How to Plan Your Health Insurance Premiums Well in Advance?

Do you know what happens when we leave things till the last possible minute? We hurry, fret and scramble over completing them when the time finally draws near. In this whole melee, we make a mistake. Don’t wise men say haste creates waste? When it comes to buying a health insurance plan too we procrastinate till we no longer can. Buying late has many disadvantages, paying a higher premium being one of them. If you plan ahead, you can plan your health insurance premiums in advance and also save money. Isn’t saving what all of us desire?

With all this talk of planning your health insurance premium in advance, you might be wondering how you can go about it. Well, it is easy, actually. If you plan certain pointers ahead of buying your health insurance policy, you can plan your health insurance premium too. Want to know how? Read on:

·         Find out the plan most suitable for you

There are many health insurance plans available in the market today. Your first step should be finding out which plan suits your needs the best. Compare between the health insurance plans offered by the best health insurance companies and choose the most beneficial one. Then find out the amount of premium payable. Last minute searching of health plans does not allow you to compare and find the best policy. That is why you should find a plan and approximate the premium amount in advance.

·         Assess your savings and affordability

After you understand the amount of premium, ascertain whether the premium is affordable for you. This way, if not affordable, you can settle on a plan with a lower coverage amount and then buy a top-up plan to supplement your Sum Assured. This way, the premium would not put a strain on your savings. Furthermore, do not go overboard when buying a health plan. While an optimal Sum Assured is advised, buying a very high cover without requirement would result in an unnecessarily high premium outgo. Understand the coverage you require and then buy the plan to pay the optimal premium.

·         Search for discounts

Health insurance plans allow you different kinds of premium discounts. These discounts maybe for including more than two family members in the plan coverage, buying a plan online, for paying the premium of two or three years at once or for being healthy. Search out these discounts before you buy a plan and you could lower your premium outgo.

·         Consider the tax angle as well

The amount of premium you pay for your health plan is exempted from tax under Section 80D. While for normal individuals the exemption limit is Rs.25, 000 currently, for senior citizens the limit increases to Rs.30, 000. So, when planning your premium outgo, remember the tax implication. You would be able to claim exemptions only up to the maximum limit. Premiums higher than these limits would not be exempted from tax.

·         Use the grace period

A health insurance policy is a one year contract. After the expiry of a year you are required to renew your plan to enjoy continuous coverage and continuity benefits. If you do not renew the plan, the policy lapses and you lose the continuity benefits. If you fail to pay the premium before or on the due date, you are allowed a grace period of 30 days to pay the outstanding premium and renew your policy. Make use of this period. If you are in a financial crisis and unable to pay your renewal premium, do not let your policy lapse. Plan your premium payment in the grace period to enjoy uninterrupted coverage.

Your health insurance policy premium also requires proper and careful planning if you want to save the maximum. Go online to compare the plans available and find out their premium rate. Find the best health insurance company in India to buy a health plan from and plan your premiums in advance. 

Source: How to Plan Your Health Insurance Premiums Well in Advance?

How to Choose the Best Health Insurance Products for Senior Citizens?

Isn’t a health insurance plan important? If the rising incidence of diseases does not motivate you towards buying a health plan, the increasing cost of medical treatments would sure do. Most of us, being an average middle class individual, find it hard to afford the huge medical costs and so rely on a health insurance. Insurers too understand the requirement of a health plan and so provide plans which are great on features and affordable on pockets. Thanks to the constant innovations in the health insurance industry, today, health plans are also available for senior citizens. Yes, you heard me right. You can now buy a health insurance policy especially for your aged parents or for yourself if you are old and do not have a health insurance cover.

Senior citizen health plans are offered by many insurance companies. These plans are designed keeping in mind the needs of senior citizens. Thus, they have low or no waiting period and also provide a comprehensive cover. With the spate of senior citizen health plans available in the market today, do you know how to select the best one?

Look for these parameters when comparing senior citizen plans to choose the best one:

·         Coverage amount:

When you are old, you face a higher probability of seeking medical attention. Health insurance companies know this health risk and limit the coverage available. The plan’s coverage level should be an important consideration when you are buying a senior citizen plan. As the medical costs are high, you should, ideally, look for health plans which allow you a decent amount of cover.

