4 Excuses Women Make For Not Having A Health Insurance Cover

By | September 24, 2018

Conversations revolving around women’s health and hygiene may be on the rise, but there’s one crucial thing missing from these conversations – Health Insurance. Let’s find out why.

4 Excuses women make for not having a health insurance cover

From running the household single-handedly to launching satellites into Mars’ orbit, there’s nothing womankind can’t do. However, as is the case with women across geographies and social strata, they often end up ignoring their health and finances in the bargain.

Take the case of Health Insurance. Given that the average woman has a longer lifespan than men and tends to undergo more health-related complications in her lifetime, having a Health Insurance cover would seem like a no-brainer. However, according to an ICICI Lombard General Insurance survey*, only 22% of women have individual Health Insurance.

Let’s take a look at some of the excuses that women offer up for not having a Health Insurance policy:

Excuse #1: Who needs insurance when you’re hale and hearty?

Here’s a revelation that will blow your mind. Most women rule out the need for Health Insurance because they imagine they would never fall sick or face any health-related complications. As short-sighted as it may seem, women fail to realise that diseases don’t discriminate and no matter how healthy or fit you may be today, no one can predict the future.

Juggling between demanding work and personal lives can bring with it its own set of lifestyle disorders like cardiac diseases, obesity, diabetes etc. Given that in most cases, women steer the ship when it comes to their household, a sudden bout of illness or disease would bring the household to a standstill and jeopardise the family’s finances.

Additional Reading: Why Working Women Need A Financial Adviser

Excuse #2: Why do I need insurance if my husband has one?

Most organisations today as a part of their compensation package offer employees a Health Insurance plan that covers employees as well as their dependents. Sadly, a large segment of women assumes this cover to be enough and do not feel the need to have an individual Health Insurance plan. What most fail to realise is that in today’s volatile job market where job loss is frequent, it is imprudent to rely on one’s own or spouse’s company health cover alone.

If you face an unanticipated medical emergency while your husband is between jobs, not only will the company health cover prove to be useless, but not having a cover in spite of it may significantly drain your finances.

Excuse #3: I can’t afford Health Insurance

According to the Monster Salary Index (MSI)*, the gender pay disparity in India is abominable. For every man that earns a median gross hourly salary of Rs. 231, a woman earns only Rs. 184.8. One would assume that the gap narrows as one goes up the ranks, but the picture is pretty bleak there as well. While men with up to two years of experience earn 7.8% higher median wages, those with 11 or more years of experience get 25% more.

So women not being able to afford Health Insurance as much as men may be factually correct, but this is still no excuse. In fact, this should be even more reason why women should consider getting Health Insurance. Given that women have a smaller income, the sudden occurrence of a medical emergency would deplete her of any savings that she may have to pay for medical treatment.

Since women tend to also have a longer lifespan, it becomes imperative for them to have an individual health cover.

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Excuse #4: I have employee Health Insurance

While an employee Health Insurance cover may seem adequate, it often isn’t for the following reasons:

  1. You may be out of or between jobs: Employee Health Insurance will only be applicable until the time you’re attached to the organisation. The policy will not be operational once you jump ship or during the time you’re between jobs. In the event of a medical emergency during this time, you won’t have any other resort than to pay out of your pocket for medical expenses.
  2. Your organisation policies change: At the time of renewal, your employee Health Insurance may undergo revisions that may exclude critical illnesses from the cover. If you were to come down with an illness of that ilk, you can be certain that this will threaten your family’s financial security.
  3. Post-retirement: With advancing age, your health will need more attention. Until retirement, if you rely on your company-provided cover alone, you will be left without one post-retirement. Getting a Health Insurance post-retirement will get increasingly difficult as insurers put candidates through stringent medical tests and charge a higher premium for the same cover.

Additional Reading: Popular Cancer Care Plans In India

With women reclaiming their space in every sphere of public, there’s no reason why a medical emergency should thwart their life plans and knock them down. Health Insurance will be the wind beneath your wings so that you can soar to new heights every day.

We have a bunch of Health Insurance plans customised to your needs and preferences. Give them a look.

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