What Are the Things to Consider When Buying a Health Policy In India?

In India, the healthcare sector is continuously growing, and securing the right healthcare policy has become crucial. A well-favoured healthcare policy provides you with diverse landscapes in healthcare. It assesses your specific requirements to offer coverage for your pre-existing diseases while considering factors like age, family size, financial capacity, etc. 

Top Factors To Consider When Buying Health Policy In India 

While opting for a comprehensive healthcare policy, you must cover multiple factors like premiums, cashless networks, and coverages. 

Also read about: Your Guide to Find the Right Health Insurance for Your Family

Following is a list of some factors that you must consider while buying a health care policy in India:

• Analyse Your Health Requirements

It is essential to comprehend and understand your health requirements, like age, health status, and lifestyle, in choosing the best healthcare plan per your needs. Your health requirements help you assess the premium, coverages, and amount based on hospitalisation, chronic disease, surgeries, etc.

• Potential Coverage Amount And Reasonable Premiums

One of the most critical steps while choosing a health policy is calculating the coverage amounts and premiums based on age, lifestyle, and health status. Therefore, you must ideally compare various platforms to balance affordability and premium coverage.

It is essential to look for a policy that offers you a No-Claim bonus for a claim-free year that helps reduce premiums. It would be best to inquire into reasonable premiums offering, wellness coverage programs and voluntary tests.

• Pre-Existing Disease Covers

When choosing a health policy in India, it is always better to look for a plan that meets the expenses of your underlying health issues after a certain waiting period. The waiting period for the plan may differ according to age, illness, policy, etc.

While opting for a pre existing disease health insurance plan, you must disclose all your existing health issues in the application form. As with your medical checkup reports, you can get an accurate plan and policy premiums depending on your requirements.

• Types of Healthcare Policies and Their Coverages

Choosing family policies over individuals is the best alternative as it covers everything under the sun, like a single sum insured in one plan rather than paying for each member. Go for a policy that offers financial stability, is pocket-friendly, and protects your finances against critical illness and major health crises.

• Ratio on Claim Settlements

It is a ratio that depicts the percentage of the claims settled by healthcare providers. Companies with higher ratios reflect a better track in claiming settlement. Thus, it would help to look for insurance companies with a better claim ratio to avail of the best benefits under your health policy. 

• Cashless Network of Hospitals

Cashless facilities are taking over all sectors; health policy is one of them. Thus, with the evolving times, you must research the network of hospitals that covers a broader area and will help you avail better treatments without paying upfront money.

On top of it, if you have opted for a cashless health insurance plan for family, the policyholder’s entire family may receive cashless care under one policy with this cashless family health insurance coverage.

Cashless networks of hospitals offer cashless treatments where the insurance company directly settles the bill with the hospital, thus reducing the hassle on the bearer. 

Also read about: How to Save Tax with Health Insurance?

What are the Benefits of Health Policy?

Following are some benefits that health policies provide to its customers: 

• No claim bonus is offered to the policyholders who do not claim during the policy period. 
• The rapidly increasing healthcare costs can be conveniently met with the help of a comprehensive health policy in India, which reduces the financial burden on the policyholder. 
• Planning for a health policy in the early years of life can attract affordable premiums, which will help distribute the premium amounts over time. 
• The policyholders get various benefits like coverage for pre and post-hospitalisation expenses, surgeries, daycare procedures, etc. 
• Pre-existing health issues and life-threatening conditions are also covered under various health policies to meet the policyholders’ medical costs. 

Also read about: 07 Excluded Situations From Critical Health Insurance

What are the Documents Required to Get a Health Policy in India?

After analysing and understanding the health policy terms, you must register as a customer and provide some documents to the insurer.

Following is the list of possible documents that need to be provided to the insurance company to get a health policy in India: 

1. Provide valid proof of ID, like an Aadhar card, passport, voter ID, etc.
2. Proof of age like PAN card, Passport, Voter ID, etc. 
3. Proof of address for accessible communication with the insurer
4. A recent passport-size photo is a must
5. If you opt for higher coverages, you must provide the insurer with income proof through salary slips, income tax returns, etc.
6. Proposal form that is duly filled and signed
7. Medical reports must be provided in case demanded by the insurer.
8. It would be best if you gave a nominee on your behalf who can receive all benefits in case of unfortunate incidents like your demise, etc.
9. Bank account details, in case of online premiums for electronic fund transfers and easy claims process

The insurance company may demand other relevant documents depending on the claim procedures and the company’s terms and conditions. You can contact your insurer for more details regarding the same. 

Choosing the right health policy in India requires a crucial and comprehensive approach, including considering various factors that meet your needs and exceed your expectations. 

Health policies help you maintain financial stability by reducing the burden of meeting unforeseen medical expenses and contributing to your tough times, which ensures peace of mind and overall well-being when receiving treatments.