The insurance market is flooded by different types of health insurance plans offered by various health insurance companies, and each plan has come up with certain unique benefits and facilities to cater to the varied needs of the customers. So, the most difficult question that arises for the policy-seekers is to choose the perfect plan among the lot. Your search ends here as in this content we are going to talk about everything that you need to know before selecting an ideal health plan to safeguard your and your family.
Things To Consider While Choosing The Best Health Insurance Policy in India
There are certain criteria or parameters to choose the best health plan. If you keep these parameters in mind, your searching will be filtered, and easy and you can smoothly find out the best plan for yourself. To know about these factors, have a look at the following mentions.
Tip 1- Understand your needs and budget, and find suitable coverage
An insurance plan is there to give you relief, not to put an extra financial burden on you. If you choose a policy that has many benefits and facilities, the premium for this is too costly for you, then it is better not to go for that plan. At first, you need to analyze your requirements and the reasons for which you need a health cover. For example, if you are a senior citizen, you need to go for a dedicated senior citizen health policy. If you have a blooming family, it is better to choose a family floater policy over an individual health plan. After evaluating every possible need, your expectations, and financial background, then only go for any specific plan that can satisfy you mostly.
Tip 2- Check the background, and know your insurer well
Before selecting your insurer, you need to check their strength. That you can easily do by going through their background and history that is easily available on the internet and also on the official website of the company. From the IRDA Annual Report, you need to check the solvency ratio, premium underwritten, equity share, and market share of the company to have a comprehensive graph of the company. In this way, you can scrutinize the financial potential and capability of the company as well.
Tip 3 – Know the health claim settlement ratio, and that is pivotal
The claim settlement ratio of an insurance company not only shows the financial capability of the company but also reflects the commitment of the insurer toward its customers. So, it is very important to check the overall and also the particular health claim settlement ratio of the insurer. Usually, the higher the ratio is, the treatable the company is.
Tip 4 – Compare the plans benefits, facilities, and premium amount
Certainly, you will get many health insurance plans with varied benefits, and you are bound to get confused. What you need to do is to select the potential plans for you, and compare them. In that case, primarily compare the benefits, coverage, facilities available, renewability, sub-limits, etc. To make it easier, you can also use the tool, health premium calculator to make a comparative study of the plans.
Tip 5 – Look for the number of network hospitals
To avail of the cashless facility of the company, you need to get admitted to one of the cashless hospitals of the insurer, otherwise, you need to pay the expenses of the treatment out of your pocket. Moreover. This cashless hospital has to be within your vicinity as at the time of a medical emergency, it is difficult to move the patient to a far distance. Additionally, that hospital has to be suitable for your needs as well. So, it is always better to choose an insurer that has more network hospitals or healthcare centers under it.
Tip 6 – Check the customer care support and online facility availability
The next thing that you need to check is the contact details of the insurer, and how easily that is accessible. If the customer care support is available 24×7, and toll-tree, that company would be the most preferred one. Also, look for the number of official branches spread across the country of that insurer as it indicates the strength of the connectivity network of the company. Do not forget to check whether that company has an online facility available. The more online facilities are there, the more customer-friendly that company is.
Tip 7 – For extra care, examine the availability of additional coverage or add-on covers
Certainly, you will prefer to have some extra protection and security when it comes to your and your family’s health. For that, many of the customers seek to have an add-on/additional cover to strengthen their health insurance policies. So, you need to look for a company that has a great number of suitable add-on covers.
Tip 8 – Do not forget to check the waiting period & Co-payment feature
If you raise any health claim within the waiting period, that claim will be rejected by the insurer. So, it is very important to find out the various waiting periods that the insurer has for different conditions. The company that has the shortest span of the waiting period, is preferable. Among these, you also need to check the co-payment feature of the company as it refers to the percentage of the claim amount that you need to pay. Some of the health insurers do not have any co-payment feature, and in that case, the entire claim amount has to be paid by the insurer only.
Tip 9 – Help your finance and inspect the available discounts and tax benefits
Many health insurance companies have come up with certain discount offers for their customers. Additionally, you need to check the tax exemption benefit available with the insurer. All these will help you to have some financial relief. So, check out which company offers the maximum discount and tax benefit for the same coverage, and put that on your bucket list.
Tip 10 – Never forget to be thorough with the exclusions
Last but not the least, never ever forget to read the exclusions of the plan precisely and thoroughly. Exclusions mean you cannot raise any claim against those circumstances. Apart from the general exclusions of the plans, also look for the particular and permeant exclusions as well to have a comprehensive idea of the plans. For the company that offers lesser exclusions, it would be advisable to go with that.
To sum up, keep the above parameters in mind and you’ll certainly find the ideal plan for you.
