Top 5 Health Insurance Plans of 2018

In case you’re planning to invest in a good Health Insurance plan, here are the top five for this year.

Health is one of the most important things in our lives. In spite of this, we often ignore it. If you’re unwell, it won’t only affect your daily productivity but will also burn a hole in your pocket. You wouldn’t want either of the two, would you?

Here’s what you can do to ensure that this doesn’t happen. You need to get smart about how you manage your health and finances. Most of these plans have the option of life-long cover and give you protection from all kinds of medical emergencies.

Additional Reading: Why Health Insurance Is A Must In Financial Planning

What To Keep In Mind Before Choosing A Health Insurance Policy

Here are three of the most crucial factors you need to consider before finalising a Health Insurance policy:

Coverage

Wondering what coverage is? Just take a look at how many health services your Health Insurance policy offers as part of your package. This is the coverage of the policy. Find out the inclusions and exclusions of the policy before you zero in on one.

Costs Involved

Understanding the costs involved in a Health Insurance policy is important if you want to get the most appropriate Health Plan for you. You should ask questions about the premium, deductible amount on the policy, and charges for using out-of-network hospitals.

Comparison

Once you have a better understanding of the costs and coverage of Health Insurance policies, you will be able to compare plans and make an informed decision about a Health Insurance policy.

How To Shortlist The Right Health Insurance Plan

When it comes to shortlisting the Health Insurance plans, here are things you need to keep in mind:

Premium Amount

You must remember that the most appropriate Health Insurance policy for you will probably not be the least expensive. However, affordability is a prime concern for many people. Therefore, insurance plans with a lower cost tend to be rated higher. But the policy’s premium is not everything. There are several other factors to take into consideration when choosing the right policy. Every policy should be designed to cater specifically to an individual’s medical needs which can vary, based on your age and lifestyle. Only then can a Health Insurance plan be beneficial to the insured.

Policy Features

This is the most important criteria to select a Health Insurance plan. The product’s features include factors like the waiting period for pre-existing diseases, etc. Get a policy that offers a minimum or lower waiting period. Other features like an extensive partner hospital network and range of illnesses covered also play an important role when deciding on a plan.

Co-Pay

This feature in Health Insurance policies usually has an impact on health plans for senior citizens. Co-pay means that an insured person agrees to pay a part of the medical bills while the insurance company covers the remainder of the costs. This way, insurers can limit their liabilities on senior citizens policies. A policy with a co-pay clause is cheaper because the financial liability is divided between the insurer and the insured person.

No Claim Bonus

A No Claim Bonus increases the sum assured for the insured person for every year in which a claim is not filed with the Health Insurance provider.

Additional Reading: 7 Types Of Health Insurance Plans

Health services are becoming more expensive by the day and if you already have a lot of expenses to handle, minimising your health expenditure sure would be a smart thing to do. Opting for a Health Insurance plan is certainly worth your time and effort and it wouldn’t hurt to explore the benefits.

To make things simpler for you, here are five Health Insurance plans for 2018, handpicked based on factors like flexibility, pre and post-hospitalisation cover, lifetime policy renewal facility, etc.:

Apollo Munich Optima Restore

This policy comes in two variants—Optima Restore Individual and Optima Restore Family. As the names suggest, the first one is for individuals and offers the benefit of automatically reinstating the basic sum if you exhaust the policy in one year. The latter covers your family and in case one of your family members exhausts the floater sum during the year, and some other member falls sick, the entire amount gets restored without any extra charges.

Max Bupa Heartbeat

The highlight of this Medical Insurance plan is that it can cover up to 14 family members under an individual sum insured for everyone separately, and a floating sum that’s accessible to all covered under the plan. This means that if you’ve taken this policy with another family member, apart from getting an individual assured sum, you also get to avail of a floating sum in case you exhaust your share. Apart from this, you get a wide range of features and options to choose from. It also covers all hospitalisation costs with no limit on the room rent. There are also unique maternity benefits for up to two deliveries and a cover for both you and your spouse.

Star Health Senior Citizen Red Carpet

This is one of the best Health Insurance plans and aims at securing the sunset years of the elderly. The age group for this plan is 60 to 75 years, with benefits like a cover for pre-existing diseases from the second year onwards, higher sum insured of up to Rs. 10 lakh and the option to get a guaranteed lifetime renewal. All this, without the need to undergo any pre-insurance medical test.

Bajaj Allianz’s Health Guard

This policy comes in two variants—Individual Health Guard (one for an individual) and Health Guard Family Floater (one that covers the entire family). With this plan, you get a lot of benefits like—a medical expenses cover during hospitalisation, a pre and post-hospitalisation expenses cover, an emergency ambulance charges cover, a medical check-up cover, etc. You also get a full refund of all the pre-policy medical tests in case the proposal is accepted and the policy is issued.

ICICI Lombard’s Complete Health Insurance

It provides all the benefits of a comprehensive coverage to you and your family, giving you the liberty to choose your medical plan, policy, and premium according to what you can afford and your other requirements. Some of the key things it covers include—30 days pre and 60 days post-hospitalisation, 150 day-care surgeries, accidental emergencies, lifetime policy renewal facility, etc.

A Health Insurance plan should be based on your individual needs – a policy that provides you with the maximum benefits at a premium that is easy on your pocket.

Looking for the right insurance plan? Congratulations! You’ve come to the right place.