Last Updated on March 11, 2024 by admin
If you have a medical insurance plan, do not forget to renew it by paying your annual premium on or before the due date. If you do not have any medical insurance coverage, it will interest you to know that there are many health insurance plans that you could explore at low premium rates. These include individual, family, group, and critical illness insurance plans. But why do you need to renew or buy a health insurance policy? This post reveals the benefits of insurance renewal and the importance of your medical insurance coverage in India.
Benefits of renewing or buying health insurance plans
Regardless of whichever health insurance plan you subscribe to, you cannot go wrong if you renew your medical insurance coverage on time. Here are three key benefits of buying and renewing your health policy.
Continued protection:
By renewing your medical insurance coverage in good time, you will continue to receive insurance benefits per your coverage plan. If you do not renew on time, you could be force to incur expensive out-of-pocket expenses on medical treatment for yourself and your family members.
If your parents health insurance coverage is not renewe on time, you could be forced to spend personal funds on their costly medical treatment and medications. By not renewing your policy on time, you could also lose out on any No Claim Bonus you may otherwise be entitle to.
Tax benefits:
According to section 80D of the Income Tax Act of 1961, you will be entitled to tax benefits as an insure individual if you buy or renew your medical insurance on time. Tax benefits make having a health insurance policy cost-effective in the long run.
Avoiding increments in premium:
When you renew your health insurance plans before they expire, you save yourself the stress of purchasing a new medical insurance plan, which may involve paying a much higher premium. Also, by buying medical insurance early in life and regularly paying your premium, you can lock the premium amount and avoid paying a higher premium over a long period.
Importance of medical insurance coverage in India
It is worth noting that you do not need to have a fat bank account when you have a health insurance policy. It is because you do not need to spend money on emergency medical treatment, hospitalisation and prescription.
In many policies, you could get a coverage amount of as much as one crore per annum, which can be use for any in-patient treatment for yourself and your family members (depending on your coverage) in a year. Some of the other important aspects of purchasing or renewing your medical insurance coverage include the following:
Cashless hospitalisation:
You can receive free healthcare when admitted to a designated hospital or clinic with your cashless card. Your insurer will pay about 90% of all hospital expenses, provided you pay your premium regularly.
Pays for accident hospitalisation:
Accidents can happen at the drop of a hat, but with health insurance plans, your accident hospitalisation expenses are take care of by your insurer. It also includes ambulance and emergency services which are especially good for parents health insurance coverage, as your elderly parents are prone to accidents.
Caters for general surgery:
Your health insurance plan will pay for general surgeries, such as kidney stone removal, gallbladder surgery, fissures, haemorrhoid treatment or any other general surgery stated in your coverage. Paying your premium on time allows you to take advantage of this benefit.
Caters for hospitalisation caused by seasonal illness:
If you come down with seasonal diseases like dengue, dysentery, malaria, pneumonia or typhoid that cause hospitalisation, your insurer will be able to foot the bill when needed. You are also entitle to this benefit one month after purchasing a medical insurance plan.
Caters for hospitalisation expenses for pre-existing and critical illness:
You save loads of personal funds when you buy or renew your insurance policy, especially on hospitalisation expenses for treating critical disease and pre-existing ailments like high blood pressure, diabetes, lung, kidney, liver and heart health conditions.
Typically, you need to have maintained your medical insurance for between 3 to 4 years before you can benefit from pre-existing illnesses, but in the case of critical conditions, you will start benefiting from your purchased or renewed policy only after 30 days.
In conclusion
You should always renew your health insurance plans on time to avoid purchasing a new one or losing out on your No Claim Bonus. Also, by renewing on time, you can lock your annual premium over the length of your medical insurance coverage rather than having to purchase a new policy from scratch at particularly high premium rates. To maintain relatively low premium rates, you must keep your policy by paying your premium before it expires.
