Mistakes That People Often Make While Buying Health Insurance Plans in India

The concept of health insurance in India is still underrated. This explains why so many people falter in making correct decisions regarding the same. This may include opting for the wrong health insurance policy or choosing the wrong kind of cover, thus, marring the entire idea behind paying for health insurance. A large number of Indians are still ignorant about the kinds of health insurance plans available. They include health insurance policies in their investment portfolios without realizing their effectiveness in defraying medical expenses in the long run. This explains the ubiquity of certain common mistakes that customers make while buying health insurance plans, whether online or offline.

Mistakes to Avoid While Buying a Health Insurance Plan in India

Choosing an Inadequate Amount of Coverage

The purpose of buying health insurance is to cover the rising costs of medical treatment in the long run. The effect of inflation on healthcare costs has resulted in more people realizing the value of health insurance and the need to buy them. However, customers try to save money on health insurance premiums by opting for plans that promise a reduced amount of cover at lower premium rates. This results in many people having insufficient coverage on their health insurance policy. However, the purpose of buying health insurance gets defeated as medical costs continue to rise. In the event of emergency hospitalization or treatment of unforeseen critical illnesses, the cover may fall short of the medical bills to be paid. This may result in the policyholders digging deep into their savings or closing fixed deposits before their due date to defray the amount paid to the hospital on discharge.

Hiding Details of Pre-existing Disorders

Customers suffering from serious health disorders often find their health insurance proposals getting rejected. This results in many customers refraining from sharing their medical details for fear of either rejection or liability to pay higher premium charges. However, sharing correct details about the medical history and lifestyle disorders as non-disclosure of the details may result in rejection of the claim, if and when required.

Relying Solely on Corporate Health Insurance

Many companies are now including the concept of corporate health insurance to keep their employees from moving to a new organization and, thus, prevent brain drain. Though corporate health insurance has its own set of benefits, the coverage under it may not be enough to keep you and your entire family covered in the face of exorbitant medical expenses. Also, corporate health insurance acts as a medical cover only for the employees only and not their families. In addition, the benefits of the employer health insurance cease to exist the moment they leave the company.

Buying Health Insurance Late

Though young people are less likely to fall ill, it is important to buy health insurance early unbiased of the age. Purchasing early means that you exhaust waiting period when relatively healthy. This not only ensures low premium charges but also a medical cover in place in case of sudden and unforeseen hospitalization and resulting medical treatment. Also, insurance companies are less reluctant to accept health insurance proposals by the young due to their low vulnerability to serious health problems.

Buying Health Insurance for Tax Benefits Only

True that buying health insurance includes tax benefits too as the premiums charged on health insurance are exempt from taxable income under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act. Though buying any kind of insurance involves tax benefits, it is important to buy health insurance policies to ensure the necessary medical cover in place instead of just saving on taxes.

Ignoring the Zone Based Pricing Effect

Many health insurance companies price their policies depending on the zones the customers belong to. Policyholders living in Tier-1 cities definitely end up paying more premium charges than their counterparts living in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. Many people are not aware of how city-specific health insurance benefits those with limited income and living in cities with lesser access to medical facilities. It is important for policyholders to inquire their respective insurers about any reduction in available coverage in case they shift to Tier-1 cities for advanced medical treatment.

Bypassing the Co-pay Clause

Many insurance companies include the co-payment clause in the health insurance plans that they sell. The idea behind including this clause is to control or ensure a cap on the claims outflow. As per details of the clause, policyholders may be required to bear a percentage of the medical expenses with the insurer. The amount that the policyholders would be required to pay may range between 10-20 percent depending on the terms and conditions of the insurers. Insurers usually keep the co-pay clause on the higher end to refrain policyholders from making unnecessary treatment expenses and focus only on those that are urgent and immediate.

Buying an Added Policy for Increased Coverage

Many people invest in an additional policy for enhanced coverage. However, this is not an effective way to seek more coverage to tackle the sudden cost of hospitalization. Instead of buying a separate plan, policyholders can invest in a super top-up plan to boost the current coverage promised under the existing health insurance plan. Investing in a super top-up plan helps as the insurance company covers the entire medical expenses incurred during the policy period.

Disregarding the Fineprint

Some policyholders without looking at the terms and conditions included in the health insurance policy sign the document. Ignoring the inclusions and exclusions mentioned in the document may result in the policyholders feeling frustrated while making the claim. Details about the waiting period or the diseases not covered under the policy are also included, thus, making it important to read the policy document before proceeding to pay for it.