage is not available. Within 30 days of the purchase of the policy every insured person has to adhere to a cooling-off period time. During this 30 days period no illness will be covered unless it’s an accident.

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4 Types of Health Insurance Plans

Tue, 10 Aug 2021 07:40:09 +0000

The Buyt Desk

The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us the importance of having health insurance coverage. Given the increasing cost of hospitalisation and treatment could burn a hole in your pocket. On the other hand, if you have a good health cover it can rescue you from a financial shock. But before you finalize the kind of health insurance that you should buy you must know the various types of health insurance that exists. There are insurance that can give you individual cover but if you want a health cover just not for yourself but for your family as well then a family floater is what you need. If you want a critical illness cover or want insurance that can safeguard you from steep hospital bills then there are specific insurance that will fulfil your need.

Let’s have a look at various kinds of insurance-

Individual Health Insurance Plan

This is most popular amongst people with zero dependents on them. These policies could be brought in individual names and the premium is based on the age and total sum assured that you want to opt for. These policies reimburse the expense incurred up to the size of the cover. You will be eligible for the reimbursement only if you are hospitalised for more than 24 hours. Depending upon the sum assured the individual insurance plan can cover room rent, doctor’s fee, cost of test or surgery. Pre and post hospitalisation could also be covered in these plans.

Family floater plans

It is exactly the same as the individual plan except that you can take health cover for the entire family. Benefits such as the room rent, physicians fee and hospitalisation cost will be covered.

Depending upon the sum assured your premium may vary. The premium of health cover is cheaper than the individual plan as you will be buying a cover for the entire family. Instead of buying a separate insurance cover for each family member, you buy a consolidated health cover for all the members of the family. The entire cover floats among the family member which means that any family member can use the money if he/she falls sick. For example, if you purchase a Rs 15 lakh family floater plan for a family of three, then this amount can be utilised singularly by any family member up to the sum insured.

Critical illness plans

As the name suggests, this is an illness-specific insurance plan. A critical illness covers the cost of treatment and recovery expenses for specific life-threatening diseases such as cancer, heart stroke, paralysis or kidney failure. Most insurers cover as many as 36 specific illnesses in a critical illness plan. This cover gives you an extra layer of protection to your existing health insurance.

Hospital cash plans

A hospital cash plan helps you to tackle hefty hospitalisation bills. In these plans, the insurer pays a daily fixed amount when the policyholder gets hospitalised. This cash plan ensures that apart from treatment cost, room rent and doctor fees the policyholder gets a daily allowance if he/she is admitted to the hospital. A daily hospital cash plan would determine the coverage based on the daily allowance chosen under the plan. The range of daily cash available is from Rs 500 to Rs 3000.

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Steer Away from These Mistakes While Buying a Health Insurance Plan

Sat, 17 Jul 2021 07:17:46 +0000

The Buyt Desk

In 2019, there were 250 million hypertension patients in India. Prevalent chronic diseases like diabetes, cancer, mental disorders, and respiratory illnesses are significant causes of death and disability in India. The incidence of these diseases will continue to grow for the next 25 years with a rapidly aging population. On a side note, the healthcare sector in India is expected to grow to USD 372 billion in 2022. These numbers indicate two things. First, the chances of developing a chronic disease are high. Second, the cost of treatment is rising.

Such a scenario demands you to buy a health insurance plan. Under a health insurance plan, the insurer provides you cover against accidents or diseases by paying bills for hospitalization, medicines, and doctor consultation. It comes at the cost of paying a premium annually or monthly for a fixed number of years. There is no denying the necessity of health insurance. At the same time, there is no denying that people make grave mistakes while selecting health insurance.

Opt for sufficient coverage

You may choose a health insurance plan with a low premium. While the premium amount is an essential consideration while buying insurance, sufficient coverage is also necessary. If you have to avail the sum insured, insufficient coverage would not fulfill your medical needs and leave you vulnerable to high costs.

Hiding your medical history

If you conceal your medical history from the insurer, thinking it will hamper claim settlement, you are wrong. On the other hand, the act of concealing this information will lead to claim rejection. Moreover, the insurer may offer you additional benefits after knowing your complete medical history.

Buying health insurance for tax benefits

You enjoy a tax benefit for paying a health insurance premium under Section 80D of the IT Act. Do not buy a plan only for tax benefits. You may end up purchasing a policy with insufficient coverage. The primary purpose of your health insurance plan should be to protect you and your family against medical contingencies.

Young people also need a health insurance

Medical insurance is necessary for all, including the younger population. A medical emergency can affect anyone. For instance, in the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, India lost many young citizens. It is beneficial to buy health insurance in younger years because it is easy to get a policy and the insurer offers lower premiums.

Missing details in the policy’s fine print

It may be overwhelming to read the fine print of the health insurance policy. Nonetheless, it is necessary. The fine print reveals details about coverage, inclusions, and exclusions of the policy. These details are crucial for claim settlement.

Buying more policies instead of extending the existing policy

To extend your health insurance policy coverage, simply “Top-up” the existing policy. Buying more policies does not offer an economic advantage.

Ignoring riders

You can avail of additional insurance amounts by adding riders such as accident insurance and critical illness insurance to your health insurance plan. Riders help to bear massive medical expenses due to severe illnesses.

Bottom line

Choose the best health insurance plan by keeping in mind the above pointers. Additionally, comparing different plans before the purchase will help you discover the plan most suited for you.

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