 What should you look for in a Health Insurance Plan?

Health insurance protects you from incurring a financial loss as a result of a critical illness, disability or accident. Most Insurance companies cover the same thirty critical illnesses and provide lump sum payments in the event of such an illness occurring.

While looking for a health insurance plan, there are various factors that you must consider, some of them being….

Lifetime cover is essential
Buying a health insurance policy with lifetime coverage is essential because people are expected to live longer. Many people feel that since their employer provides them with a medical cover, they do not need to buy their own insurance plan.But what happens, once you retire or are forced to resign from the company’s services….will you buy insurance at age 55 at an unfavorable rate?
It is always advisable to buy health cover when you are still young and healthy as some products may not be available to people over a certain age or to those with an existing illness.
Statistics suggest that people are expected to live much longer…much after their retirement years, so plan for a life after age 55.

“As charged” Vs plans with limits.
There are two kinds of plans –those that come with certain sub limits –as in per day or for each category and those that do away with limits –or “As charged.”The latter is better as there are no limits on the medical benefits and it means that hospitalization expenses will be paid according to what has been billed subject to any deductible or co-insurance.These plans also automatically take care of the rising health care costs.

Shield plans have deductible and co-insurance features
All Shield hospitalisation plans include a “deductible”, the first layer of charges that the policyholder has to bear. Depending on the type of plan, the deductible is typically about $2,000 to $3,000. The plans also have a co-insurance feature, which means the policyholder shares part of the cost of the bill, usually 10 per cent over and above the deductible. For example, if an A-class ward bill is $5,000, the policyholder bears the first $3,000 as the deductible, and $200 as co-insurance (10 per cent of the remaining $2,000). The insurer pays the remaining $1,800. Insurers offer riders which waive the deductible and/or co-insurance, for a premium.
Go for a complete package –one that includes a deductible and a co-insurance rider ,so that you get covered from the first dollar!

Pre-existing conditions are not covered
Pre-existing conditions refer to medical conditions, known or unknown to the policyholder, that existed before an application was made to buy a health plan. Under personal hospitalisation policies, these pre-existing conditions are typically spelt out by the insurer and excluded throughout the lifetime of the insurance plan.

Guaranteed renew ability
A product that guarantees that your cover will stay in force as long as you pay the premiums on time is naturally better than one that gives insurers the right to cancel the cover by giving written notice before your plan is due for renewal. However, most insurers reserve the right to change premiums, benefits, and the terms and conditions of their plans when they are due for renewal by giving you a written notice.

Limitation to geographical areas
Check to see if your plan covers hospitalization back home,if you’re a temporarily residing in a country.Some plans will cover only emergency treatment anywhere in the world whereas others may cover you for all kinds of hospitalization.So, bear this in mind if you’re a frequent traveler and want your plan to cover you while on a business trip.

Buy one plan to cover all your needs.
While it may be tempting to buy separate plans that cater to accident,illness etc, remember that the total benefit is limited to the actual expense incurred so there is no need to buy extra policies.