Why Should You Buy a Health Insurance Policy Online?
Published On Apr 10, 2019, Updated On Dec 04, 2020
"Buy health insurance when you don't want it, because you may not get it when you want it."
In this day and age, the internet has emerged as a powerful tool.
That’s why most people in India are choosing online mode to perform many tasks. And purchasing health insurance online is no exception,
Going through the data, individuals, especially those young working professionals, feel comfortable with online transactions.
Consequently, India has become the second-largest online market in the world with 460 million internet users.
The number is anticipated to increase to 635.8 million by 2012.
Amid such a significant surge in the online realm, the health insurance industry doesn’t stand alone.
Many people are choosing online health insurance, not just because it is convenient, but also because of the attractive prices and discounts.
If you’re wondering whether or not you should buy a health plan online, then this article is worth a read.
Here are quick reasons why purchasing health insurance policies online is a wise step.
A Host of Benefits:
Currently, health insurance is getting most of the attention. And buying it online lets you have a host of benefits.
Policies purchased online enables you to:
- Access all the health plans
- An option to compare policies
- Find the best insurers
- Choose minimum premium
- Avail maximum coverage
- Check the Incurred Ratio Rates
Some more benefits include:
- Ease of transaction
- Robust security
- Time-saving
- Convenience of shopping
- No need for a middleman or agent
- Options to compare different plans
- Transparent terms and conditions
- High claim settlement ratio
- No long discussion with agents
- 24/7 assistance
Besides all these, you can reap many other benefits over those bought through traditional offline channels.
Single Platform, Many Plans:
The online technology allows you to find different health insurance policies on a single platform. You can get details of all the products, including but not limited to:
Family health insurance
Individual health insurance
Critical illness insurance
Senior citizen health policies, etc.
Mediclaim policies
Personal accident policies
Convenient, Fast and Cheaper:
Purchasing online insurance is easy, fast and often more affordable than the offline mode of purchase.
Let me share a short story to prove this point.
Piyush and Vijay buy health insurance. Piyush chooses the offline mode, whereas Vijay online.
In the case of Piyush,
An agent who represents an insurance company fixes a meeting with Piyush. He meets Piyush at his home, understands his financial requirement, explains the policy features and offers the best plan.
When Piyush is hospitalized, the agent helps him in the claim settlement process. For Piyush, the agent is only the point of contact to deal with the claim settlement formalities. The agent gets a percentage of the premium generated by him as a commission.
In the case of Vijay,
Vijay takes his laptop. He starts it and types ‘best health insurance plans in India’ in Google. The search engine provides him with multiple results. Vijay browses several products, compares them and chooses the one that suits his requirements. Then, he makes the payment directly to the insurer using net banking or his credit/debit card and purchases the policy.
In the case of hospitalisation, Vijay does not need to meet anyone, as all formalities are performed by the hospital. In case of reimbursement (if Vijay chooses a non-network hospital), he sends all the documents and reports along with bills issued by the hospital directly to the insurer. And the claim is settled.
Now, you decide which one is better.
Online health products are cheaper compared to offline. No role of an agent, no need to pay the commission, no dependency on an agent, and no need to waste time in meeting an insurance expert. Since the commission is eliminated in an online policy, you can easily find a policy at lower premiums.
Final Opinion
In today’s time of medical inflation, having health insurance is a must. Fortunately, many insurance companies are providing some of the best plans in India. The good thing is that they provide online services to customers. If you want to purchase a health policy (whether an individual plan, family floater product, accidental plan, senior citizen policy or even critical illness plan), choose the online mode. The internet is the best and most convenient way to buy the policy.
While choosing online, you are able to get complete information and adequate time to read ‘terms and conditions’ and find the best plan that gives maximum coverage at minimum premiums.
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