What Is The Policy Term In Health Insurance?

When investing in a health insurance policy, you must have come across various terms that are a part of the policy terms and conditions. These terms must be understood well to avoid any confusion at the time of claim settlement process. The health insurance provider provides a 15 days free-look period to the customers, to carefully go through the policy papers. You must make use of this period and understand the fine print of the policy with utmost care as it mentions the inclusions and exclusions of your policy cover.

One such term that is often used when buying a health insurance cover is ‘policy term’. This word often occurs when buying a term insurance plan, which is slightly different from a regular health insurance policy. The term insurance plan secures you and your family against medical expenses, and supports the nominee in case of the death of the insured. A term insurance plan provides you the coverage for a specific period of time or a term, which is the policy term.

About Policy Term In Health Insurance

A policy term is simply the timeline of the health insurance policy bought by the policyholder. It is the period for which the policyholder can avail the benefits of the policy bought. The policy term can differ from one plan to the other and in certain cases, for each plan there are different variants of policy terms which can be customized by the customer when buying the health insurance policy. After the policy term is over, the customer can either buy another health insurance plan or renew their current plan under the lifetime renewability of services benefit. Under the lifetime renewability benefit, the policyholder can renew their policy after the completion of the initial policy term with the same set of benefits.

Factors That Determine The Policy Term of A Health Insurance Policy

Policy term is an essential factor as it is the time period for which you can avail the services of the purchased health insurance policy. There are some factors that can be considered to choose an ideal policy term of a health insurance policy:

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1. Age

It is usually advised that you must buy a health insurance policy as early as possible. You can invest in a health insurance plan as soon as you start earning, as the premium rate at an early age is lower. When you buy a health insurance policy at a young age, you can buy it for the long term, possibly until your retirement, as it will enable you to overcome the waiting period of the health insurance policy.

2. Liabilities And Dependents

With the increase in age, the liabilities and dependents on an individual also increases. Therefore, to save your financial savings from getting exhausted, you can buy a health insurance policy with appropriate policy term to overcome the liabilities.

3. Life Goals

You must make sure that the policy term of your health insurance policy aligns with your life goals, so that you have enough coverage until you achieve them. If you plan on educating your children and getting them married in another 15-17 years, then you must have an insurance cover with a policy term up to then, so that you are financially secured.

4. Medical History

You should never conceal your pre-existing medical conditions from the insurer and include them in your health insurance cover. You must invest in a health insurance policy as early as possible to get a long policy term and ensure coverage for your conditions as long as possible. This will also help you overcome the waiting period of the policy. In case of maternity plans, you must buy a maternity benefit health insurance plan way before you are planning a baby, to avail the benefits of the cover at the time of delivery.

Conclusion

It is important to find a suitable health insurance policy and for that you must consider the necessary factors like the policy term as they play a crucial role at the time of claim settlement process.

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