5 Mistakes To Avoid When Buying Health Insurance

While browsing through health insurance plans, you might have also come across the term Mediclaim. Often, health insurance and Mediclaim are used as synonyms for each other. In a way, these two do have several similarities, the primary one being that they can help you access quality treatment during a medical emergency. However, there are many features that distinguish a Mediclaim policy from a health insurance policy. In this article, we guide you through these differences so that you may know which form of coverage suits you better.  The major difference lies in the coverage  The biggest difference between health insurance and Mediclaim lies in the kind of coverage offered. A Mediclaim policy only pays for your treatment under the condition of hospitalization due to accidents or specific illnesses only. You cannot raise a claim on your Mediclaim policy unless you are hospitalized. It does not pay for any pre- or post-hospitalization expenses either. Health insurance, ...

Group health insurance is normally offered by companies to their employees as one of the perks of the job. Being covered under this policy is really beneficial as it is often the first type of health insurance held by most. Though the coverage is basic, it is still better than having no form of health insurance at all. Added to that, a lot of companies offering group health insurance also allow the insured members to buy coverage for their families too under the same policy, albeit at an additional cost. Now, even if you are covered under a group health insurance policy, it is important to understand that the coverage is not all-inclusive. Just like with an individual health insurance policy, group Mediclaim also has certain limitations. In this article, we take you through some of the main exclusions of group health insurance. ·          Obesity treatment Group health insurance will generally not cover you for obesity-related illnesses and...

In recent years, we have seen a steady rise in awareness regarding mental health. This change in the air has positively affected the healthcare sector and consequentially, the health insurance domain. Following the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, which called for the treatment of mental illness on par with physical illnesses, the Insurance and Regulatory Development Authority of India (IRDAI) also declared that health insurance companies will now be expected to cover several mental illnesses in their medical coverage. This announcement was widely welcomed as it will help in creating a robust healthcare system for people with mental illnesses.  As the inclusion of mental health in health insurance is a relatively new topic, many may have queries and doubts regarding them. To help clear the air, we are addressing a few FAQs on mental health insurance in this article.   #1 - What mental illnesses will be covered by health insurance companies? According to the Mental Health...

A critical illness insurance plan is a type of insurance that offers the policyholder a payout if they are diagnosed with any of the critical illnesses that are covered by the insurer. Critical illnesses generally include serious health conditions such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, kidney failure, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, loss of limbs, and coma, among others. As one can imagine, being affected by a critical illness can truly be emotionally and financially devastating. Quite often, the patient is left unable to work anymore. If they have been the breadwinner for their family, the onset of a critical illness can lead to a financial crisis at home. Having a critical illness insurance plan can truly help you tide over the difficulty of the situation. The lump sum payout that you receive can be used to cover any existing gaps in your health insurance as you receive life-saving treatment. The payout may further be used to help your family pay their bills to keep food...

COVID 19 brought the world to a standstill in 2020. Even though lockdowns were enforced in an effort to curb the spread of infection, healthcare systems still were overburdened with cases. Attention was also drawn to the fact that most people lacked health insurance coverage. This gap in insurance saw many exhaust their hard-earned savings while receiving treatment for COVID 19. In an effort to ensure that everyone can get insured against COVID 19, the IRDAI asked all insurance companies to launch standard, short-term health insurance products for coverage against COVID 19. All insurance providers will have the same names and features for these products as set by the IRDAI. This uniformity will ensure that people can buy coverage with minimal confusion in these difficult times. The two policies thus launched are the Corona Kavach Policy and Corona Rakshak Policy. Let’s take a quick look at the main differences between these health insurance products from the IRDAI: 1.  ...

  Good health is the most important asset that an individual can have. An increase in pollution, unhealthy lifestyle habits, as well as many other factors, has a huge impact on your health. This ultimately leads to numerous health problems and medical diseases. There are many medical expenses that are associated with the treatment of diseases. These expenses can go very high, causing a serious blow to your savings. This is why it is so important to safeguard your finances with a secure health insurance plan that will take care of medical costs such as your hospitalisation expenses and pre and post hospitalisation expenses too. Today, one cannot do without such the coverage of a health insurance plan. Let us take a look at 5 great benefits that such a plan would offer you: 1.     Coverage for critical illnesses Nowadays, most reputed health insurance providers offer critical illness insurance. Please note that critical illness insurance can come as a separa...

