When Is Best Time To Buy Health Insurance?
Changing lifestyle and environment means we need more medical attention, and growing medical expertise means the treatments are available. However, the treatment costs are also growing. In any case, the COVID-19 pandemic must have given you a glimpse of how important life and health cover is for your family.
Hence, it is important to invest in the best health insurance plans, and the earlier the better.
When is the Right Time to Buy a Health Plan?
The right time to buy a health insurance plan is – Now. The best health plan will act as a financial shield against unplanned health related expenses. It is needless to say that the current pandemic has been a wakeup call for all of us. We never thought that we will be gripped by such an outbreak for a long period. A lot of health insurance plans offer coverage for COVID treatment. Not only that - policies cover a range of terminal or critical illnesses. So, instead of worrying about the hefty medical expenses, you should buy a health plan as soon as possible.
5 Benefits of Buying a Health Insurance Plan
A lot of people realise the importance of a health plan only when they have to pay down the medical expenses upfront. Here are 5 major benefits of buying a health insurance plan:
1. Cut Down the Cost of Emergency Healthcare
By investing in the best health insurance plan, you can have financial cover to pay for surgeries, medicines, hospitalisation expenses, ambulance fees, and doctor's consultation fees. The availability of funds in the time of need helps you focus on recovery instead of feeling anxious about the expenses.
2. Critical Illness Cover
Critical illness cover is a defined benefit health plan. This pure protection insurance plan has been designed to provide financial support to you and your family in your fight against a life-threatening illness. For example, cancer, heart failure, renal failure, and other rapidly progressing and unpredictable illnesses.
Your normal Mediclaim insurance may not be enough to cover the treatment costs of these illnesses. As many times they do not even need hospitalization. However, the treatment and medicine costs could be really high.
3. Cashless Claims
The health insurance companies collaborate with hospitals to provide quick emergency hospitalization to the consumers. These hospitals are called network hospitals. You are eligible for cashless claims in case you or any of the covered family members are admitted to any of the networked hospitals.
The insurance company will directly pay the hospital for the treatment that you have availed of. Cashless hospitalisation is especially useful in case of emergencies. You must check what all expenses are not included under the cashless claim section by the health insurance company, before buying a policy. It is important, as you need to pay for the services that are not covered by the health insurance policy.
4. All Round Coverage
A family floater health insurance plan can cover your entire family including your newborn. You can try covering your parents under a separate policy, especially if they are senior citizens. While this does not mean much difference in costs, it means a lot of difference in benefits.
Senior citizen medical needs are different and senior citizen health cover is more suited to meet them.
5. Tax Savings
By investing in the best health insurance plan, you become eligible for a tax rebate under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act, 1961. You can avail deduction in tax up to Rs. 25,000 every year by owning health insurance that covers you, your spouse, and your children. You can claim a tax deduction of Rs. 50,000 by owning health insurance for your parents aged above 60 years.
Conclusion
The hospital network is a continuously growing feature, the longer the insurer spends in the market, the larger the network grows. Also, even when a hospital is not in the insurer’s network, it could be connected to a TPA connected to the insurer.
Also read: 10 Benefits of Health Insurance Riders
