Health Insurance Blogs

Just imagine, what could you do with a lump sum of money? If you are between the age of 18-and 30, you might plan an adventurous trip or buy the latest gadget on the market. But would you think of investing in a health insurance policy?

Millennials do not have a concept of saving and are often criticized for their lifestyle, where spending is prioritized over saving for the future. No one thinks of buying a health insurance plan until something bad happens. But health is above all, and with the COVID- 19 pandemic, Millennials have realized the importance of health insurance plans to cover the medical costs. Most of them find it challenging to choose the right health insurance. We can help you choose the right health insurance.

• Plan selection:

There are various types of health insurance plans. You get a wide range of comprehensive options when you buy an insurance plan at a young age. Health Insurance is not just about getting medical cover for your hospital bills. Apart from basic plans, you may purchase critical illness plans which cover the treatment of life-threatening illnesses like cancer. You may need a plan to cover your family too.

Knowing about different types of health insurance plans can help you choose the right health insurance policy to suit your needs.

• Check for Sub-Limits and deductibles before investing:

This is an important factor to keep in mind before you get a health cover. Sub-limit is an extra limit placed on your medical insurance claim by the insurance provider. There may be limits on things like ambulance costs, room rent, ICU charges, or even doctor consultation charges.

Read the policy terms thoroughly to identify such limits and avoid buying such insurance plans as you might have to pay expenses from your pocket.

• Separate insurance for your Parents/ Family: 

When buying health insurance for your family, make sure you do not include them in the same cover. The two benefits of doing so are as follows.

1. Your parents are the eldest members of the family. The insurance company will calculate the premium based on their age. So the overall insurance cost increases significantly.
2. If your parents have any illness and make frequent claims, you may not be able to accumulate a No-claim bonus. Your premium will be extremely high and in some cases, you may not get the insurance cover you need.

Ignoring health insurance is not advisable as a serious accident or illness could hook you to staggering medical bills that will haunt you for years to come. To prepare yourself for challenging situations, get insured with a health insurance policy from Elephant Insurance.

Health insurance is a type of insurance in which the medical and surgical expenses of the insured person are covered. These expenses can either be hospitalization expenses, the cost of medicines, or consultation charges of doctors. Sometimes dental expenses are also covered. Either the person insured pays the expenses from his pocket and later gets reimbursed by the insurer or the insurance company directly settles the bills.  Private Health Insurance is also available. Insurance brokers and insurance companies come under this category.

With the constantly expanding costs of medical care in our country, and with the consistently rising instances of diseases, health insurance today is a need. Health insurance provides individuals with much-needed financial support in times of medical emergencies. Health-related risks are a part of life. One can’t plan and become ill yet one can absolutely be ready for the financial aspect. One of the approaches to be financially prepared is by purchasing medical insurance. It is a fact that medical care is an expensive affair. There are many reasons why one should purchase medical insurance like Change in Lifestyle, Rise in Medical costs and Benefit in Income Tax.

Another benefit of having health insurance is that you get cashless treatment. Many insurance companies work in collaboration with various hospital networks. Some policies also cover the amount paid to the ambulance for the transportation of the insured. If the insured does not file any claim for any treatment, he gets a No Claim Bonus (NCB). Free health check-up is provided by some companies on the basis of previous NCBs. The insurance policy also covers room rent depending on the premium paid by the insured.

Many types of health insurance plans are offered by different companies.

1. Individual Health Insurance plan: This plan covers the medical expenses of the insured individuals.
2. Family Health Insurance plan: This plan covers the entire family i.e. spouse, children, and parents. Any family member who is covered under this policy can claim for medical or surgical expenses.
3. Group Health Insurance: This type of insurance plan is bought by an employer for his employees and is standardized in nature.
4. Health Insurance for Senior Citizens: These plans are designed to meet high medical expenses at old age. Premium is higher in these types of insurance plans.
5. Critical illness policy: Under this policy, a lump sum amount is paid to the insured person on the diagnosis of some serious disease.

Buying insurance policies online is the most transparent, convenient, easy, and secure method. It also saves time and money. You can compare different plans, features, and costs. You get complete information online and also get adequate time to read all terms and conditions. You can get Health Insurance quotes online on the health insurance premium calculator. It is more or less like getting a car insurance estimate. You need to provide your age, the number of family members to be covered, any pre-existing illness, etc. to calculate your health insurance premium. You get the results calculated immediately by the health insurance premium calculator.

At times of medical emergency, it is hard to take the financial stress. Medical expenses are costly and not everyone has immediate access to cash. The charges fall high on us and may shatter our financial stability. Going through lots of emotional suffering can create a dig in lifetime savings. But, in this time of need, Health insurance companies are always there to uphold and it’s good to always invest a part of our income in a good health insurance company

Affording good treatment in a private hospital is quite expensive and to even arranging money for the need is difficult. In present days, cashless health insurance plays a crucial role. Most of the companies like Bajaj Allianz, Bharat Axa, HDFC Ergo, ICICI Lombard, and almost 90% of the insurance companies are now cashless. Therefore, you need not run to arrange money, no run to borrow, and no need to sell properties for hard cash to settle the amount.

How does cashless health insurance work?

Mostly the Health insurance claim settlement is done by reimbursement or cashless Health insurance. In reimbursement mode, the cost of treatment needs to be settled. And later all hospital bills lab reports discharge summary and open prescription, and a form by the company to be filled and submitted along with policy copy and bank details, and identity card. This is indeed stressful and havoc.

In a cashless health insurance system, the cost of treatment is in the company’s hands, and no money needs to be spent from the pocket of the insurance member. Insurance companies are in tie-up with many health organizations and they come under the insurance company’s network. Also, a Mediclaim Department in the hospital takes care of this documentation.

How to get a Cashless health insurance claim approved?

• Hospitalization is either planned or could be out of emergency
• In a planned treatment, like maternity, knee replacement, eye surgeries, etc all the formalities and necessary paperwork should be done well in advance by the insurer or the third party agent(TPA) before admittance to the hospital.
• In emergency treatment for accidents, claim intimation needs to be sent to the insurance company by the policyholder giving a few basic details about the policy and the treatment at the hospital.
• Then the company verifies with the hospital and the insurance company settles all the money.

Key features of this Cashless health insurance

The cashless system varies from previous reimbursement policies and comes up with lots of benefits to the policyholder 

• There is no need to pay any treatment expenses at the network hospital
• The insurance covers all Pre and post-hospitalization charges.
• The cover-ups also include domiciliary hospitalization cost, ambulance fare, Room rent, and all. 
• This includes expenses related to in-patient hospitalization for more than 24 hours also.

There are often challenges in this system. Hospitals can be removed or added to the Insurance company’s network anytime. Hence, you need to check for the status or it will have to go with reimbursement mode. Make sure to select the right insurance company for your financial well-being.