Medical emergencies can take place anytime out of the blue. And most of the time when you are caught off-guard due to such emergencies, you tend to be unprepared financially as well, especially when you don’t have any health insurance to cover the medical expenses. But if you do have health insurance, then the policy acts as the first line of defense against critical illnesses. However, even health insurance plans have their limitations, and this is why you should consider getting critical illness insurance for yourself. And to help you understand its benefits, here are 4 reasons to get critical illness insurance: 1.     It acts as a backup for your health insurance Most critical illness insurance plans come in two types, either as an add-on to your health insurance or as standalone insurance. Now if you already have health insurance, then getting it as an add-on to your existing insurance is much more beneficial, because when the sum insured from your health insur...

You would always want the best for your family and would always work hard to provide everything you can for them. And if you’re the sole breadwinner, providing everything for your family and saving some amount for the future becomes a tough task as you will have to manage all of your expenses without spending your entire salary in one go. So what would you do in the event of a medical emergency? How would you manage the required expenses that are there in any medical procedure? Why spend your entire life savings on one emergency when you could make the smart choice of getting family health insurance for you and your family. And here are 4 reasons why getting a medical insurance policy for your family is beneficial: 1.     You get a high amount of sum insured One of the biggest benefits that you get when you buy family health insurance is the amount of sum insured. This amount helps you in covering many expenses that are there in a medical emergency, such as room ch...

These days, many companies offer their employees health insurance as one of their employment benefits. However, very few people actually go through the fine print of this company health insurance plan. Most just view the coverage as a good benefit to have and assume that they automatically get the same protection offered by a personal health insurance plan. Yet, this is not usually the case and you could end up getting surprised at the time of making a claim. To avoid being caught unawares, read on to understand why you need to have your own health insurance plan even if your employer offers you medical coverage as a benefit of your job. Group health insurance plans generally offer a certain amount of coverage that extends to the employee and their immediate family members. The immediate family members are usually the spouse and children; some plans also cover the parents. The employee may be given the option of increasing this coverage by paying an added premium. While the health i...

The facility of making cashless claims during hospitalisation is one of the main conveniences commonly offered by health insurance policies. Afterall, when you are already weighed down by an illness, the last thing you want to be doing is running around finding ATMs to gather the funds you require. With the cashless facility, all you need to do is inform the insurer that you will be seeking treatment soon at one of their network hospitals. You may need to fill up a form too prior to getting admitted. Once you reach the hospital, you simply need to present your health insurance card or policy number to get shown to your room. Every treatment covered under the purview of your policy will get settled directly between the insurance company and the hospital. However, there may be certain instances when your claim for the cashless facility might be denied. Knowing what these situations are beforehand will save you from landing in an uncomfortable situation when you need to file a claim. I...

When reading your health insurance policy, you might come across certain terms that leave you confused. In such a situation, it is always better to get clarity on the parts you do not understand. Getting a proper explanation of your policy will help prevent any confusions that may arise during a claim. Among the most common queries people have about health insurance , some of the most frequently asked questions concern the differences between network and non-network hospitals. In this article, we will take you through a basic understanding of network vs. non-network hospitals in health insurance. What are network and non-network hospitals? An insurance company creates tie-ups with certain hospitals and includes them in their network. These hospitals offer lowered charges for treatment to policyholders of that insurance company. In return for these lowered charges, the hospitals do benefit by getting an assurance that policyholders would prefer treatment at their facilities as opp...

The growing number of COVID 19 cases show that the pandemic will not abate anytime soon. Apart from the worry of health complications due to a coronavirus infection, most of us are also afraid of the heavy bills that can result from hospitalisation. The costs of treating COVID 19 complications can truly make dent in your savings. To keep yourself financially secure in these uncertain times, it is important to have health insurance. To make it easier for people to get health coverage, the IRDAI made it mandatory for general and health insurance providers to offer the Corona Kavach Policy. The terms of this policy have been kept uniform across providers pan-India. This means that no matter where you buy the policy from, the coverage will be the same. As per the terms of the Corona Kavach Policy, the insured person will receive coverage for hospitalisation costs for COVID 19 treatment. They will also receive coverage for pre-hospitalisation expenses up to 15 days and post-hospitalisa...