5 MINS GUIDE HEALTH INSURANCE BUDGET

Learn to Spend Your Health Cover Budget Sensibly – 5 mins Guide

Choosing the right health insurance plan is imperative. Five minutes is what you need to learn how to efficiently spend your health insurance budget.

5 MINS GUIDE HEALTH INSURANCE BUDGETKeeping in the mind the rising medical costs and spurt of diseases, buying a health insurance is deemed important. You may have a health insurance budget in mind, but you aren’t sure how to go about it? Rather than just following what others are doing, you need to evaluate and analyse your own personal health requirements.

A regular health insurance plan may work for your friend. But, it might not suffice for you considering you have a whole new set of perspectives to look at in your family! Here are some crucial pointers that may catch your attention

Buy/Evaluate Comprehensive or Basic Policy

The first step is, of course, getting a health insurance plan. If you are already covered under a plan, evaluate the following aspects:

  1. Is it giving you just a basic cover? or is it a comprehensive plan with broader coverage?
  2. Have you compared it with other health insurance plans bearing similar budgets?

If you feel your basic health plan is not enough, shift to a comprehensive policy. Alternatively, you can consider portability if you are getting a broader coverage. It is possible that your budget can get you lower premiums and better coverage.

Buy Extra Coverage

An extra coverage may add-up to your basic health insurance plan. These add-ons help you in expanding the coverage area as per your requirement. All this comes at a lower cost as compared to a comprehensive health insurance. As per IRDAI, riders are capped at 30% premium of the basic insurance plan.

You can get additional coverage for the following:

  • Maternity cover
  • Critical illnesses
  • Hospital cash
  • Room rent waiver
  • Personal accident

Get Regular Health Checkups

At 25, you can eat a heavy and greasy burger and still walk 4 kilometres. At 40, you can still finish the burger but barely walk one kilometre. Your changing levels of fitness are indicative of ageing. With ageing come health issues, and regular health check-ups are required to keep a tab on serious illnesses. This gives you the scope to expand or increase health insurance.

Maintaining Good Health

Snacking on junk foods, avoiding exercises, etc. are all part of poor health choices. It’s never too late to kick start better lifestyle habits.

  • Make exercise a part of your everyday routine. Walk instead of driving, take the stairs, get up from that chair, etc. Indulging in 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercises, at least 4 – 5 days a week is highly recommended
  • Junk food adds to the waistline leading to obesity. Preservatives and high sodium levels put you at risk of hypertension, diabetes, etc. So, think fresh, eat fresh and choose healthy living
  • Avoid smoking and drinking
  • Spend time with your family, be happy and don’t stress. Emotional health is as important as physical health

An Individual Health Plan or Family Floater?

A personal or individual health plan covers just one individual. But, if you
are considering buying health insurance for others in your family too, think of a family floater plan. This is based on the ‘one family one policy’ concept. It does work out to be more economical and gives you broader coverage. You can share the total claim benefit. For instance, say the total policy is worth Rs. 20 lakhs for 4 members. One member can claim the entire amount for a particular year. You are not restricted to Rs. 5 lakhs cover per member here.

Buy Additional Cover

A super top-up additional cover is highly recommended for basic policies. For lower premiums, you can increase your coverage with a super top-up. It covers multiple diseases and gives you the flexibility to make multiple claims in a year as well. But, do read the threshold limit, or the amount, following which the super top-up is activated.

Health insurance companies are offering lucrative deals. You should just know which one is the best for you and your family. Choose sensibly and enjoy a healthy life.

Compare Health Plans