Everyone wishes to have a healthy body without any diseases for themselves and their loved ones. But illnesses come without giving a warning. Such situations not only create physical and mental discomfort but also wreak havoc financially.

Thus, it is advised to take medical insurance as per your capacity. There are many aspects of medical insurance that one needs to be aware of to make an informed decision. Do not wait for a disease to strike you or your close ones and then regret not investing in health insurance.

Basics Of Health Insurance

It is an agreement between the insurance company and the policyholder wherein the insurance company guarantees to give financial aid for the insured’s medical expenses. A policyholder can either choose a cashless treatment option or get the reimbursement of medical costs. Generally, hospitalization is mandatory for medical insurance to work.

Types of Medical Insurance

Individual Health Insurance Plan: It offers insurance benefits to the individual who has the policy in his/her name. Generally, medicine and hospitalization expenses are covered herein. The amount of premium depends on the age of the policyholder.

Family Health Insurance Plan: This plan covers the individual and the family members for multiple diseases. A fixed sum is assured that can be availed by a single individual or by all family members.

Critical Illness Insurance Plan: Usually, this plan insures against acute illnesses such as cancer, heart attack, etc. The premium of critical illness insurance is on the higher side due to exorbitant medical expenses.

Senior Citizen Health Insurance Plan: This policy benefits individuals who are above the age of 60. Old-age medical ailments are covered under this policy with benefits such as tax deduction and cover for daycare and post-hospitalization expenses.

Maternity Health Insurance Plan: This plan covers maternity expenses that occurred during pre and postnatal care, newborn baby’s delivery, and sometimes covers vaccination. Even ambulance fare is covered.

Personal Accident Plan: In case of an accident, hospitalization expenses are covered under this policy. The amount of premium depends on the amount of cover insured.

Unit Linked Health Plan: Recently introduced, this plan gives the best of insurance as well as investment. It helps in corpus building for expenditures other than the ones covered by health insurance.

Advantages of Medical Insurance

Cashless Treatment option: Insurance companies collaborate with a lot of network hospitals. Thus, the insured can avail cashless treatment from any such network hospital.

Conveyance: Ambulance fare is also covered under the insurance policy as transportation cost

Pre and Post Hospitalization Coverage: According to your insurance plan, the policy covers pre and post-hospitalization charges for 60 days.

Medical Checkup: Regular medical checkups are also an option that comes under a health insurance policy.

No Claim Bonus: If the policyholder has not claimed reimbursement for any treatment in the previous year, then the bonus is paid to the insured

Tax Deduction: Health insurance premium is eligible for tax deduction under section 80D of the Income Tax Act.

Thus, having medical insurance not only safeguards your finances but also provides you other services that otherwise become chaotic in case of an emergency. Usually, people take insurance for tax savings, but the actual benefit is in being insured.