What Are The Four Most Common Health Insurance Plans?

Health insurance is a valuable asset for anyone who wants to keep their financial security and mental peace during stressful times, especially at the time of any medical emergencies. In this article, you will learn about why you should buy health insurance, four most preferred health insurance plans based on your age group and some frequently asked questions.

Why to Buy Health Insurance?

The health of any individual plays an important role in their life but there is a thing called uncertainty which can happen to anyone at any time. In the case of health, if anything happens to a person that leads to getting admitted to the hospital then their savings get drained quickly and in some cases, they have to pay a huge amount as hospital expenses. So to avoid these types of situations one should have health insurance which will pay the bills of hospitals. To get health insurance, you need to make a premium payment that can be done monthly, quarterly or annually after discussing with your insurer.

4 Most Common Health Insurance Plans

There are different types of health insurance plans available in the market with different kinds of benefits and coverages but here we will talk about 4 most common health insurance plans. 

1. Individual Health Insurance Plans

This is the common health insurance plan available in India for an individual in which health coverage is given to the individual against the premium paid for the plan. Premium of the individual health insurance plan depends on different factors like age, health condition, smoker or non smoker, and riders or add-ons that are selected during plan purchase.

There are certain companies that provides health insurance plans for individuals with extra benefits and coverages. They are:

Young Star Insurance Policy by Star Health Insurance

• Individuals who are 18 to 40 years of age can avail this policy.
• A discount on premium of 10% is given if it is purchased before 36 years of age.
• By paying an extra premium one can include their newly married spouse, newborn babies or adopted child in their policy. The waiting period will be applicable for new joiners from the date they join the policy.
• For this policy, pre-medical tests are not mandatory.
• You can avail of tax benefits under section 80D of the Income Tax Act 1961 and can save up to 50,000 by paying a premium for this plan.

Niva Bupa ReAssure 2.0 Health Insurance

• The entry age of individuals for this insurance is between 18 to 65 years.
• There is a benefit of locking the premium until your claim. For example, the premium which is paid at the age of 24 will be the same until the claim is made.
• In this plan, you can add your 6 family members.
• There is a coverage of Rs 5 Lakh - Rs 1 crore according to the plan which is selected at the time of plan purchase.
• You can avail tax benefits under section 80D

2. Senior Citizen Health Insurance Plans

Senior Citizens health insurance plans are designed for people who are senior citizens and are above the age of 60 years. Usually, after the age of 60 people have more exposed to diseases and illnesses, so  the chances of making claims are very high. Thus also leads to slightly higher premiums of these plans compared to plans made for young adults other plans. There are many exclusions in these plans because people have many health issues after the age of 60.

Care Senior Health Insurance Plan by Care Health Insurance 

Care senior health insurance plan is designed for people who are senior citizens and need health insurance after retirement.

• The entry age for this health insurance plan is 61 years.
• Under this plan individual, spouse and dependent children (up to 25 years of age) are covered.
• During the purchase of this plan, there is the flexibility of choosing the sum insured amount which will be Rs.3 lakhs, Rs.5 lakhs, and Rs.7 lakhs.
• With the care senior plan, you will get the benefit of annual health checkups for all insured members.
• Riders are available in this plan under which no claim bonus super is there through which the sum insured gets increased by 50% and a maximum of up to 100%.
• You can avail of tax benefits under section 80D of the Income Tax Act 1961 and can save up to 50,000 by paying a premium for this plan.

Star Red Carpet Health Insurance 

• The entry age for this health insurance plan is between 60 and 75 years.
• Star Red Carpet policy gives an option for their buyer to choose the sum insured for both individuals and floaters.
• It covers modern treatment including expenses related to Oral Chemotherapy, Intra Vitreal injections, Robotic Surgeries, and more.
• Co-payment is applicable in this policy which means that when the claim is made you have to pay a certain percentage of the cost by yourself and the rest of the amount will be given by the insurance company.
• Star Health gives a 15 days free look period on this policy in which you can take your time and make decisions accordingly for the purchase of health insurance plans.
• You can avail of tax benefits under section 80D of the Income Tax Act 1961 and can save up to 50,000 by paying a premium for this plan.

3. Women's Health Insurance plan

Women's health insurance plan is made for women and it is specifically designed to cover health issues which are found in women. Maternity coverage plays a major role in women's health insurance plans and some companies are taking advantage of this by reducing the waiting period for maternity coverage.

There are some companies that provides extra benefits and coverage to women in their health insurance plans, companies and their plans are as follows:

Star Comprehensive Health Insurance 

• This plan offers health insurance benefits for both individuals and their families.
• Star comprehensive health plan comes with a wide range of sum insured starting from Rs.5 lakh to Rs.1 crore and it is flexible you can choose according to your needs.
• Under this plan coverage of both normal and caesarean deliveries is given to the women and coverage of newborn treatment, and vaccination of kids are also covered in this plan.
• This plan comes with restoration benefits, in which the claimed amount gets restored in sum assured and 
• With the help of riders, you can reduce the waiting period for the PED.
• You can avail of tax benefits under section 80D of the Income Tax Act 1961 and can save up to 50,000 by paying a premium for this plan.

