First-time Health Insurance Policy Buyer? Know How Much Do You Need

People who are buying one of the best health insurance plans for the first time can get confused and overwhelmed. With insurance companies offering multiple features, benefits and options to their potential customer, it is quite common to get confused in such cases. You can buy an ideal health policy by knowing what is needed rather than concentrating on what is being offered.

In the modern age with digital medium, an individual no longer needs to depend upon an insurance agent or visit the insurance company’s branch to buy an insurance plan in India. A person can get themselves insured by using a smartphone. In case, you are purchasing health insurance in India, make sure you go through the following things in order to make an informed decision:

1. Purchase a Health Insurance Plan Early: As individuals get older, they get prone to sickness, resulting in increased premium amount by the insurer. In contrast to this, the younger a person is, the lesser is the health insurance premium amount. Also, with the rising medical cost, it is important to get yourself insured with an ideal health insurance policy from one of the leading health insurance companies. Some of the advantages of purchasing a health insurance plan are:

• No Co-payment
• Lower Premium
• There would be an insurance cover when you get old and fall more prone to diseases such as cholesterol, high BP, diabetes, etc.

2. Selecting the Right Coverage: Paying attention and sticking to what is needed will help you in eliminating other insurance choices and will help in selecting an optimum insurance plan for yourself. An ideal health insurance policy depends upon the needs of a particular individual like if you require a health plan for the entire family or just for self or you require an insurance plan for your critical illness etc.

3. Compare Health Insurance Policy: After planning to purchase a health insurance plan, it is ideal to analyze the requirements, choose the type of coverage you need, and once gone through the terms and conditions of the health plan, after thorough comparison you should buy a health plan.

4. Riders V/S Standalone Health Plan: As a first time buyer, health insurance can be bought in two variants:
Standalone Health Insurance Policy
A health insurance rider along with your life insurance policy
Now, as per your individual requirements, you can select either of the two options. You can consider the following aspects, in order to evaluate your requirements:

• Waiting Period
• Premium
• Coverage Amount
• Sub Limits
• OPD Benefits
• Co-Payment
• Recharge and Restore Option

With the help of restore benefit option the coverage amount gets refilled up to 100% of the basic sum assured at the time when the basic sum assured gets totally exhausted. Besides, with the help of recharge benefit option, the amount automatically gets refilled up to the amount of 100% basic sum assured at the time when basic sum assured gets reduced.

5. Network Hospitals
There is a list of network hospitals under every insurance company where the policyholder can avail cashless treatment. At the time of insurance plan comparison, it is significant to consider the list of network hospitals offered by your insurer.

Also Read

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Conclusion

It is important to purchase a health insurance plan on time due to the rise in the medical inflation and healthcare costs and to avoid financial crises at the time of medical emergencies. Additionally, a health insurance policy provides peace of mind which is looked for in today’s age and high pressure world.

Disclaimer: This article is issued in the general public interest and meant for general information purposes only. Readers are advised not to rely on the contents of the article as conclusive in nature and should research further or consult an expert in this regard.