Written by Amit Chhabra
The medical health insurance trade has seen a significant transformation during the last one 12 months. The world well being pandemic has not solely elevated consciousness among the many folks in regards to the significance of getting a medical health insurance coverage, however that consciousness has additionally translated right into a surge within the variety of lives insured and premiums collected. As per the out there information, over 30 crore folks purchased medical health insurance plans final 12 months in simply six months between April and September.
Of course, the first cause that drove folks to join a well being cowl was the chance related to COVID-19, probably the most infectious viruses in latest historical past. Moreover, the price of hospitalisation attributable to COVID an infection can be fairly excessive, a significant factor that weighed on the minds of individuals after they purchased the medical health insurance plan for themselves and their households. However, the panic scenario which was created final 12 months because of the pandemic additionally led many individuals to hurry into shopping for their insurance policies with out going into the minute particulars of the plans that they purchased. This was honest to a sure extent because the precedence on the time was to purchase protection as quickly as potential.
Now, over a 12 months into the pandemic, most of these insurance policies can be up for renewal. And this comes at a time when the second wave of Coronavirus, in a a lot stronger avatar, has hit the nation. It can be a good suggestion right now to overview your coverage to find out in case you are getting the most effective protection that you just deserve.
The at the start issue you should overview is the sum assured that you just get underneath your coverage. With rising prices of medical care, and a well being disaster which has the potential to place a number of relations into the hospital concurrently, a sum assured of Rs 7-10 lakh might not be sufficient. In reality, this realisation has already made a big part of policyholders to port their insurance policies to increased sum assured ones. As per the out there information, this has led to a rise within the general sum insured by virtually 100% from round Rs 11.4 lakh in FY20 to over Rs 22 lakh in FY21. There has been an enormous progress of round 150 per cent within the variety of requests for porting the already present plans to ones with increased cowl. Policyholders are transferring from a sum assured of Rs 3-5 lakh to these with the next sum assured of Rs 25 lakh, and even as much as Rs 1 crore.
Another vital issue that you should overview whereas renewing your coverage is that if there may be any clause of sub-limits or co-payments. Loads of insurance coverage corporations impose sure restrictions to supply insurance coverage at cheaper charges. A sub-limit clause in a medical health insurance coverage caps sure advantages as much as a restrict. For occasion, there could also be a sub-limit of 1 per cent of the sum assured on room lease in case of hospitalisation. In such a case, even you probably have a sum assured of Rs 10 lakh, you possibly can solely declare a most of Rs 10,000 in the direction of the lease of room within the hospital. The presence of such a clause is one more reason so that you can take into account transferring to the next sum assured coverage, which comes with no such sub-limits. So not solely you possibly can go for the dearer personal room, you possibly can even go for the suite as the fee can be lined as much as the sum assured.
Similarly, the co-payment clause additionally places restrictions on the declare you make because it makes it necessary so that you can pay a portion of the declare quantity. Normally, this clause is utilized by insurers to carry down the premium however whereas making the declare, you could have to provide a significant chunk of cash from your personal pocket. Many increased sum assured insurance policies now include no such clause. Moreover, many insurers provide such insurance policies at very reasonably priced premiums. In reality, there are additionally some schemes that supply Rs 1 crore cowl on the identical value as a Rs 10 lakh cowl. So there is no such thing as a cause so that you can compromise with the advantages to save lots of a bit cash.
One should additionally do not forget that the rising medical care prices will not be simply restricted to the COVID-19 virus, however it’s witnessed throughout the healthcare sector. So the next sum assured plan wouldn’t solely defend you this 12 months, it could defend you all through your life. And the most effective information is that if you port your coverage to the next sum assured one, you keep all the advantages that you’ve got accrued over the 12 months, together with the ready interval you served on the pre-existing situations. What this implies is that if the coverage got here with a ready interval of two years on a pre-existing ailment, you don’t want to attend one other two years when you port the coverage as the advantages would begin simply after one 12 months. In reality, many insurance policies nowadays include zero ready interval. So whereas renewing your coverage, you may swap to a coverage that protects you from day one.
With the second wave of the pandemic gaining power in India with the variety of every day instances crossing the three lakh mark in April, going for the next medical health insurance cowl could be the wisest choice you make. With hospitals in a number of cities working on capability, the price of medical care needs to be the very last thing in your thoughts.
The creator is Head-Health Insurance at Policybazaar.com. Views expressed are that of the creator.
