by Amara Etter
India has seen significant inflation in health care and medical costs for quite some time now, but it has only gotten worse since the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic. Today, not having health insurance is equal to gambling one’s life away while also putting loved ones at risk.
As the importance of health insurance increases, the availability and types of policies have also increased remarkably. Unfortunately, the abundance of plans in the market can get confusing for potential policy buyers, but don’t worry as this guide will help seekers narrow down choices and find the best health insurance policies.
Here are the six best health insurance policies to choose from.
1. Individual Health Insurance
The most basic health insurance plan available to policy buyers is an individual plan that covers hospitalization, medical treatments, and other related costs of a single person. The sum insured can only be availed by the individual to whom the policy is issued. In individual health plans, the premium amount is determined by the policyholder’s age.
2. Family Floater Health Insurance Plans
One of the most affordable and best health insurance policies is the family floater plan. As the name implies, this plan covers one’s immediate family under one premium. As a result, all members have easy access to the sum insured, securing loved ones along with the policyholder. In floater policies, the premium is calculated as per age of the eldest member of the family. However, it is crucial to remember that all family floater plans vary from one insurance provider to another, so it’s important to make an informed decision.
3. Senior Citizen Health Insurance
Senior citizen plans rank well on the list of the best health insurance policies in India. These policies are specifically curated for individuals above the age of 61 as well as those who are suffering from age-related ailments and conditions. A senior citizen health policy can be easily customized, offers higher sum insured, and comes with added benefits such as free annual health checkups and AYUSH treatments.
4. Maternity Insurance Plans
Most basic health insurance plans do not cover maternity expenses, leaving one with the option of buying maternity benefits at an additional cost or purchasing a separate maternity policy altogether. However, those who plan to embrace motherhood should opt for independent maternity insurance as it offers adequate coverage, including room rent, delivery charges, pre and postnatal care, daycare, and newborn coverage.
5. Disease-Specific Health Insurance
Since all base health care plans don’t include coverage for pre-existing conditions, a disease-specific policy might just be one of the best health insurance policies for some. Purchasing disease-specific health insurance can easily manage any pre-existing illnesses like diabetes, hypertension, and high blood pressure. Moreover, such policies can be easily personalized as per medical requirements.
6. Critical Illness Health Insurance Policies
Based on the government’s cancer registry data, it is estimated that India will witness around 8 lakh (800K) new cases of cancer every year. These figures only highlight the need to invest in critical illness plans, which include cancer and other prevalent critical ailments. Buying such policies will save you from burdening costs of medical care and treatments that accompany critical illnesses.
Buy the Best Health Insurance Policies
After going through a list of the best health insurance policies and figuring out the right fit, the next step is to seek trustworthy insurance providers, like Care Health Insurance. However, despite the type of health plan chosen, it is best to consider the following features: age criteria, lifetime renewal, No Claim Bonus, pre & post-hospitalization charges, medicine costs, co-payment, hospital network, cashless payments, exclusions, and sub-limits.
It may seem like a lot, but people can end up purchasing the wrong health insurance policy if they don’t consider all these features. So it’s advisable to always keep the points mentioned above in mind before picking out certain plans.