Niva Bupa Aspire Health Insurance 

Niva Bupa is doing good in the health insurance industry by providing good benefits to their women customers and here are some benefits of the Aspire Health Insurance plan.

• Under the Aspire health insurance plan they give a 9 month waiting period for maternity coverage.
• There is no copayment in this plan which means you don't have to take tension of cash during treatment all transactions will be done by Niva Bupa.
• The restoration benefits are there in this plan which will help in doing more than one claim in the year because after the claim the amount gets restored in sum insured.
• It covers the hospital's daily cash requirement by giving Rs.4000/day for every 24 hours.
• The Niva Bupa provides day 1 coverage for Pre-existing disease(PED).
• You can avail of tax benefits under section 80D of the Income Tax Act 1961 and can save up to 50,000 by paying a premium for this plan.

4. Children's Health Insurance Plan

Health insurance is equally important for children as much as it is important for parents so there are some plans by various companies in which children of the parents are also covered under one plan which is taken by parents.

There are some companies whose child plans are most popular in health insurance are as follows:

Care Health care insurance plan 

• The entry age for children in this plan is a minimum of 91 days and the maximum is 25 years.
• Restoration benefits are there in this Care Health Care Insurance Plan which means if the sum assured amount gets exhausted then it will automatically get restored after raising the claim.
• Under this plan, there is the benefit of cashless hospitalisation which helps in getting admitted to the hospital without taking cash tension during an emergency.
• There is a freedom of choice of treatment you want to take and you will get coverage of any type of treatment under this plan.
• Riders are available in this plan which will help to reduce the PED waiting period from 4 years to 2 years.
• You can avail of tax benefits under section 80D of the Income Tax Act 1961 and can save up to 50,000 by paying a premium for this plan.

Star Family Health Optima Health Insurance

• The entry age for children in this plan is a minimum of 16 days and the maximum is 25 years.
• There is an affordable premium in this plan in which the whole family gets health insurance under one plan. In other words it is a family floater plan in which the whole family get covered in one single policy.
• Star Health Insurance has 14000 network hospitals. Policyholders can visit these hospitals for their treatment and can avail the benefits of cashless treatment.
• Health checkup expenses and pre and post-hospitalization expenses are included in this plan.
• You can avail of tax benefits under section 80D of the Income Tax Act 1961 and can save up to 50,000 by paying a premium for this plan.

List of Health Insurance Companies Offering Health Insurance Plans 

Check the list of top health insurance companies in India offering various health insurance plans below:

• Niva Bupa Health Insurance 
• Star Health Insurance 
• ICICI Lombard Health Insurance
• Aditya Birla Health Insurance
• Care Health Insurance 
• HDFC ERGO Health Insurance
• Reliance Health Insurance

How to Choose the Right Health Insurance Plan?

Health Insurance is necessary for everyone but before that choosing the right one for themselves is a crucial decision anyone takes. So in this, we will tell you the key factors that are to be taken into consideration while choosing health insurance.

• Coverage
  Before buying health insurance one should look and go through the coverage that is given by the insurer and also compare it with other insurers.
• Sum Insured 
  Always go for the health insurance plan in which the sum insured given is high with an affordable premium paid by you and ensure that all the expenses of treatment and medical are covered by the insurer.
• Waiting Period 
  Always go for the health insurance plan with a minimum waiting period for raising the claim. The waiting period varies from company to company and there are some companies that give zero days waiting periods so choose accordingly so that you do not have to wait years to get a claim for your treatment.
• Co-Payment
  Co-payment is the clause in which you have to pay part of the sum insured from your pocket when the claim is made. There are plans available in the market of some companies that give no co-payment in their plans and give the full amount of claim, so choose plans that do not have a co-payment option.
• Flexibility in Plan
  In the market, there are plans available in which you can add your family members for which you have to pay an extra premium. An individual can add their spouse and children to their health plan after marriage, so before buying always check plan flexibility.

FAQs

Ques 1. Which is the best cashless health insurance in India?

Ans. There are different insurance companies  in India that provide cashless health insurance. Some of the cashless health insurance plans are ICICI Lombard Health Care Plus, HDFC ERGO Optima Restore Health Insurance Plan, Niva Bupa Health Insurance Plan, and Care Plan by Care Health Insurance.

Ques 2. Which company is best for Mediclaim?

Ans. ICICI Lombard Health Insurance and Niva Bupa Health Insurance is giving the best mediclaim in India and also they have a great claim settlement ratio as compared to other companies.

Ques 3. Which is the No 1 healthcare company in India?

Ans. Apollo Hospital is No 1 healthcare company in India and it is Asia’s foremost integrated healthcare service provider. It has 73 hospitals with 10000+ beds and 5000+ pharmacies.

Ques 4. What is the most popular health insurance in India?

Ans. Star Health and allied insurance is the most popular health insurance in India with a market share of 12.18% and different types of facilities like 14000+ network hospitals, 1 year waiting period for PED.