·         Scope of coverage:

Not only is the coverage amount important. The scope of coverage is important too. While normal health plans might provide you with a comprehensive coverage option, senior citizen ones restrict the coverage because of the health risk you present. So, when choosing the best plan ensures that the plan has all the important coverage features. Some useful features include domiciliary coverage, day-care procedures coverage, low co-payment rate, organ donor cover, etc.

·         Waiting period:

Illnesses or ailments which you are affected with at the time of buying the health plans are called pre-existing illnesses. These illnesses are not covered by the plan for initial few years. This is called the waiting period. Senior citizen plans also have this waiting period clause albeit the tenure is low. To choose the best plan, go for the plan with the lowest waiting period so that your existing ailments are covered at the earliest.

·         Renewal age:

IRDA has allowed health insurance plans to be renewable lifelong. While most health insurance provide lifelong renewability, some senior citizen plans do not. When you choose a plan, make sure that the plan has lifelong renewability so that you can enjoy continuous coverage.

·         Premium rate:

This is very important, isn’t it? Since senior citizen health plans cover older individuals who have a higher health risk, the premium is, obviously, a bit high compared to normal health insurance plans. However, to appeal to an average customer, insurance companies charge reasonable premiums. Compare the premium rates of the plans you are considering and settle for one which has the lowest rate without compromising on coverage.

·         Discounts:

Yes, you can avail discounts too in your health insurance. Senior citizen plans allow discounts for including your spouse in the cover, for buying the policy online and also for paying a two or three year premium at once. The rate of discounts varies across different plans and the best one is the plan with the highest discounts. After all, good discounts are good for your pockets too, isn’t it?

A senior citizen health insurance plan is a good option for covering you or your parents in older ages. Bear the above-mentioned points in mind when comparing the available plans so that you buy the best one among the rest. Go online, compare the best family floater health insurance in India for yourself and your spouse and buy a senior citizen plan today.

Source: How to Choose the Best Health Insurance Products for Senior Citizens? 

Why Should You Invest in Health Insurance in 2017?

We step into the New Year with lots of hopes and dreams. Whether it is buying a new car, getting that much-awaited promotion or moving into a new home, we have numerous hopes when starting a fresh new year. We make elaborate financial plans to either create a financial portfolio or to review one. Does buying a health insurance plan feature anywhere in such planning?

For most of us, the answer is, sadly, ‘No’. While we plan to buy a new car, a new home, the trendy mobile phone, etc. we usually ignore investing in a health insurance plan. Is it wise? Of course, it isn’t.

 A health insurance plan is an important part of our financial portfolio and should not be given a miss. If the importance of a health insurance plan is lost on you, here are some reasons why you should invest in a good health insurance plan this year:

·         Diseases and ailments have become very common

As per the 2016 World Health Statistics Report published by the World Health Organization, the burden of diseases in India has increased by astonishing marginsin the last decade. While 12.4% of total deaths resulted from heart-related ailments, 10.8% were from lung diseases. Even road accidents took 3400 lives every day. The numbers are dismal, aren’t they? With such a high burden of diseases, doesn’t a health plan make sense?

·         The cost of medicine is increasing by leaps and bounds

If the increasing incidence of ailments is not enough, there is another bad news for you. The cost of medicine is on an upward trend. Prescription drugs, surgical treatments and procedures have become very expensive. For a common man, affording these high medical costs is a strain on finances. A health insurance plan is relevant in this context. By providing compensation for medical expenses, a health insurance plan helps in safeguarding our finances.

·         Your investment goals should be secured

When we save, we save with various intentions. We save for our children’s future, for creating assets, for creating an emergency fund and for our life post retirement. When a medical emergency strikes, we need funds to pay for the various medical treatments and procedures. As mentioned earlier, these procedures are expensive. In the absence of a health insurance plan, our savings face the brunt of our medical expenses. The life goals for which we had created such savings go unfulfilled. Thus, we should have a health plan which would take care of such emergent medical costs and not hamper our investment goals.

·         There are different types of health plans

Apart from your basic mediclaim policy which pays your hospital bills, there are other health insurance policies types which are specially designed to serve different purposes. For instance, critical illness plans pay a lump sum if you are diagnosed with any illness covered by the policy. There are diabetes-specific plans which cover you even if you are a diabetic. Senior citizen plans are available to cover you in your golden years. So, whatever your requirement, a health plan provides you the solution easily.

