Just like one shoe size doesn’t fit everyone, health insurance is nothing too different. Yes, if you copy a health insurance plan that your friend recently bought, you are committing a big mistake! Every individual has their own health requirement. So does every health insurance plan fulfill the requirements based on one’s priorities?
But, don’t get confused, just like the way I was! I wanted to buy a health insurance plan sooner and was trying to purchase a policy that my colleague recently bought. I did not even bother to find out the benefits, what’s covered and what’s not and mainly whether that particular health insurance policy would serve my purpose. Besides, the premium too was reaching sky high. Someone then told me the benefits of comparing the health insurance plans.
Believe me, I compared the health insurance plans and saved a lot on my premiums.
Let’s discuss here.
- Compare health insurance plan by type
If you aren’t aware, there are 2 types of health insurance plans. The 1st one being indemnity health insurance plans that are traditional plans covering hospitalization benefits. Individual and family floater plans are the two sub-types. Room rent, surgery charges, etc. are taken care here.
The 2nd type of health insurance plans are fixed benefit plans. For instance, they include critical illness plans. In case you get diagnosed by this illness, then the insurance company pays you a lump-sum amount for getting treated.
It is advisable that you buy a basic indemnity health insurance plan first. If need be, then you may top-up your base plan with a fixed benefit health insurance plan.
You should always compare health insurance plans of different insurers and then finalize one.
I followed the same rule and saved on my premiums.
- Compare the coverage offered
Inflation takes a toll on everyone. While you may have enough savings today, same would not be the case a couple of years down the line. Therefore, always select a higher sum insured that would take care of your health requirements 25 to 30 years from now.
Sum insured is nothing but the expenses that your health insurance plan can cover. Compare the health insurance plans of different insurers on the basis of sum insured.
Buy the one which you feel is the best!
You can apply the formula, “Compare health insurance plans offering higher coverage at a lower cost”. By doing so, you would save a lot on your health insurance premiums.
- Never compare the cost
We all love products that are cheap. Yes, it is human. But, do not follow the same trick while buying health insurance plan. Simply because, health insurance plans are long-term investment. It makes sense to compare health insurance plan considering the benefits it offers, rather than only concentrating on the price!
If you buy a health insurance plan at a lower cost, either your sum insured would be low or the out-of-pocket expenses would be higher!
- Compare health insurance policy by expenses
Most of the health insurance plans have limits and co-pays. Limits are nothing but the maximum amount of the medical expenses that one can claim. If the expenses are out of the limit, you need to bear the expenses at your cost.
Co-payment is your share of payment of the total medical bills and expenses. It is advisable to opt for a health insurance plan that has no co-payment policy.
You would certainly save on your premiums, if you compare the health insurance policies by the of-of-pocket expenses.
- Compare added benefits and offers
Most of the health insurance plans offers additional benefits like maternity expenses, restore benefits, alternative treatment cover, etc. Compare the health insurance plans considering the benefits and offers provided by different insurers, to narrow down your search on the one as per your need.
You can save on your premiums big time, if you compare this criteria too!
- Compare the network hospitals
Network hospitals are the list of empaneled hospitals with the insurance company that offer cashless services. During medical emergencies, you can rush to any of the network hospitals and have a cashless treatment done. The TPA co-ordinates with you and the insurance company and conveniently settles your hospital bill.
So, compare the health insurance plans of different insurers by comparing the accessibility and quality of the network hospitals to save on your premiums.
Apart from the above factors, compare the exclusion list provided by different health insurance plans. If you fail to do so, you may have to wait for the waiting period in case you have any pre-existing diseases.
Conclusion
Health insurance is complicated, but we can certainly make it easy, by comparing health insurance plans available and save on the premiums big time. Always go through the policy wordings and then zero down your search on the best possible one!
