Exploring Top Up Health Insurance Benefits

Are you not happy with your existing health insurance policy? Do you think it lacks sufficient coverage? If thinking of buying a completely new health insurance policy to cover your medical needs, stop right away! Why buy a completely new health insurance plan when you can buy a top-up health insurance plan instead?

If you are no longer sure of your current health insurance policy to cover all your medical expenses at the time of emergency and think that you may have to pay from your pocket for the extra expenses, there is no need for you to worry. You can get yourself covered for those additional expenses without shelling out your savings by choosing a top-up plan in your support.

What Is a Top-up Health Insurance Plan?

If top-up health insurance is new for you, know that it is there to support you financially when you need it the most.

A top-up policy is a regular health insurance plan, which provides coverage for hospitalization costs. Please note that coverage for hospitalization costs is provided only after the threshold limit, referred to as a deductible, is crossed. A top-up policy is one of the most cost-effective ways to increase health insurance coverage. You can easily increase your base policy coverage with the help of a top-up cover. Doing so will help you claim the deductible amount and any payments over that.

Many people confuse a rider with a top-up policy. The difference between both is that in the case of a rider, you have to add them to your plan to avail of extra benefits like critical illness coverage, maternity expenses, OPD expenses, and more. On the contrary, in the case of a top-up plan, you have to buy the top-up plan separately to get your coverage amount increased over and above the basic cover.

While the amount of coverage you want to increase in the top-up plan is decided by you, learn that top-up policy comes with a waiting period. Also, one cannot avail of the NCB benefit in top-up policies.

Benefits of Top-Up Health Insurance Plan

Buying a health insurance top-up plan will provide you with a wide range of benefits. The list includes:

1. High coverage at an affordable premium

When you choose a health insurance top-up policy, you welcome numerous benefits associated with a higher sum insured at a low premium cost. Quite beneficial for the elderly, top-up policies are a boon as they provide a massive cover (required by the elderly due to their age factor) without the need for shelling out the savings.

2. Coverage over the existing plan

Your existing health insurance plan may be your financial backup. But, your top-up policy will make sure you receive full financial support above and beyond a certain amount. Since the additional expenses are covered by top-up health insurance plans, the policyholder does not have to worry about bearing the extra financial burden.

3. Fight against high medical costs

We live in a day and age where the cost of availing medical treatment has become too costly. Top-up medical insurance plans appear as a savior in this case as they prevent one from spending money in buying another plan and paying more premiums by providing coverage for multiple additional costs at a low amount.

4. Cover against pre-existing diseases 

Health insurance policies do not cover pre-existing diseases in general. Even if they do so, the waiting period factor is present. Top-up insurance policies help one avail coverage for pre-existing diseases by acting as a supplement to take care of the expenses related to diabetes, hypertension, and other illnesses like such.

5. Tax benefits

Like in the case of a health insurance policy, you will get tax benefits for the premium paid towards your top-up policy as well. Please note that you will be able to avail of tax benefits under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

Conclusion

The top-up policy does the job of complementing the primary health insurance perfectly. A policyholder buying a top-up policy can save themselves not only from two primary policies but also pay a significant amount in terms of premium. So, if you have been thinking that your base cover is not enough for the tough times, choose a top-up policy that supports your needs. Rest assured, you won’t regret your decision.

Disclaimer: This article is issued in the general public interest and is meant for general information purposes only. Readers are advised not to rely on the contents of the article as conclusive and should research further or consult an expert in this regard.