If there is anything Covid-19 pandemic has taught us it's that health is our greatest asset and investing in our health spares us and our family from a lot of financial problems and future worries. It is imperative to avail a health insurance plan that gives you extensive protection against all kinds of illnesses.
There are plenty of health insurance plans available in the market but, you have to choose the one that can secure you and your family’s healthcare needs at every stage of life.
Single and Young
This is the stage of fewer responsibilities. Hence, young individuals should invest in a proper health insurance policy plan, as this can act as a hedge against pre-existing conditions later on. One of the top reasons to get health insurance at an early age is that you pay a very low premium and can reap higher benefits. Also, there is something known as ‘No Claim Bonus’ (NCB). In health insurance parlance, NCB is like bonus money which gets added to the sum insured for every claim-free year.
Married and have children
You need complete coverage of risk at this stage of your life. Any kind of medical expense might cost you a hell of a lot of money and might even have an impact on your children’s future expense and education. Depending upon the need, medical history, and number of members in the family, one may choose between a family floater policy and multiple individual policies.
It may be noted that a family floater policy offers individual cover for all the insured under a single policy. In case of floater cover, you should ensure that sum insured is sufficient to access quality healthcare in India or abroad and cater to the problems of every increasing medical inflation.
Elderly Couples/ Retiring Couples/ Retirees
At this stage, your source of income mostly reduces to mere pensions or retirement corpus. At this stage, your source of income mostly reduces to mere pensions or retirement corpus. Also, many need to cope with some or the other health conditions and would need protection against any untoward hospitalization expenses.
These factors warrant a comprehensive health insurance plan so that you don’t need to face a financial crisis if there is any medical emergency. Today, the question is not really about ‘Why do I need health insurance’ but rather ‘how much sum insured and what kind of health cover do I need’. Thus, having a good comprehensive health insurance policy ensures that you get proper quality medical treatment without facing any financial crunch.
Prasun Sikdar is the MD and CEO of ManipalCigna Health Insurance Company Limited. Views expressed above are his own.
