Health issues, be they minor ones like the seasonal flu or complicated diseases that require hospitalization, often arise without giving one a heads up. When faced with such a situation, one realizes the importance of financial preparedness to combat medical emergencies.
It is at times like this that a health insurance policy becomes necessary. In exchange for a nominal premium, such a policy serves as a protection of one’s savings corpus by offering comprehensive coverage and some added benefits in case of any medical emergency. And in the absence of a backup health insurance plan, one may have to shell out their hard-earned money on the expensive medical treatments. Therefore, it is crucial to discover ways in which one can save on their health insurance premiums. Let’s explore the same through this article.
Early bird gets the worm: It is a thumb rule in health insurance that one must purchase coverage early in life as health insurance premiums tend to rise with age — the older one gets, the higher the premium one has to pay. Therefore, buying health insurance when young is pivotal, to build a good claim history, and can help one save a lot of money on premiums.
Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle: Maintaining one’s health can actually translate into actual wealth at the time of health insurance renewal. However, the fitness criteria may differ from policy to policy. For instance, the parameters could include walking a certain number of steps, and earning attractive rewards of up to 20% of your base premium for completing the number of predefined steps towards wellness in a day. You can use these reward points towards a discount on your renewal premium.
The power to Switch Off: We are always looking for something better. With a revolutionary feature such as “Switch Off ” in a plan, one can switch off their health insurance for up to 30 days while travelling outside India after the first year of policy and get premium discount at the time of renewal.
Guaranteed Cumulative Bonus: Considering the growing medical inflation, you sure don’t want that extra burden turning your world upside down. Which is why, look for a plan that provides Guaranteed Cumulative Bonus in exchange for the same premium. However, if one opts for fresh coverage for this amount, they will be required to pay an extra premium. For instance, there are few health insurance plans in the market that offers Guaranteed Cumulative Bonus of 25% per policy year, maximum up to 200% of Sum Insured, irrespective of claim.
Rewarding Relationship: If you keep renewing the plan, from the 4th policy year onwards, the insurer rewards you with discount benefits. An insured person will get a loyalty discount on the applicable premium, every year till lifetime of the insured. If you avail of the coverage for 2 or more family members, you will receive a 15% family discount on premiums. If you renew the policy via NACH or standing instruction where payment is made either by direct debit of bank account or credit card one can get an additional discount of 3% on the renewal premium.
Opt for Super Top Up Plan: If a person is already covered by their company or has private health insurance but also wants a higher sum insured, they do not need to purchase another policy. Instead, they can opt for a super top-up plan, which will provide them with the additional coverage that they require while enabling considerable savings on the premium. Super Top Up is a value for money plan that offers a wide range of Sum Insured ranging between 1 lac to ₹30 lacs at an affordable premium amount.
Compare plans before purchasing: Over the last few years, the health insurance industry has grown many-fold. As a result, there are numerous health insurance options one can choose from. Comparing the benefits of several health insurance policies might assist in determining which plan is best suited to one’s needs. This can be accomplished more efficiently through an online search and comparison. Some insurers provide a health insurance coverage calculator on their website to give an estimate of how much cover you may require and how much the plan may cost. One simply needs to input the required details and the calculator will produce a health insurance coverage and quote for free. Based on the comparison of quotations for multiple plans, a person can choose one that covers their needs and is easy on the pocket.
In a nutshell, availing a right health insurance plan does not have to be complicated and expensive. By following the simple aforementioned tips, one can avoid spending a lot on health insurance premiums. This way, one can easily save their hard-earned money while simultaneously protecting themselves from unexpected medical bills.
Srikanth Kandikonda is the Chief Financial Officer at ManipalCigna Health Insurance Company Limited
