OneInsure Blog
Post By Mariya Panwala
Buying Health Insurance for the First Time? Here’s What You Need to Know
Comments
Health Insurance Buying Tips, Health Plans
As an insurance broking company, we come across mainly two types of buyers:
- Those who buy insurance for tax saving
- Those who buy insurance for security
Whatever your reason to buy health insurance, it is an important financial decision that needs to be taken meticulously after thorough research, especially when you’re a first-time buyer. And let us warn you, researching on health insurance can be a tedious task.
However, you’re doing the right thing by reading this article, because we are going to discuss the most important points that a first-time health insurance buyer needs to keep in mind.
First Things First – Benefits of Health Insurance Plans
- Health plans cover large hospitalization costs in case of planned treatments, accidents, and even emergencies (road accidents, for example) in return for relatively affordable premiums. If you visit a network hospital, the treatment can even be cashless. This protects you and your family from the financial burden of expensive treatments.
- Family floater plans allow you to cover the entire family under a single health plan for marginally higher premiums.
- High-quality treatments with no compromises.
- Tax benefits of up to Rs 60,000 under Section 80(D).
- Having a health plan ensures you are not fooled at hospitals with extra charges and unnecessary procedures.
Be an Early Buyer
As you grow older, you become more prone to sicknesses. Diseases seep in and premiums shoot up. Contrarily, the younger you are, the lower are your premiums. And given the rising costs of healthcare, it is best you get yourself covered under a suitable health insurance plan at the earliest. Some of the benefits of buying health insurance early on are:
- Lower premiums
- You will already be covered by your health insurance by the time you hit the age when lifestyle-related disorders like Diabetes, high BP, cholesterol, and others usually strike (around 35)
- No co-payment
Standalone Policy vs Riders
Since you’re a first-time buyer, you must know that you can get health
- A standalone health insurance policy
- A health insurance rider attached with your life insurance policy
Now, depending on your requirements, you can choose either of these two. To evaluate your requirements, consider the following aspects:
- Coverage
amount - Premium
- Waiting period
- Co-payment
- OPD benefits
- Sub-limits
Wondering what these terms mean? Read the article 6 Things to Consider before Buying Health Insurance to get a concise understanding
Your Requirements
This is very important. Any policy is the best policy if it meets your requirements. Now, under a health insurance plan, how do you know what your requirements are? Consider the following aspects:
- Firstly, do you need an individual health insurance policy or a family floater plan? If you’re married or are going to be married soon, then you may consider buying the latter. Under a family floater plan, the sum assured floats among the covered members, which includes yourself, your spouse, two children, your parents and sometimes parents-in-law as well.
- How much health
cover do you require? Of course, the more the better.
- Affordable premiums must be chosen so that your day-to-day expenses are not affected.
- What riders do you require alongside your basic health insurance policy? You may opt for Critical Illness rider, Personal Accident rider, Maternity Cover (especially if you’re newly married; note that maternity cover comes with a waiting period, though) and Room Rent Waiver rider.
(Also Read: Do You Really Need Health Insurance Riders?)
Restore and Recharge Benefit
The restore benefit automatically refills the coverage amount up to the 100% basic sum assured when the basic sum assured gets completely exhausted.
On the other hand, the recharge benefit automatically refills the amount up to the 100% basic sum assured when the basic sum assured gets reduced.
Read more on Restore and Recharge benefits here.
So, when you compare health insurance plans online, check which benefit your shortlisted plans are offering – restore or recharge.
Network Hospitals
Every insurer has a list of network hospitals where you can avail cashless treatments. While comparing policies, you need to consider whether the insurer you’re opting for covers a good number of hospitals under its network hospital list. A plan with
And that’s it! We have covered the most important things that you need to look out for when buying a health insurance plan. Got further queries for us? Let us know in the Comments section below or reach us by calling 86-559-86-559 or write to us at support@oneinsure.com and we will be glad to assist you.
