Due to the rising health care costs in India, Arjun decided to go for a health insurance cover. He followed the trend of buying multiple health insurance policies and opted for a mixture of policies. Arjun is not the only one to be following this trend. In India, more and more youngsters are choosing multiple insurance policies for getting comprehensive coverage against various kinds of risks. So, even if you lose a job, your additional medical insurance cover helps you get over the loss. An individual can easily purchase multiple medical insurance policies with a number of inclusions. The exclusions, inclusions, waiting period, pre-existing period and illness coverage can be separate from the parent policy though. Most of the people suffering from ailments like hypertension and diabetes opt for these kinds of policies. A typical medical insurance policy and an illness specific policy are usually recommended for such people.
Even though there is a proper awareness regarding the purchase of health insurance in India, there are some people who have doubts regarding multiple health insurance policies. They don’t even know if they can actually apply for more than one mediclaim policy. RBI has always worked towards the efficiency of health care system in the country and ensured that everyone gets the right insurance services.
Can you apply for more than one mediclaim/health insurance policy?
Yes, you can apply for more than one health insurance policy in India. You can easily do this for several reasons including that you have a present policy offered by your employer, however, you still need to have an extra one as you might have to change your job in the future. People also opt for these policies when they don’t have a policy that offers good risk coverage. In case you have a critical illness and your present policy doesn’t really cover it, you must opt for multiple medical insurance policies. An individual can opt for two different policies offering different benefits. A simple health insurance plan when combined with a critical illness plan can offer several benefits.
Here is a look at the key features of two different policies which can be taken up together as multiple health insurance policies.
| SBI General Health Insurance Plan | HDFC Critical Illness Silver Plan |
| Key Features – Wide amount of coverage from Rs 50, 000 to Rs 5, 00, 000No tests required for the people of age 45 years or less (If they have absolutely no medical history)Assured renewal | Key features – A good lump-sum benefit on the diagnosis of the disease.Coverage against 8 major critical diseases – Major organ transplantation, paralysis, multiple sclerosis, kidney failure, cancer, stroke, heart attack and coronary artery bypass surgeryNo medical check-up required for this policy |
As on 22nd February, 2014
Know the renewal terms
Knowing the renewal terms offered by the insurer is very important so that you know where exactly you stand. Managing a policy can become impossible if you don’t pay attention towards the renewable terms and conditions. Here is a look at the renewable terms of top 5 banks offering health insurance.
| Insurance Provider | Renewable Terms |
| ICICI Lombard | Lifelong renewal without any restriction on age |
| Star Health Insurance | Lifelong renewal on all grounds except, misinterpretation/fraud/moral hazard |
| Bharti AXA | Lifelong renewal |
| Apollo Munich Insurance | Lifelong renewal |
| Bajaj Allianz | Lifelong renewal |
Managing your policies
As soon as you’ve decided to go for a second insurance plan, you need to tell about the present policy to the insurance provider. It is crucial to tell your new insurance provider regarding all the major details of the existing policy so that all the facts are disclosed from your end. To manage your health insurance policy well, you’ll have to avoid all kinds of disputes that might arise in the future. However, if you have a policy offered by your present employer, there’s no need to tell about it to the insurance provider. Such a policy will get lapsed when you leave the job. There are two major ways of making a claim here, either you pay the amount first and then claim the overall refund later regarded as reimbursement or you could simply opt for cashless claim.
Reimbursement
According to the latest guidelines by IRDA, one needs to approach an insurer first and acquire summary of the claim procedure from them and then make a claim. So, first of all you need to submit all the original medical bills to make the claim. Have multiple copies available at your disposal so that you can get them attested by the hospital authorities. Once the bills are approved and your claim gets processed, you will be offered a summary of the claim settlement. Now, you must submit this summary with the other insurer to claim the remaining amount of money from him.
What about cashless claims?
If there is any kind of cashless provision in the health insurance policy, you could easily make such a claim only on one of the policies. The remaining amount will be claimed from the other company through the reimbursement method. Even though you can get your claim settled from both the insurers, only one of the policies are equipped to offer you cashless claim. So, when you apply for medical insurance, you must take care of the cashless claim clause.
Some key recommendations
- In case the health insurance claim arises in regard to your family members with a pre-existing illness, it is better to use an employer group policy. The claim procedure in such a policy is simple.
- In case you don’t have any family member that has a pre-existing illness, you must use the simple group policy. It helps you in keeping your entire accumulated bonus safe during the policy’s renewal procedure.
- You must get your credit score offered by CIBIL. However, you must know about the documents required to apply for the credit score.
While choosing multiple health insurance policies, it is better to stay honest with your insurer.