With rising medical costs and increasing lifestyle diseases, there’s no doubt that a medical insurance policy is your safety net to protect you from unexpected financial emergencies. But, are you selecting the right plan? Find out now.
Today, there are more than two dozen health insurance companies in India. All these companies have a variety of plans with fancy terms and jargons. Going through all these plans and selecting the right one for you is indeed a huge challenge.
Here, in this post, we make your task simple. We list out the top things that you need to consider while zeroing down on the right Mediclaim plan for you and your family.
Top 7 Things to check out while Comparing Medical Insurance Plans
1. The Ease of the Claims Process
This is a crucial deciding factor. Medical policy claims are mostly unplanned. In a medical emergency, the last thing you want to be doing is running from one post to another, trying to contact your insurance team to claim the policy.
Look for insurance companies that have a hassle-free claims process. Good customer support, 24 x 7 claims processing centre are some of the features to look out for.
2. Cashless Treatment Facility
Today, the majority of health insurers offer cashless treatment facilities at network hospitals. Traditionally, the policyholder has to settle the hospital bills out of pocket and then file for reimbursement with the insurer. This presents a major disadvantage – as the policyholder and his/her family have to work on raising the treatment amount out of pocket.
With cashless treatment, you don’t have to pay the bills out of your savings. The hospital raises the bill directly to the insurer. This means you don’t have to worry about raising the costs of treatment during a medical emergency.
3. The Number and Location of Network Hospitals
Most health insurance companies offer cashless treatment facilities at their network hospitals. These are hospitals that have a tie-up with the insurer. While choosing a health insurance plan look at the number of hospitals in the insurer’s network. Go for an insurer who has a high number of reputed network hospitals as well as network hospitals that are located in your neighborhood.
4. The Inclusions and Exclusions of the Policy
Very often, policyholders fail to read the inclusions and exclusions of health insurance plans in detail while purchasing the policy. This is a grave mistake. For instance, most Mediclaim plans do not offer maternity coverage. If that is essential for you, make sure to look specifically for a policy that offers maternity coverage.
Go through the list of inclusions and exclusions in the policy document, to avoid disappointments and conflicts later on.
5. Pre and Post Hospitalisation
You may be admitted to the hospital only for a few days. But, your medical costs do not stop with the in-hospital bills. There are other costs to consider like – diagnostic tests before hospitalization, medicines, post-treatment expenses like physiotherapy, follow-up reviews, etc.
Look for a medical insurance plan that offers coverage for all these expenses too.
6. Coverage for the Entire Family
Several health insurers offer family health insurance plans. When you choose these plans, you do not have to pay premiums for each member of your family. You can get adequate medical coverage for your entire family under a single health insurance plan.
7. Lifetime Renewal Availability
Look for Mediclaim plans that offer lifetime renewability. It’s natural for humans to suffer from diseases and other ailments, as we grow older. So, a health policy with lifetime renewability keeps you covered all through your life, provided you pay premiums on time.
Understand the Policy, before Signing Up
Make sure to consider all these seven factors before you sign up for a health plan. And, if you have any doubts regarding the terms and conditions of the policy, don’t hesitate to reach out to your insurance agent and get all your queries cleared up, before committing to a particular plan.