Health insurance tips

Health insurance tips

Now that you know the importance of health insurance, I’m sure you would want to know when, how and which policy to choose.

• Modern-day lifestyles result in many individuals suffering from health-related problems sooner than expected. Hence, it is advisable to opt for health insurance at as young an age as possible. Another advantage of this is that you have to pay a lower premium if you start at an early age.
• In case you are single without any dependants, then you could opt for a Standard policy. But if you have a family, a Family Floater plan may be a better option for you. The factors that you should consider before deciding on the amount of cover include the number of members in your family, their ages, cost of medical expenses, your income and lifestyle.
• While choosing a policy, ask your insurance company for a list of in-network providers. In-network providers are hospitals that your insurance company has tie-ups with. These hospitals provide cashless treatment in case of a medical emergency. What this means is that you can avail medical treatment from them without paying any money and the bills will be directly settled by the insurance company. In case you go to a hospital which is not among the network providers, you will need to settle the bills yourself and these will be later reimbursed by the insurance company.

As you can see, health insurance can be a real life-saver in case of medical emergencies. Most health insurance companies also offer a no-claim bonus. What this means is that if you don’t file a claim during the term of the policy, you are eligible for a discount on the premium at the time of renewal of the policy. And, the icing on the cake is that premiums paid on a health insurance policy can also save you tax as they are deductible from your total taxable income up to a limit of Rs. 15,000 per annum.