A Guide to Buying Health Insurance Online
Let’s face the reality. It’s not a secret that we are vulnerable to a number of different diseases and medical complications, even if we lead a healthy lifestyle. Living a healthy life might keep the diseases away for a long time, but you are not immune to them. And when you finally suffer from a major ailment, you need immediate medical attention. However, medical treatments in a hospital can be costly. So, if you don’t have a proper medical budget, the cost of your treatment can put a huge financial burden on you. That’s why you need a medical insurance plan to protect both your health and your finances. In this article, we will give you a few tips to help you buy health insurance online. Let’s dig in.
What is a Health Insurance Plan?
A health insurance plan is a legal document that binds the insurance providers to give financial support to the policyholders if they suffer from an accident or other medical complications. In simple words, if you, the policyholder, suffer from an accident or illness, the insurance company will pay for the transportation, hospitalization, treatment, and post-treatment diagnosis. You can either get an online health insurance plan or get one offline.
But no matter how you get it, you don’t have to pay the policy cost upfront. Instead, you can pay a very small amount of installment every month, which is known as the premium.
Things You Must Consider Before Getting a Health Insurance Policy Online
Buying a health insurance plan is different from purchasing a product or a vacation plan. The health plans from different companies come with different premiums, coverages, and policy terms. And you need to understand them before you get a medical insurance policy. Here are a few things you need to consider before purchasing a health plan online.
1) Health Plan Inclusions:
A good health insurance policy would cover the cost of hospitalization, treatment, and a few additional costs, including daycare expenses, ambulance costs, health check-up charges, and more. However, not all insurance companies cover the additional costs. And even if a few of them cover the inclusions, they might not pay for a certain portion of the additional coverage, which you actually need. That’s why it’s important to pay special attention to the medical insurance inclusions and make sure that your insurer provides the additional coverages you need.
2) Waiting Period:
Every health insurance policy has a waiting period. This is a window of time within which a policyholder is unable to make a claim against his/her health plan. During this period, the insurance company will turn down every single claim unless the policyholder suffers from a serious accident. Make sure you check different medicare plans and choose one with a shorter waiting period.
3) Sub-limits:
Most people don’t have a clear understanding of the sub-limits term of online medical insurance plans. The sub-limit clause of a health plan puts a limit on how the insurance companies are obligated to pay for your treatment.
For example, if your health insurance policy comes with total coverage of Rs. 1 Crore and the sub-limit is 25%, the insurer will not pay more than Rs. 25 lakhs for one claim. Basically, if your treatment costs more than Rs. 25 lakh, you have to pay anything exceeding Rs. 25 lakh from your own pocket.
4) Co-payment Clause:
Health coverages with a co-payment clause divide the liability of the total cost of treatment between you and the insurance company. For instance, your insurer may pay only 85% of the hospital bill, and you have to bear the remaining 15% of the bill. Please note that it is just an example. The exact portion depends on the insurance company.
Make sure you pay more attention to the co-payment clause while choosing a health plan. And if possible, try to get a medical insurance policy that does not include this clause to get maximum protection.
5) Read the Terms and Conditions Properly:
Never buy a health insurance plan solely relying on the promises written on the insurance company’s websites. Vocal promises are nothing but empty words. Make sure you check the terms and conditions of the health plan properly. Insurers are legally bound to fulfill promises they made only if it’s written on the insurance policy agreements.
Benefits of Buying a Health Plan Online:
Let’s take a look at the benefits of purchasing a health plan online:
1) No Need to Physically Visit the Insurance Company:
In today’s era, you can get the details of every single medical insurance plan with just a few clicks. Gone are the days when you had to visit tens of different companies and their offices to buy a health plan. Now, you can get every single piece of information you need from the comfort of your home. You can also avoid face-to-face interactions and get everything done over a call or text.
2) You Get Online Premium Calculator:
It’s difficult to get an estimated insurance premium of a policy tailor-made for your needs unless you visit or contact the insurance company. Well, not anymore. Nowadays, many online health insurance websites come with an online premium calculator. Using this, you can easily get a rough estimation of the policy you are looking to purchase.
3) It’s Easier to Compare Different Policies:
You can compare different insurance policies, their benefits, and the terms online without even moving out of your couch. Just with a few clicks, you can get all the crucial information, such as claim settlement ratio, additional coverage, super top-ups, and reviews without a hitch.
4) 24/7 Customer Support:
Most online health insurance services come with 24/7 customer support. Any of your queries and doubts will be answered within minutes, so you can pick a suitable health plan quickly. With this, you don’t have to run to the health insurance company every time you need clarification on the insurance clauses. Even if you want to change the health plan at the last moment, you can do it from your home.
Conclusion:
Buying a health insurance plan is definitely one of the most important choices you will ever make in your life. After all, one single plan could allow you to protect your family members from unforeseen medical complications without making you financially crippled. Use the tips we have mentioned in this guide, compare different policies, and buy health insurance online.
