Healthcare costs in India are continuously rising. With the increase in lifestyle diseases, more and more individuals are suffering from health concerns from a young age. Moreover, individuals and families are struggling to cope with the exorbitant medical bills, leaving a hole in their savings.
Health insurance policies, which are an important aspect and useful for many reasons, come to the rescue in such scenarios. However, with different types of insurance available, such as, individual policies, family insurance, maternity insurance, travel insurance, and critical illness insurance, choosing the right one may pose a challenge..
Hence, knowing the characteristics of each of them becomes a necessity to make sure that you are selecting the right insurance policy that fulfils your requirement..
What Is a Mediclaim Policy?
A mediclaim policy allows you to have access to a wide variety of medical services, such as doctor’s consultations, laboratory tests and examinations, cost of medicines, and hospitalisation services, without worrying about finances.
With it, you can avoid paying huge sums for medical services, which helps in maintaining financial stability and preventing unexpected crises.
Importance of Having Mediclaim Insurance
A medical policy is a guaranteed protection for your (financial) health. In case of illness or accident, it serves as a great support and ensures that you do not have to pay the total recovery costs out of your pocket.
It provides coverage for financial risks for individuals or families at the time of medical treatment and allows the insured to get quick and timely treatment without stressing about the cost.
Types of Mediclaim Policies
There are different types of health insurance plans available, due to which, people often get confused about which one will meet their preferences.
Here, you will find an overview of the main types of mediclaim plans, giving you a better idea of which one will suit you best.
Individual Health Insurance
Individual health insurance is advantageous for a person who wants coverage separately or individually.
Typically, a person aged between 18-65 years can buy this insurance to cover expenses paid for surgeries, hospitalisation, treatment of a disease/injury, etc. The premium to be paid is decided by considering the age, medical history of the buyer, type of plan chosen, etc.
If you have a pre-existing disease and you want to buy individual health insurance, you can do so but there will be a specific period you need to wait for before raising a claim. This period is known as the waiting period.
Family Floater Health Plan
This type of health insurance policy is specifically designed to protect the health of family members in various unexpected medical emergencies. Members of the family are covered under a single plan and share the same sum insured.
With it, in case any person of the insured family needs medical treatment, the expenses incurred will be covered by the insurer, but only to the limit mentioned in the policy.
A family floater health plan helps you and your family to focus on the recovery of the patient without worrying about the burden of medical costs which can negatively impact the family’s financial stability.
Choosing family mediclaim insurance is a wise choice that protects your family’s health at an affordable premium.
Critical Illness Health Insurance
Getting diagnosed with a critical illness brings a lot of stress and financial problems. The treatment costs of critical diseases are too high and not everyone can afford them. This is why buying a standalone critical illness health insurance policy or adding critical illness coverage to your health insurance is an absolute necessity.
This kind of insurance plan includes several critical diseases, starting from organ failure, stroke, and paralysis to brain tumours, cancer, and other life-threatening illnesses.
With critical illness insurance cover, you will receive a lump sum amount, which can be used for treatment of the disease, as a substitute for loss of income, paying off debt, or any other financial responsibilities that cannot be fulfilled due to critical illness.
Corporate/Group Health Insurance
A group health insurance plan is an employee health coverage plan usually bought by a company for its employees or an organisation for its members.
Additionally, a group mediclaim insurance policy can also be outstretched to the employee’s family members (spouse, children or parents) and can be tailored according to your needs. In this type of mediclaim policy, the employer typically pays the premium for the policy. However, some may even opt for a contribution model, where employees contribute towards the premium payment.
Conclusion
In an increasingly complex and uncertain world, one way of protecting yourself and your family from financial risks that arise due to high or unexpected medical costs is to have a mediclaim policy.
But before selecting a plan, it is essential that you have a complete understanding of the different plans offered by different insurance companies. This will help you get access to necessary health services/treatment without worrying about the significant financial burden that comes with it.