Are You Looking For All-Round Health Insurance Coverage? Upgrade Your Health Insurance Plan Today!!
Updated On Dec 04, 2020
Health Insurance is a necessity today due to the deteriorating environmental conditions and our own lifestyle patterns. The environment is becoming polluted because of the increase in population and deforestation, whereas our own work-life imbalance, traveling, and unhealthy eating habits all together are contributing to the rise in health problems.
Along with this, the inflating prices of medical facilities are making the treatment of medical problems a nightmare for a common man. In such adverse conditions, a health insurance policy is a mandatory step to ensure mental peace at times of medical emergencies.
A health insurance policy is a contract or an agreement with an insurance provider based on which an insurance provider guarantees to reimburse the medical expenses incurred during the treatment of the policyholder. A health insurance policy will provide coverage for the expenses incurred in pre-hospitalization and post-hospitalization of the policyholder.
Along with that, many other expenses such as domiciliary expenses, ambulance expenses, alternate treatment expenditure, room rent expenditure, etc. are also covered under a health insurance policy. Many health insurance providers have beneficial plans for their customers such as Aditya Birla Active Assure Diamond Plan, ManipalCigna Pro-Health Plus Insurance Plan, Max Bupa Health Companion Insurance Plan, etc. A situation of medical emergency can arise anytime without any prior notice and a health insurance policy will prevent it from turning into a financial emergency.
What is meant by up-gradation of your health insurance policy?
When you already have a health insurance policy, but the coverage provided by the policy may not be sufficient at the time of any medical emergency or critical illness. Upgrading a health insurance policy is to increase the cover provided by the policy so as to ensure an all-round coverage at times of medical emergency.
A common man will always wait for specific opportunities in which he can upgrade his health insurance policy such as a raise in pay, a promotion or a change in job, etc. However, many times, even when the opportunity is available; we neglect it or seem to avoid it. This should not be made a practice; the up-gradation of health insurance policy is as essential as other priorities in our life.
Top #7 reasons and benefits of upgrading health insurance policy
Let us check out the main reasons for upgrading a health insurance policy.
1. Greater options at a young age
With the growing age, your illnesses will also tend to grow. If you decide to purchase a new health insurance policy with more coverage, then all medical tests need to be done. In this procedure, you will have to disclose all your health conditions in front of the insurance provider. This might lead to an adverse situation with some of your coverage being rejected. But, if you could have upgraded your health insurance policy earlier, you would have been able to avoid such a situation.
You may also like to read Why is it better to buy health insurance before 30?
2. Inflating cost of medical facilities
Upgrading your health insurance policy is a somewhat tedious process, but it would be helpful for you in the long run. When you are assessing your current health insurance policy, you might feel it is adequate, but it is sufficient for that point of time. With the costs of medical facilities increasing every single day, your health insurance coverage of say Rs. 5 lakhs today may not be adequate as your age increases. So, you must upgrade your policy on time.
3. Addition of riders
In case, you already have a health insurance policy, you can go ahead and upgrade it by adding riders or add-ons such as Plans for coverage of Critical Illness, Hospital Daily Cash Plans, etc. These are the additional benefits that you can add on to your base health insurance policy and avail an all-round coverage.
You may also like to read Need for riders in health insurance
4. Higher cover at fair premium
One of the major reasons due to which people choose the up-gradation of health insurance policy is to avail a higher cover and that too at a low premium. A very good option in such a case is that you can upgrade your health insurance policy by investing in a top-up plan or a super top-up plan to increase your insurance coverage even at a lower premium.
5. Increased flexibility
Suppose, you have a health insurance policy that is quite uninteresting and the coverage is also not adequate. Here, you have an opportunity to upgrade your policy and avail of increased coverage. Also, you can customize the plan by deciding on the sub-limits and deductibles. This will be according to your requirements and is a flexible option.
6. Addition or removal of family members
This can act as a reason to upgrade your health insurance policy or can be a benefit that you can obtain on upgrading your policy. If you want to include a newborn baby or remove a deceased person from your family plan, you can upgrade your family floater plan.
7. Deductible adjustment
It is a fact associated with the health insurance policy that higher the deductible component less is your premium. So, you can opt for upgrading your policy and availing a higher coverage one with adjustment made into deductible in such a way that it suits your budget.
#5 points to consider while upgrading your health insurance policy
There are certain things which you should consider while you are upgrading your health insurance policy. Some of them are listed below.
1. Opt for lifetime renewal of the policy
If you are not satisfied with your current health insurance policy, you can opt for an up-gradation of your policy, and you should select one which provides a benefit of lifelong renewability. By this, you do not have to worry about the renewal ceasing age and even insurance coverage during old age.
2. Select adequate coverage
When you are planning to upgrade your health insurance policy, you should try and analyze various health requirements and health risks associated with you and your family. You should upgrade your health insurance plan to one which provides sufficient coverage and does not have sub-limits, c-payment options, etc.
3. Cashless hospitalization cover
Cashless hospitalization is a necessity these days as they are beneficial during the times of medical emergencies. By cashless hospitalization, you do not need to worry about the bill settlement during hospitalization. In a network hospital of your insurance provider, your bill settlement would be done by the insurance provider.
So, if you are planning for a health insurance policy up-gradation, you should select a policy which provides the benefit of cashless hospitalization.
You may also like to read Best cashless health insurance policies in India
4. No Loading clause
The Loading clause deals with an extra amount to be paid along with the premium of the health insurance policy for those cases in which the claim amount exceeds the amount that has been anticipated by the insurance provider. So, while up-gradation of your health insurance policy, you should try to avoid those which include loading clause in them.
You may also like to read What is loading in health insurance?
5. Higher sum assured
If your health requirements are increasing, then it is the right time for you to upgrade your health insurance policy. You should select a plan which has a higher sum insured so that all your medical requirements are fulfilled.
Hence, health insurance policy up-gradation is a must due to the rampant increase in ailments and the increasing cost of medical facilities. This up-gradation, when done at a young age is advantageous as it attracts low premiums and health risks are lower too. It is always advisable not to keep on delaying this up-gradation and make an online comparison of health insurance plans before you decide to upgrade.
Also Read
