Advantages of Health Insurance Policies

Getting adequate and timely health insurance has assumed importance like never before given the disconcerting rise in accidents, diseases and critical medical conditions.

Here are five tips to help you select the best health insurance plan

1. Affordability

   It is natural to go for a large health cover at the very beginning. But you have to be realistic, can you afford to pay the huge premium? You are probably in your first job and not making a great deal of money, so paying the large premium could be a problem. Begin with a modest cover and enhance it in line with your needs and income level.

2. Go cashless

   Today cashless health policies are very common and in fact are the preferred mode for most individuals. With a cashless policy, no money is paid out to the hospital in case of an operation /medical emergency. The hospital gets the go-ahead from the best health insurance company for the operation and related procedures upto a maximum of the sum assured of the  health insurance policy. The policyholder is saved the trouble of making payments to the hospital and chasing the insurance company for his money. Cashless is not only hassle-free, it also reduces stress on the policyholder’s finances.

3. Benefits

   Review the benefits on the health insurance plan– for instancecheck whether the policy has the floater option – this provides flexibility in terms of adjusting sum assured for individual family members within the overall ceiling or whether it covers illnesses and medical conditions common in the family or whether there are exceptions  – i.e. illnesses not covered by the policy and so on.

4. Free look in period

   As a policyholder you have a right to return the policy if it is not what you thought it was or it just does not suit your purpose. According to the law you have 15 days to return the policy after receiving the policy document. This is referred to as the ‘free look-in period’.There are certain conditions however; for instance, if it’s a health insurance policy then it must have a term of at least 3 years.

5. Compare policies online

   Since there are many insurance companies offering a health plan and you are looking for that one policy best suited to your needs, it is a good idea to do a little homework before selecting the health policy. For this, compare health plans across insurance companies over the internet. The good news is every health insurance company has an online presence and most companies make their websites really interactive and friendly for visitors seeking online quotes or even basic plan features.

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