An insurance policy that ensures that you get cashless treatment or expense reimbursement, in case of health emergency. A health insurance policy reimburses the insured for medical and surgical expenses arising from an illness or injury that leads to hospitalization.

The insurance company provides the insured with the facility of cashless hospitalization at a network hospital or provides a reimbursement for the incurred expenses. Furthermore, health insurance cost is subsidized to the insured in the form of tax exemption under section 80D of Income Tax Act, 1961.

Not necessary that your corporate health plan covers all your medical needs

Emergencies are uninvited guests. Increase in the incidence of Life Threatening diseases show the need for insurance

Prevention is better than cure. Similarly, planning is better than suffering. Save your Taxes. Survive your health

Health insurance covers whole or part of the medical expenses incurred by the life insured during the policy term. Over 30 health insurance products are offered by numerous private and public sector health insurance companies in India. The 4 main type of health insurance plans are mediclaim, critical illness cover, hospital cash plan, and personal accident insurance.

Individual or group health insurance: Before purchasing a health insurance policy, assess your insurance needs and decide whether you require an individual health insurance plan or if insurance coverage from a group health insurance plan will suffice.

Family Floater Plan: Floater option comes in handy if you want to provide health cover for your entire family under a single policy. The sum assured is shared by all the insured members which can include self, spouse, children, and parents.

Insurance coverage: The extent of financial protection an insurer is ready to pay for medical services covered under the policy is called insurance coverage. The best health insurance policy is one that offers adequate health cover at affordable premium.

Buying a policy online: Compare the features and benefits of various policies on a comparison website, select the one that best serves your need, get an instant quote on the chosen policy, calculate the insurance premium using the online premium calculator, purchase the insurance policy through the insurer’s website. Payment can be made via net banking, credit card or debit card.

Claim process: For reimbursement claims, you have to intimate the insurer within 48 hours of hospitalisation. The medical bills have to be paid by you upfront. Submit the duly-filled and signed claim form along with the medical bills and discharge summary to the insurer. The insurer will verify your claim and settle the claim within 21 days. For cashless claims, show your e-card and ID card at the network hospital desk. The hospital will submit a pre-authorisation form to get TPA approval. Once the claim is verified, the insurer will pay the hospital directly. You don’t have to pay the medical bill upfront.

Renewal: A health insurance policy is active for 1 year. You have to renew it each year to avoid losing out on the policy benefits. If you fail to the pay the premium on time, the policy will lapse. Usually, a grace period of 15 days is given within which you have to pay the due premiums. The policy benefits aren’t available for the duration of non-payment. If a policy lapses, some insurer’s give you the option to revive it within 6 months provided you pay all the outstanding premiums and reinstatement fees. You will also have to provide proof of insurability for reinstatement.