Originally published on InsuranceDekho: https://bit.ly/2KbvDoD
Written by: Rupanjali Mitra Basu
Our Indian culture is famous for its traditions, rituals and festivals. Throughout the year, there are numerous festivals which are celebrated with great pomp and show in Indian households. One such festival is Rakhsha Bandhan or Rakhi in which a sister ties a sacred thread around her brother’s wrist with a promise of being protected throughout her life.
It is a common tradition to give away some good gifts to your sister on the festival of Rakhi. With the festival of Rakhi fast approaching, you must be wondering about the gift for your sister. So, why not be a smart brother this Rakhsha Bandhan and gift your sister a health insurance policy.
With a sacred thread on your wrist, you vow to protect your sister against all the odds and tough situations in her life. In today’s world, with increasing health risks and inflating costs of medical facilities; what can be tougher than a situation of an unprecedented medical emergency which can transit into a financial emergency. So, by gifting your sister a health insurance policy, you are safeguarding her from encountering tougher times of life and in turn keeping your promise of lifelong protection.
Need for a Health Insurance Policy
A health insurance policy is an agreement in which an insurance provider agrees to reimburse the medical expenses incurred in case of an illness or accident which needs hospitalization of the insured person. The policyholder or the insured person pays a premium to the insurance provider for providing this coverage.
Today, with the increasing levels of lifestyle stress and deteriorating conditions of the environment around us; several health issues like diabetes, hypertension, high blood pressure, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, etc. are a common issue. These ailments have been classified as lifestyle ailments as they are influenced by their own way of lifestyle. The increase in the spread of these ailments across different nations of the world makes it imperative and crucial for every one of us to have a health insurance policy.
The cost of health care facilities is rising every single day and will even continue to rise further. The cost of ailments related to major organs, organ transplants, critical illness, etc. are too high, and the quality of treatment cannot be compromised even. So, a medical emergency can drain out all your savings if you do not have a good health insurance policy.
A health insurance policy will help an individual in getting medical treatment in a planned and organized manner. If there is a medical emergency, you can just walk into one of the network hospitals of the insurance provider and inform your insurance provider about the same. The medical bills and other expenses will be dealt with by your insurance provider, and you can focus on your health, treatment and recovery instead of on the financial issues.
Insurance providers are nowadays coming up with health insurance plans which provide coverage against medical expenditure and are also organizing certain wellness programs to encourage the insured persons to maintain a healthy lifestyle. A healthy lifestyle will definitely be your first step towards an illness-free life. So, there are dual benefits associated with health insurance plans today.
So, a health insurance policy is a tool for any risk management in the future and since you have an arrangement for taking care of your medical expenditure during emergencies; your savings and returns from other investments also remain safe and secure.
Benefits and Coverage Provided by Health Insurance Plans
Out of the various benefits and coverage provided by health insurance plans, we can list some of the major ones as below:
- One of the major benefits of a health insurance policy is the coverage of pre-hospitalization and post-hospitalization expenditure. Pre-hospitalization expenses are those expenses incurred before around 30 to 60 days of actual hospitalization. Hospitalization expenses are the ICU charges, Operation Theater charges; hospital room rent charges, surgery fees, etc. In addition to these, health insurance policies cover post-hospitalization expenses, i.e. those expenses which are incurred even after discharge from the hospital for around a period of 60 days to 180 days. These expenses might include some medication expenses, medical test or doctor consultation expenses, etc.
- There are certain daycare procedures or medical treatments which are also covered by a health insurance policy such as chemotherapy, dialysis, angiography, radiotherapy, eye surgery, etc. Moreover, there are certain critical illnesses such as cancer, heart attack, paralysis, lung disease, etc. which are covered under health insurance policies. You may also like to read: The Best Health Insurance Plans with Daycare Procedures
- The cashless facility offered by health insurance policies is another important benefit for the policyholders. By this, the policyholder or the insured person does not need to bear any medical expenditure personally; rather, the entire procedure of bill clearance would be handled between the insurance provider and the hospital.
- Any alternate treatment undergone by the insured person such as AYUSH, i.e. Ayurvedic, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy is also covered by health insurance policies if this has been included in the policy while purchasing.
- Furthermore, many other expenses such as ambulance expenditure, general health check-ups, vaccinations, etc. are also covered by health insurance policies reducing the financial and mental stress of the affected person and his family.
- With a health insurance policy, there are certain tax benefits which can be claimed by a policyholder. According to the Income Tax Act, 1961, a health insurance policyholder who is paying a premium for health insurance can claim the premium amount as a tax deduction. According to Section 80D of Income Tax Act, an individual can claim of tax deduction of up to Rs.25, 000 on purchasing a health insurance policy for self, spouse and for his kids. Moreover, if a policyholder includes his parents who are less than 60 years of age in the health insurance policy; he can avail an additional deduction of up to Rs.25, 000 on the premium paid. Furthermore, if the parents are above the age of 60 years, then the deductions can be claimed up to an amount of Rs.30, 000. You may also like to read: Know how you can make the most of tax benefits on health insurance
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Points to consider while selecting a health insurance policy for your sister
While you are choosing a health insurance policy, you need to keep these major points in your mind:
Coverage:
Firstly, you need to check on the coverage level provided by a health insurance policy. You should ensure that the policy offers maximum required coverage and not unnecessary benefits for premium only.
Tip: Coverage of a health insurance plan is not justified by the sum insured only. You need to check the features, benefits along with add-ons to decide on the adequate coverage of the plan.
Cashless Benefit:
You should also check on the cashless claim facility associated with the insurance policy. However, it is quite common with insurance plans to provide cashless claim facilities to the policyholders.
Tip: Even if it costs a little more in some instances than reimbursement, it is worth paying for!
You may also like to read: Cashless mediclaim policy – how does it work?
Waiting Period and Exclusions:
Next major factors to consider are the waiting period and exclusions of a health insurance policy.
a) The waiting period is a certain period-of-time after which specific diseases are covered under the health insurance policies.
b) Exclusions should be checked before finalizing a health insurance policy as it can be disheartening at the time of emergency to know that some particular diseases are excluded from the policy.
Tip: Ideally, it is advisable to opt for a health insurance plan with a low waiting period and a lesser number of exclusions.
You may also like to read: Top health insurance plans with regard to the waiting period
Other Factors:
Amongst other factors which you should consider are lifelong renewability and the premium of the health insurance policy.
Tip: An ideal health insurance policy should provide lifelong renewability and maximum coverage at a fair premium price.
Hence, a health insurance policy will definitely be a great Rakhi gift for your sister. However, there are numerous insurance providers with several plans available in the market today. It would be a difficult task to select a good insurance plan for your sister. You should do thorough research on the coverage and benefits provided by various insurance providers, compare the premiums on insurance aggregators and finally select the best one for your sister.
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