Health Insurance for the Long Haul and Its Benefits
Updated On Dec 11, 2020
We have come a long way when it comes to medical advancements over the past few decades. With access to better technology and advancement in medical sciences, diagnosing and treating diseases is only getting better. However, some of this does come at a cost. Medical treatments have gotten expensive over the years as well.
In fact, medical inflation is widely regarded as one of the sharpest inflations. A medical procedure that was affordable in the last decade might set you back considerably now. If you rely on your savings for medical treatments, you will run out of them in no time. Does that mean one should stay away from treatments? Certainly not.
And to add to the woes, the current lifestyle doesn’t help either. A lot of the diseases diagnosed recently can be attributed to a sedentary lifestyle.
The amount of stress individuals deal on a regular basis also adds to the cause. What can and should you do to counter all of this? To start with, get a health insurance plan for yourself and your loved ones.
Buying the right health insurance plan on time will help you get the best treatment for yourself and your loved ones. A lot of us shy away from health insurance plans either due to non-awareness or due to the fact that most employers offer health insurance plans. But if you want to buy a health insurance plan, it is a lot easier than you might have thought.
At present, you can either buy a short-term health insurance plan or a long-term health insurance plan. A short-term health insurance is the standard insurance plan which lasts for a year. After that, you must renew the policy to enjoy its benefits. A long-term health insurance plan, as the name suggests, is for a longer duration. These plans usually have your back for 2 to 3 years, making them that much more convenient. Imagine not having to renew your policy on an annual basis but once every three years.
Top #8 Benefits of Long-Term Health Insurance Plans
It would not make a lot of sense if long term plans did not offer some benefit or the other. If not having to renew your policy every year interests you, their advantages will surely help you take that decision a step further.
1. The most obvious benefit is that you do not have to renew your policy every 12 months.
2. Should you opt for a long-term plan, the chances are high that you will bag policy at discounted prices, cause most insurers do the same.
3. With a long-term health insurance plan, you can save considerably on your taxes as well.
4. Insurers offering long term health insurance plans do away with some of the restrictions when it comes to pre-existing diseases.
5. One of the most significant advantages is that you will be immune to any price revisions since the policy would last at least for a couple of years.
6. The premiums of a health insurance plan usually depend on the age of the policyholder. If you decide to buy one during your early ages, you will end up paying lower premiums.
7. When you opt for a long-term health insurance plan, you can continue to stay protected for a longer duration, as you do not have to worry about renewing your policy on time.
8. A long-term health insurance plan offers you the financial freedom to choose a plan and not worry about its premiums for a couple of years at the minimum.
9. If you fail to renew your short-term plan on time, you will miss out on the benefits and most likely lose the no-claim bonus.
Shortcomings of Long-Term Plans
While there are several benefits of opting for a long-term plan, they do have their shortcomings. While they are not major deal-breakers, but you should be aware before opting for one.
- Since you have to buy a long-term policy, the premiums might be on a bit higher side. It can be a bit of a stretch for some policyholders since you need to pay for two years at once.
- 80D Tax Benefits are received the year you pay the premium. So, if you pay your health insurance premium for two years at once, you do not get 80D benefits in the subsequent year!
- Most of the insurers do not offer long-term health insurance plans for senior citizens.
Choosing your “right” Long-Term Health Insurance Plan
The following are some crucial parameters that will aid you in deciding the “right” health insurance plan from a long-term perspective.
Avoid Cheap Plans
Whether you compare the policies on your own or take the help of an aggregator, do not make the mistake of opting for the cheapest plan blindly. Instead, look for a policy that offers adequate coverage. If a plan offers all that you need and its premiums are low, it’s a win-win situation for you.
Tip: Look for features and benefits that suit your needs rather than choosing the cheapest health insurance plan. This is because, even if it pinches your pocket now, it would only come to your benefit at times of claim!
Basic Research
Before investing in a long-term health insurance plan, spending some time on reading out the features, service, reliability and claim settlement process of the insurer can be quite helpful.
Tip: Read the features and benefits of some of the good health insurance plans from the most popular insurers and then choose. However, do not forget to compare!
Compare
One of the smartest ways of buying health insurance plans is to compare the policies. You can either do it yourself by collecting data related to policies that you are interested in or use an insurance aggregator. Either way, you will not only learn a lot of things about health plans but also end up buying a policy that fits into your budget and offers a lot of features.
Tip: The most important tip about comparing health insurance plans is to compare apples with apples and not apples to oranges! This means you need to compare benefits and not just cost. A cost-benefit analysis would prove to be the best!
Popular Long-Term Health Insurance Plans in India
Here is a list of some long-term health insurance plans that you might want to take a closer look at.
HDFC Ergo Health Suraksha Insurance Plan
The plan offers long term health insurance and at a discounted price. You get access to more than 9000 network hospitals where you can use cashless service. And you can claim the policy for 144-day care procedures.
ICICI Lombard Complete Health Insurance
You can opt for this plan either for a regular one-year interval or opt for a longer duration. You don’t have to undergo any medical check-ups if your age is less than 46 years. And the policy also offers coverage for AYUSH treatments.
On opting for a multiple year policy, you get considerable savings with the plan. The plan does not have any cap when it comes to hospital accommodation. And you can enhance the limit of the plan with a Top-Up option.
Royal Sundaram Lifeline Health Insurance Plan
With this plan, you can reload 100% of your sum assured without having to pay anything extra. You can double the sum assured of your plan if you complete 5 years without making any claims.
Also Read
Top 5 Cancer Insurance Plans You can Buy in India
Waiting Period in Health Insurance Plans
A long-term health insurance plan comes with loads of benefits. Paying the premium upfront might brag your budget a bit, but it is negligible when you consider the overall medical expenses if you have to undergo any. The benefits of health insurance are many, but you will only understand them when there is a need. Do not wait for an emergency, and buy health insurance right away!
