Do you have a health cover?
Drastic changes in lifestyle and high medical costs are making it imperative to ensure the health and financial safety by taking significant precautions. Efforts are being made to make people aware of the benefits of a healthy diet, exercise and maintaining wellbeing through yoga and physiotherapy sessions. But, even when these services are easily accessible at least in urban places, there is no guarantee that health problems will not arise.
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Even youngsters between 25 and 30 years of age group are at risk of developing ailments like heart problems, asthma, diabetes, etc. All such illnesses require proper treatment and regular check-ups. Mostly, people avoid regular check-ups as they consider it as a complete waste of money. However, any delay could prove to be costly in the long run, if God forbid, the medical condition turns into a serious ailment.
So, what is the solution? Insurers suggest availing a regular health insurance policy as per one’s requirements. Suppose a person avails a health plan for Rs 5 lakhs, it might seem on the surface that all the medical costs, including hospitalization, will be covered and there is no need to worry! But is it so, really? In reality, a single hospitalization or multiple hospitalization in a single year might put a strain on one’s pockets as the treatment costs might go beyond the coverage.
So how can one expand the health coverage in such a situation? Getting an increased sum insured or availing another regular policy will raise expenses as the premium amount will rise. If a person needs to increase the health cover at nominal rates, a super top-up health insurance plan is the best way to do so.
What is a super top-up health cover?
A super top-up cover offers health coverage that comes with a threshold or deductible limit. It means the policy will cover expenses only if they cross the threshold limit as mentioned in the policy document. Unlike a top-up plan, a super top-up plan considers the total medical expenses in the policy year and not the single instance of expenses.
Advantages of super top-up policy:
Available at nominal premium rates
A super top-up plan is available at nominal premium rates in comparison to a regular policy. This is because it comes with a threshold limit and is applicable only if the total expenses in a policy year exceed the limit.
Can cover multiple claims:
The policy works on the aggregate claim amount and thus, covers multiple hospitalization cases in a year.
Can be availed as an independent plan:
It is not necessary that one should have a mediclaim policy to buy a super top-up plan as it can be availed as an independent policy to cover expenses beyond a certain limit.
Can be purchased from two different insurers:
It is not necessary to buy a super top-up plan from the same insurer from whom you have bought your health insurance policy. It means, you can buy your super top-up plan and health insurance policy from two different insurers.
How a super top-up health insurance works?
Basic Information: Mr. Verma has a regular health insurance policy of Rs 5 lakhs as the sum insured. He avails a super top-up plan of Rs 10 lakhs with Rs 5 lakhs as the threshold or deductible limit.
Super top up Table
As we can see from the above table, super top-up health insurance policies increase the health coverage and are the best mediclaim insurance policies which can be used during emergencies.
Given the rising hospitalization costs, merely having a basic health insurance policy is not enough. You have to go an extra mile to save yourself and your family from soaring medical costs. It is here a super top-up plan can help you!
Super top–up plans and top-up plans are again much in conversation.The top-up plan covers a single claim above the threshold limit of your primary health insurance. But the super top-up plan covers the total of all hospitalization bills above the threshold limit in a year. For senior citizens will be helpful.
How to store my medical records so that I can access them from anywhere at any time?
Upload and store on Google Drive, Dropbox, One Drive. You can email yourself as pdfs. That way, you can access them from anywhere.
In all cases, create good passwords.
You can also invest in something called WD Home, which is your server.
How do you buy a Health Insurance without the name of an Agent?
It would be best if you went to the office of the concerned insurance company that is otherwise challenging to get it done. Sometimes the option is not shown in the online access to the account.
The words Direct Agent is in place of the name of the Agent. In this case, no one gets a commission.
We opted for this because of a horrible scam we faced from an agent and employees at a local branch. But the helpfulness of the people in the main office helped.
Should you have multiple health insurance? How does two Medical insurance help?
Yes, you can. I am a doctor in a medical college and have full medical insurance provided by my govt. The facility covers my family. It’s cashless and covers everything. But I have still opted for mediclaim from National coverage with individual claims of a certain amount for each of my family income.
The advantage here is depending on who falls ill? What are the expenses? It would help if you ideally used the mediclaim with a lower amount, which covers it. That way, you and your family are still protected when you need it.
For all insurance matters, you must make decisions after reading the fine print.No Agent, including office personnel, should be taken at their words.
Ultimately it’s your health. You can’t run here and there when a situation needing health care arises.
How much health insurance should I have?
How much health insurance will depend on your current age and health issues, if any. Always remember to have your health insurance, even if your employer gives you medical benefits. Health insurance is most often A necessity after 50 years. Make all calculations inflation-adjusted. If you switch jobs, you and your family shouldn’t have to be without proper coverage even in the transition period.
Try to be as healthy as possible. Never ignore niggling problems. Choose your policy with care.
Overall remember health insurance premium has to be paid on time—no safety period. A lapse in payment makes you at risk of no cover as new policies have a waiting period for some conditions.
Stay healthy. Keep cash in the bank and mediclaim card image on your smartphone, backed up on Google drive.
Read about Health insurance for COVID
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Disclaimer:
Healthcare and mediclaim is an individual decision and needs careful discussion and research before taking any decision.The author is sharing her personal experience .This post is meant as educational information and all insurance decision to be taken at own risk after consulting insurance advisor.
I am not an expert on financial asset management. This is an opinion piece. I am not a qualified Financial Advisor and this is not to be taken as professional financial advice. Mutual funds are subject to market risk, read all scheme-related documents carefully. All investments should be done after consultation with a financial suitable expert, according to own financial risk appetite.
The content displayed here has been developed by an independent content provider and has been displayed on an as-is basis. Healthwealthbridge disclaims all liabilities and warranties, whether express or implied, relating to the accuracy, genuineness and appropriateness of such content and shall not be held liable for any reliance placed on such content for any reason whatsoever.
Updated June 2020
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