·         Health plans save taxes too

If the above reasons are falling short in convincing you on the importance of a health insurance plan, here’s the tax angle to sweeten the deal. The premiums you pay for a health insurance policy are exempt from tax under Section 80D. If you pay the premium for yourself, your spouse and dependent kids, you can avail a maximum exemption of Rs.25, 000 annually. If you are a senior citizen (above 60 years of age) the exemption limit increases to Rs.30, 000. If you pay the premiums for your dependent parents, you can claim an additional exemption of Rs.25, 000 every year. Moreover, if your parents are senior citizens, this limit also increases to Rs.30, 000. Therefore, a total exemption of Rs.60, 000 annually can be claimed by buying and paying the premiums of a health plan.

So, what do you think? Shouldn’t you invest in a health insurance plan this year? Besides saving your finances, a health plan also helps in saving your taxes. So, go search for the best and cheapest health insurance policy and buy one today.

Source: http://www.sooperarticles.com/finance-articles/insurance-articles/why-should-you-invest-health-insurance-2017-1553739.html

Best Health Insurance Plans in India

Do you know how many health insurance companies there are presently? There are about 24 and each of these companies offers multiple policies. The market is, thus, flooded with different plans. Each health insurance plan lures a potential customer by boasting of some unique feature. In this scenario, we, as common individuals, feel confused and lost. Which plan to buy? Which plan would ensure the maximum coverage? Which plan would be the cheapest? These and many questions run through our minds. What about you? Do you know how to select the right one?

The right insurance  can be chosen based on your requirements. However, there are certain parameters which are universally applicable in choosing the right health insurance policy. Want to know what they are? Read on:

•The coverage

Though you might be tempted to look at the premium first, you shouldn't. The first consideration, when choosing the right health plan, is the coverage available. There are some basic coverage features which all health insurance plans have. These include in-patient hospitalization, pre-hospitalization, post-hospitalization, day care treatments, ambulance costs, etc. Besides these, there are other coverage features which vary between different plans. Some of these features are exceptional and enhance the scope of coverage. For instance, the auto restore feature restores the Sum Assured if it is exhausted in any year, maternity coverage covers costs related to child-birth, new born baby coverage covers the new-born till the remaining policy year, etc. So, when you are comparing between the different plans, look for the coverage features. Higher the features, the more inclusive would be the coverage provided.

•The premium

Once you are satisfied with the coverage, look at the premium rates. Don't be swayed by lower premium rates. Compare the rates against the coverage granted. Remember, the health insurance plan with higher coverage inclusions would be dearer. Since paying premium is directly proportional to your affordability, choose a plan which has the best scope of coverage and is also affordable.

•The waiting period

If you are suffering from any ailment when buying the health insurance plan those ailments are termed as pre-existing ailments. Such ailments are excluded from the cover for a few years. This period is called the waiting period. Different plans have different waiting periods ranging from 1 year to 4 years. Ideally, the plan with the lowest waiting period should be your preferred choice. It would ensure a faster coverage for you pre-existing illnesses.

•The discounts and bonus

To march ahead of the competition, health plans allow various types of premium discounts. These discounts lower the premium and are, thus, advantageous for you. 
Another concept in a health insurance plan is a No Claim Bonus (NCB). If you do not make a claim in any policy year, you are rewarded with this bonus. The NCB either increases the Sum Assured in the subsequent year at the same premium or allows premium discounts. 
Different health insurance plans have different discounts and bonus features. Needless to say, the best health insurance plan would be the one with the maximum of each, wouldn't it?

•The fringe benefits

Did you know that health insurance plans allow free health check-ups once after a few policy years? Some plans also provide a recovery benefit if hospitalization exceeds 10 or 12 days. These are additional benefits provided by health plans. These benefit you and, so, should feature in your consideration when choosing the right plan.

The points mentioned above help you look and that too in the right direction. So, weigh in these factors when choosing the right plan and you won't regret your decision. You may refer to this link http://click2cover.in/

Source: http://www.sooperarticles.com/finance-articles/insurance-articles/how-select-right-health-insurance-plan-1551589.html