Health Insurance Policy
What is Health Insurance Policy?
A health insurance policy serves as a financial cover for unforeseen medical expenses. With a health insurance policy, you and your insurance provider have an agreement that in the case of a medical emergency, the policyholder will be covered financially by the insurer. As with any kind of insurance, health insurance is an investment made over time with the goal of continuing your coverage in order to protect your hard-earned savings.
Insurance providers are mindful that there is no one size fits all, which is why there is not just one type of health insurance policy out there for every individual. There are actually several different kinds of health insurance plans in India to fit individual needs.
As a careful customer,
- You should pick the best health insurance policy for your family and yourself, so that you no longer have to worry about paying hefty medical bills. Depending on the type of plan you choose,
- You are not only covered for your medical bills but also cashless treatment at our network of hospitals.
- Bid adieu to medical expenses when you decide to invest in a health insurance policy for yourself and your family.
Things to Consider Before Buying Health Insurance Plans in India
Today, you are spoilt for choice with the slew of offerings for health insurance available on the market. Ensure you get all the information you need before buying a policy.
Keep the following factors in mind when choosing the best health insurance policy for yourself.
- Always choose a policy with adequate coverage and ensure that this amount is sufficient to financially protect you as well as your entire family.
- Although most employees today are covered by their own company’s group health insurance, it is always an added benefit to choose and purchase one’s individual health insurance plan after being aware of all the terms and conditions.
- Ideally, one should attempt to avail some kind of compensation for their losses which are non-payable by combining hospital cash, critical illness care, and other benefits from their base cover.
- Ensure you are keeping your health insurer well informed and up to date with any diagnoses of pre-existing diseases.
- Ensure you keep a note of your waiting period, maximum limits, and covers provided.
- Ensure you are aware of all the terms and conditions attached to your health insurance policy. This includes facets like the cumulative bonus, deductible, waiting period, and any pre-existing illness clauses, among others.
- Opting for a policy that offers a high sum insured is recommended due to there being a steep rise in medical costs every year.
- Ensure you are renewing your health insurance plan on a regular basis. In case there is a break between the expiry of your policy and renewal of it, you could lose out on the benefits of your insurance.
- The earlier you invest in health insurance, the lower your premium’s coverage amount for the amount of coverage you will receive.
Health Insurance Portability
Health insurance providers offer policyholders portability. This is a feature of certain policies that allows one to switch across health insurance providers without losing any of the benefits that are associated with their existing health insurance plan. In cases of the policyholder not being satisfied with their current medical insurance plan, and seeking out something more comprehensive, they have the option to change their health insurance provider or their policy within the same company. One will still retain all the original credits that they had gained in their current medical plan.
Health insurance portability works in the following ways:
- You can opt to switch between health insurance providers. Hence you can take a new policy with a different provider while retaining the credits earned from your existing policy.
- You can also switch health insurance policies by sticking with the same insurance provider.
- You can choose to switch from an individual policy to a family floater and vice versa.
- You can apply for a revised sum insured amount with your new insurer.
- Portability also includes enhancing the range of coverage you receive from health plans. You can enhance this range with the same insurance policy. To do so there may be medical testing and new waiting periods.
Does Health Insurance Cover Covid-19/Coronavirus?
The novel coronavirus is highly contagious and lethal which has caused it to trigger a widespread global pandemic. The symptoms caused by exposure to coronavirus requires continuous and extensive treatment that can exhaust your financial reserves. It is crucial to exercise caution against COVID-19 and health insurance can be one way of protecting your finances against it. Rest assured, with the comprehensive coverage offered by Niva Bupa Health insurance plans, you get full coverage against any COVID-19 related claims.
Our plans offer hospitalization expenses, AYUSH treatment, daycare costs, ambulance charges, and other costs associated with COVID-19. You can browse and choose the policy that is best suited to cover yourself, your family members, or senior citizens. We specially offer a Corona Kavach Health Insurance policy, whose coverage can extend to home care, and covers comorbidities arising out of COVID-19.
Nearly all of the indemnity health insurance plans offered by Niva Bupa offer coverage against Covid-19 related hospitalisation. These include:
- All Niva Bupa Individual Health Insurance Plans
- All Niva Bupa Family Health Insurance Plans
- All Niva Bupa Wellness Health Insurance Plans
- All Niva Bupa Top Up Health Insurance Plans
What is the difference between Health Insurance and Mediclaim Policy?
Once you decide to sign up for health insurance and begin researching to pick the best-suited plan, you may come across certain terms that may confuse you. ‘Health insurance’ and ‘mediclaim’ may appear in most articles and might even be used interchangeably. This is because of the popular misconception that ‘mediclaim’ is synonymous with ‘health insurance’. But this is far from the truth. While they both have a similar purpose – to offer financial aid during a health emergency, they widely differ in the coverage they provide. Read on to compare the two:
Health Insurance
Health insurance provides comprehensive coverage for most types of healthcare expenses, such as pre-hospitalisation, post-hospitalisation and critical illness. You can opt for cashless claims, where the insurance company contacts your healthcare provider directly and pays the amount owed (if the healthcare provider is a part of the network hospitals of the insurance company). And if not that, you can pay your medical bills upfront and then claim reimbursement from your insurer.
Niva Bupa health insurance plans come with value-added benefits such as free medical check-ups, no-claim bonus, health coach etc. You can even opt for additional covers such as personal accident cover and maternity cover.
Mediclaim
Mediclaim policies are dedicated to hospitalisation expenses – it covers only your hospital/treatment expenses following an accident or a specific disease. This means that other medical expenses are not covered. But like a health insurance plan, you can choose between reimbursement and cashless options for claim settlement.
When it comes to health insurance, it is best to choose a plan that suits your individual needs. If you have pre-existing diseases, a comprehensive health insurance plan with inclusions and add-ons specific to your condition could be your best bet. However, a mediclaim policy can be an option if you need a basic and low-cost cover.