Tips to Choose the Best Health Insurance Plan

Considering the fact that health issues in individuals are on a rise, a health insurance policy is one of the most essential products that you should invest in. It can help cover the costs associated with medical treatments and hospitalisations, thereby lessening your financial burden.

 

That said, not every health insurance plan is created equally. And so, it is essential to choose one that fits your needs and requirements perfectly. But then, how do you go about choosing the one that’s right for you? Thankfully, there are some tips for choosing health insurance that you can follow. Read on to find out more about them.

Tips To Choose the Right Health Insurance Policy

When it comes to selecting the perfect health insurance policy, there are several tips and tricks that you can use. Here’s a quick look at 12 of the most popular ones.

• Decide The Coverage Smartly

When shopping for a health insurance plan, it is always a good idea to opt for maximum coverage. Considering the ever rising medical costs, the maximum coverage you opt for, the better since it can help cover a large portion of various different costs associated with medical treatment such as pre and post hospitalisation expenses, ambulance costs, and outpatient procedures.

• Opt For A Family Floater For Your Family

If you’re looking to purchase health insurance for family, it might be a good idea for you to choose a family floater plan. A family floater health insurance is a single plan that covers all of the members of a family. It is a lot more economical and can help you save costs compared to purchasing individual health insurance plans for each of your family members.

• Choose the Sum Insured Carefully

The sum insured is the amount of coverage that a health insurance plan provides. Again, this is another area where you should strive to opt for the highest possible sum insured. The higher the sum insured, the lesser your financial burden is likely to be since the sum insured will likely cover almost the entire medical costs.

• Check the Waiting Period for Pre-existing Illness

If you have any pre-existing diseases or conditions, then this is one of the most important tips for choosing health insurance that you should follow. Not all health insurance plans cover pre-existing conditions and even if they do, they usually have a waiting period.

 

Only after the expiry of the waiting period will the insurance plan provide coverage for those pre-existing illnesses. So, when you’re choosing health insurance, it is a good idea to opt for one that has the least waiting period.

• Maximum Age of Renewal

Depending on the insurance provider you opt for, the maximum age limit for renewal may vary. While some might have a limit of 60 years, others might have it set slightly higher at 65 years. Choosing a health insurance plan that has the highest renewal age limit is recommended since it would allow you to continue to enjoy the benefits of the plan even as you age.

• Choose an Insurer with High Claim-settlement Ratio

This is another one of the major tips for choosing health insurance that you must absolutely follow. The Claim Settlement Ratio in health insurance is a percentage that tells you just how many claims an insurance provider has settled.

 

There are insurers that have a claim settlement ratio of above 95%, which effectively means that for every 100 claims filed with the insurer, 95 claims are settled. And so, the higher the claim settlement ratio, the better since it would mean that the claim you make, if any, would likely have a higher chance of getting settled.

• Check the Sub-limits

Every health insurance policy will have sub-limits for different kinds of expenses. For instance, there may be a limit to the amount of room rent per day in the event of hospitalisation or a limit on the medical expenses per day.

 

Being aware of these sub-limits is extremely crucial since it can help you make a more informed purchase decision. That’s not all. When shopping for health insurance, it is a good idea to opt for plans that offer greater sub-limits. This way, you can ensure that you get complete coverage.

• Choose Plans with a Robust Cashless Hospital Network

Network hospitals are those that have entered into an agreement with health insurance providers. These hospitals offer what is known as cashless claim facilities, where the cost of treatment and other medical expenses are settled by the insurer directly with the hospital.

 

This is highly advantageous since it would mean that you don’t have to arrange for funds or pay for the treatment out of your own pocket and get it reimbursed later. So, when you’re comparing health insurance plans, make sure to prioritise ones that offer the most number of network hospitals.

• Compare Policy Premium

Although this might seem like one of the most obvious tips for choosing health insurance that individuals should follow, the truth is, many fail to do this. When shopping for health insurance, it is a good idea to compare the premiums offered by multiple plans.

 

This way, you can easily determine the one offering the lowest premiums. That said, for a more accurate comparison, remember to only compare health insurance plans that offer the same or similar features.

• Go Through Customer Reviews

This is another great way of determining whether the health insurance provider and the insurance plan is a good option for you. You can gain some much needed overviews and insights into the provider and the plan by reading through the various customer reviews on the internet.

• Mind the Exclusions

Every health insurance policy document has a section called ‘Exclusions’. Exclusions are basically situations and scenarios where insurance coverage would not apply. For instance, some plans may not include the cost of dental treatments, whereas others may not cover STDs or eye-related healthcare. Reading through and understanding the exclusions in an insurance policy before you purchase it is extremely crucial to be able to make an informed purchase decision.

• Top Up Plans

Sometimes, the sum insured that you’ve opted for in a health insurance plan may be inadequate to cover your medical expenses in its entirety. Here’s where top-up plans can help. Top-up health insurance plans are offered by health insurance providers and can help extend your insurance coverage.

 

And in return, for this however, you’re required to pay a nominal premium. This feature can be very useful in times of dire need. And so, before choosing a health insurance plan, make sure to check if you can top it up at a later point in time.

Use a Health Insurance Calculator

Considering the fact that you’re looking for tips for choosing health insurance, here’s another one just for you. To make sure that you get the right health insurance, always use a health insurance calculator.

 

At Bajaj Markets, you can quickly and easily use a health insurance calculator. All that you have to do is follow the below mentioned steps.

 

• Navigate to the health insurance calculator webpage on Bajaj Markets.

• Enter the following details - the members you wish to insure, your full name, your gender, your mobile number, your date of birth, and your residential pin code.

• Submit the details by clicking on the ‘Get Quote’ button.

• The premium for the health insurance plan will be displayed on the website.

 

That’s not all. With the Bajaj Markets health insurance calculator, you can also customise the features and select add-ons for the plan as well. And once you’ve determined the plan that’s perfect for your needs, you can continue to purchase it right from the Bajaj Markets website itself.   

Health Insurance Plans Available at Bajaj Markets