Back Home / Article

PN

5 Things You Should Know About Your Health Insurance Policy

iGenie | Health Insurance
Sushma's mother had to be rushed to the hospital. Being all of 24, it was a rude shock to her when at the hospital, she was faced with a barrage of questions before her mother could get the required treatment. "Is your mother insured? How much is she insured for? Does it cover pre and post hospitalization expenses? Is she on a family floater plan? So on and so forth.

It was then that she realised that to answer each of these questions, she had to be aware of health insurance and what it covers, least of all understand certain important features in her health insurance policy. While you may be covered under a health insurance plan, knowing certain details and keeping some information at your finger-tips for that cloudy day might also be important.

Here is a list of 5 things that you should to know about your health insurance policy:

  1. Details about the plan: Every health insurance plan is unique in itsbouquet of offerings and each policy comes with pre-determined conditions. Therefore it is important to know the basic details of your plan so as to communicate clearly at the time of need. Keep a tab of your plan size - Individual or family floater, the premiums you pay, the number of claim free years etc. so as to reap the maximum benefits from your plan.
  2. Validity of your plan: Most often than not, we realize that our insurance plan has expired only when we are at the hospital waiting to get treated. Therefore, always keeping a tab of your plan's validity and diligently renewing your policy is essential. There are also a number of conditions that accompany a policy like the minimum duration of stay at the hospital for the plan to kick-in, the maximum age limit until when it is valid or maximum duration of the plan. Make sure you have a ready reckoner for these dates, so that you are not left high and dry at the last moment.
  3. Hospital Networks: Every company that offers a policy has a network of hospitals where their policies are supported. When in a hurry to get treatment, you need to be aware of the hospitals around you where your insurance can be used or you may end up counting a money pile. Network hospitals are also useful to avail cashless hospitalization facility where you don't have to pay and wait for a reimbursement from your insurer. Your insurer will directly pay for certain services you avail from the hospitals, provided you are under a plan that supports this facility.
  4. Reimbursable Expenses during treatment: A well-known fact in insurance is that not all expenses are covered under an insurance plan. However, a less-known fact is that most of us don't know the expenses that are covered. If before your hospitalization, some expenses were incurred in diagnosis and consultation, based on your Insurance plan, these can be reimbursed. Similarly, if after your treatment, you require continued medical assistance, some plans offer to reimburse those expenses. It is vital for you to know this information so that you don't bear unnecessary financial burden.
  5. How much will you have to spend? Although this varies with each plan, you need to be aware of the amount that you/ your loved one has been insured for, the premiums you have been paying and an estimate of the amount you will get at the time of claim. This can prove to be information that will be crucial in your financial planning. Knowing these details will also help you evaluate your current plan with the actual need and take a call on changing or modifying your existing Insurance portfolio.
  6. Health Insurance is a pre-requisite and is your buoy to keep afloat during trying times. Being in the know of this information could potentially help you take decisions confidently and plan your future with conviction. If your current policy does not have some of these points listed, then it may be time that you revisit your portfolio and prepare to port to another policy that gives you a comprehensive cover.

    To learn more about health insurance click here.

Share this Article

Rating

Want us to call you?


 
Captcha Try another image

Related Article