However, choosing a right health insurance plan never comes easy, especially when the marketplace is overloaded with a variety of health insurance plans and new ones being regularly introduced by companies to attract clients.
Listed below are 9 common mistakes most people tend to make when investing in a health insurance plan. Avoiding these blunders will definitely help you catch up with a right health plan that ensures a super-fast, hassle-free claim settlement and even reduce your pocket expenses!
1. Underinsured - Are You?
Most people tend to go for insufficient cover just to save money (even if it is a meagre amount). A low cover may not be suitable for you when there is a medical contingency.
2. Ignore Riders and Benefits
The experts forever and a day recommend the insured to get a wide-ranging plan, but usually, they settle for a basic cover such as opting for riders and benefits. This results in incurring additional costs on the premium. Investing in a personal accident rider and critical illness rider in conjunction with a basic plan is crucial. It boosts the overall cover and guarantees the insured avails of the best of medical services. Value added services such as hospital cash, ambulance charges, domiciliary hospitalization are important as these benefits come handy at the time of trouble.
3. No Co-Pay!
Most insurance buyers tend to underestimate the value of co-pay. Going for 10-20% co-pay will lower down your premium costs substantially.
4. The Fine Print
Most buyers don't care about what is included in the policy, what's excluded, the terms and conditions, the claim policy, etc. These are mentioned in the fine print but nobody cares to spare time and read it in full, prior to signing the dotted line. Every insurance plan comes with a free look period of 15 days. Utilizing period and get to know what you've bought is important. Paying attention to details saves time, money, and efforts.
5. No Switching Insurer
Sticking to the health insurance plan even if its features and coverage fail to meet your needs is a blunder. If you fear waiting periods all over again on switching over to a new plan, the fact is that 'health insurance portability' feature allows you to switch from one insurer to another, without having to part away with the waiting period benefits!
6. Lapse
Making duly payments of your premium is crucial. The company gives 15-20 days of grace period to make the payment past due-date. Not paying the premium will lapse the policy and you must bear the waiting periods all over again on buying a new health plan.
When a policy lapses, you can make a request to the insurer for reinstatement/revival of his policy within 2-5 years of lapsing by paying penalty charge for the same.
7. Not Revealing Medical Facts
Misrepresenting or hiding crucial information relevant to your medical history is measured as a fraud and may lead to non-issuance/cancellation of the policy. No-payouts to any claims will be made. So be honest to get the best of benefits.
8. No Background Checking
Popularity of brand does not testify its background. You need to know about certain parameters of trust such as the claim settlement ratio, the solvency ratio, and the average turnaround time for settling a claim. These parameters clearly echo the commitment of the insurer towards its customers.
9. Not Shopping Around
Not shopping around can keep you away from many benefits of low premium prices, benefits, additional cover facilities etc. Shop around before settling for a plan certainly pays.
Health Insurance Info