With the ever-increasing cost of medical care and treatment, buying a health insurance policy has become more important than ever. Whether you are in your early 20’s or early 40’s, you will need health insurance to act as a pillow against the high cost of any small or large healthcare treatment option.
If you are a woman, you know how expensive maternity healthcare is today. In addition, it is the “one” portion of total healthcare costs that you will have to bear throughout your life.
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Fortunately, insuring yourself under a decent health policy is enough to cover significant healthcare costs. While finding the best health insurance can be difficult for many women, we are here to make that problem easier. To help women find the right health insurance, we’ve compiled a list of things you can use to differentiate the standard policy from the rest. So let’s take a quick look at the issues shared below
Things to consider when buying health insurance
1. Evaluate and choose the right, appropriate coverage
As a woman, you should look for health insurance plans that protect you against many medical problems. Check if your shortlisted policy offers coverage before and after hospitalization, including ambulance costs, lab test costs, medication costs, doctor’s consultation costs, ICU charges, and more.
The better the coverage, the better the policy. If you have some pre-existing medical conditions, you should check to see if the policy covers specific illnesses or diseases. It is also necessary to check while waiting for the mentioned disease or illness. All of these should be on your checklist to get a health insurance policy with the best coverage.
2. Keep premiums affordable
While it is essential to have a policy that provides maximum coverage and benefits, it is also important to keep the policy premium within your budget. Before looking at health insurance plans you should first list your needs and budget.
Because even if a single premium payment is missed for any reason, you may lose the option to be eligible for a claim bonus. If you decide to port your health insurance plan later, non-payment of premiums may come your way. Therefore, to avoid any hassle in the future, it is advisable to stick to plans whose premiums are affordable and well within your budget.
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3. Find a good network of partner hospitals
Each reputed health insurance company has a network of partner hospitals. An insured person can contact any of these hospitals to avail cashless treatment, as mentioned in the list of Insurers Network Hospitals. Since you can only claim for the cost of treatment at one of these hospitals, you need to make sure that the insurer you are moving forward with has partnered with a good hospital. Check to see if the list includes at least two multi-specialty hospitals The location and reputation of the mentioned hospitals are also very important. So do your proper research and move forward only if you are satisfied with the network and the list of partner hospitals.
4. Maternity benefits coverage
Whether it’s a C-section delivery or a newborn vaccine, the cost of maternity treatment is skyrocketing. If you do not prepare a fund in advance for these costs, you may run into problems at the last minute. So, look for maternity health insurance that covers all costs related to maternity and infertility, such as childbirth, clinically necessary termination, immunization of newborns, c-section, etc. Since most maternity insurance plans have a long wait time, it is advisable to purchase the plan at least two years in advance when you are planning to have a child.
5. Check what’s in the coverage
Coverage is probably the most important part of any health insurance plan. Examine the coverage in detail about the time of purchase for yourself, accident hospitalization, before and after hospitalization, illness-related hospitalization, daily hospital cash cover, maternity-related expenses, critical illness benefits, annual health examination, mental benefits, etc.
If you are someone who believes in Alternative Medicine like Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha or Homeopathy, then you must check whether AYUSH is included in the coverage policy. If you do not want to have an unpleasant experience later, reviewing the coverage section of the policy paper should be a top priority.
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6. Double check the exclusion
Like inclusion, it is essential to know about health policy exclusion. Clear knowledge of exclusion helps to set clear expectations from policy from day one. Although exemptions may vary from one insurer to another, there is a single general exclusion throughout all health insurance policies, such as hospitalization without a doctor’s recommendation. You can view the policy documents to learn more about applicable exclusions.
7. Problem-free claims settlement process
The sole purpose of getting health insurance is to get timely claims and assistance when needed. If your chosen insurer is known for the release of the late refund, or worse, no refund with a quote of claim rejection, then you are in real trouble. To avoid any of these situations, you should look for a health insurance plan from a reputable insurance company that has a good claim settlement ratio.
To get an idea of whether or not you should proceed, you can examine the proportion of claims settlement over the past five years. When conducting research, make sure that the policy you are shortlisting comes with a hassle-free claims settlement process.
8. Find out about the insurer’s reputation
The Indian insurance market is highly competitive, so finding a good insurance company will not be challenging. But it is difficult to ignore the fact that there are bad fish in the pond. There have been many instances in the past where people have been victimized by their respective insurance companies, citing poor customer support and delayed claims settlement.
If you do not want to be on the verge of receiving poor customer support or delayed claims settlement, it is important to check the insurer’s reputation. A quick look at the Indian Insurance online forums, communities and groups will give you enough data to make an information call.
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9. Read the co-payment clause
A co-payment clause highlights the amount or percentage of the claim that must be paid to the insured at the time of claim settlement. For example, if your health insurance policy has a 5% co-payment clause, you will have to pay 5% of the claim amount and the insurer will pay the remaining 95%.
If you do not want to incur significant out-of-pocket expenses during medical emergencies, you should choose a health insurance policy with low co-payment terms. A policy with low co-payment will have higher premiums and vice versa. So choose accordingly.
10. Watch for the waiting period
When you buy a health insurance plan, you cannot claim its benefits from day one, especially when you have a pre-existing illness. Every health insurance policy always comes with a waiting period which the insured must fulfill in order to be eligible to claim the policy benefits. The waiting period is not ideally the same for all policyholders and insurers, so it is best to check the policy documents to know the exact waiting time. Knowing this will help you prepare accordingly for any medical emergency.
Investing in health insurance can be your best investment. This will save you from the sudden medical expenses and you will get the treatment on time without worrying about the funds. Since choosing the right health insurance can be difficult, we’ve listed all the things you can consider to get the best health plan for you. If you are a woman who already loves to plan for important things, then you must consider the points mentioned in this article when buying a health insurance plan for women.
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