Must Have Add-on Covers For Health Insurance Policy

Buying health insurance has become a need for every individual considering the daily rise in medical costs and the discovery of new ailments worldwide. Nobody wants to spend their lifelong savings during a misfortune accident or emergency hospitalisation and this is why you should opt for buying health insurance - an insurance plan which covers the medical, hospital and doctor consultation costs for small yearly premiums without the requirement to pay a lump sum at the verge of emergency.

What Are Health Insurance Add-ons?

Health Insurance Add-ons are basically the extra coverage or benefits which are not covered under the standard health insurance plans and are needed to be added by paying an extra bit of the annual premium. An add-on can be added to an existing policy and cannot be bought separately without a standard health insurance policy. These additional benefits can be used on certain predetermined events as explained in the terms and conditions.
As per the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), the total add-on charges upon the yearly premium of a single health insurance policy cannot exceed 30% of the actual premium.

Types Of Health Insurance Add-Ons To Consider As A Must

Here are certain types of Health Insurance Add-ons you must consider opting for along with standard health insurance to ensure extended benefits on medical needs:

• Hospital Ward Rental Costs - One of the most important aspects of health insurance coverage is either partially or not covered under its terms. Standard plans cover hospitalisation costs but if a patient requires a separate room, that wouldn’t be covered. An add-on for the hospital ward rent does the job for you.
• Maternity Expenses - If you have your spouse covered under a standard family insurance plan and planning a conception, you should consider opting for this add-on. This add-on covers all the pregnancy-related medical costs and in some cases, it can cover up to 3 months post-childbirth.
• Domiciliary Care - This add-on becomes a must if you have your parents covered under a standard plan and they have met with an unfortunate medical condition. Travelling between the hospital, work and other occupations become quite hectic and you might consider getting a nurse and setting up a domiciliary treatment at home. This add-on caters for all the expenses incurred during such an indoor setup.
• Day-Care Facilities - Suppose you met with a minor accident and were required to get hospitalised just to get a few stitches up your arms in much less than 24 hours. Would a standard health insurance policy cover this mishap? No. Such day-care benefits are acquired by the respective add-ons and are quite useful if you have a job of mostly physical labour or activities.
• Critical Illness Coverage - This is an important add-on to consider when you have a complex disease running in your family but you haven’t been diagnosed with any symptoms yet. In such cases, if you are covered by this add-on and get diagnosed, you get the agreed payment in lump sum irrespective of the underlying treatment expenses.
• Alternative Medical Measures - Not every time you would want to seek chemical treatment for a cumulative illness. Sometimes, you might want to explore the medical benefits of Ayurveda, herbal or homoeopathic to live a side-effect free treatment experience. This add-on covers such alternate medicinal treatment expenses.
• Organ Donor Expenses - In case of complex surgery or a severe accident emergency, it might be required for you to find a donor for a particular organ transplant. It doesn’t matter if you get the organ from a preserved organ bank or from a living donor, there would be a payment for that, along with the pre-transplant surgery charges. This add-on comes in handy in instances like this.
• Personal Accident Expenses - The fact that you are a human being and prone to facing accidents is covered by this health insurance add-on. This covers the accident expenditures of the insured individual for mishaps like temporary or permanent disabilities post the accident. In case of death, the family of the insurer receives the insurance money in a lump sum.

Endnotes

Before opting for purchasing an add-on, you should probably do some research on the benefits provided by your existing health insurance plan first. This will prevent overlapping of features and save you unnecessary premium extensions. Opting for add-ons which you think you might require in future is often a valid decision and highly recommended.

Also read- Health Insurance Covers A Variety Of Illnesses.

Consider These Factors When Purchasing An Aditya Birla Health Insurance Plan