Health insurance is an important part of modern life, given the extraordinary rise of chronic health conditions like diabetes, obesity, thyroid problems, kidney and liver problems.

The most important things that people need to do to maintain their health have now become unattainable due to the pressures of modern life. So, to help you deal with this, the insurance industry has a lot of options available.

What is Health Insurance and it’s Types-

Health Insurance is a financial tool that covers the financial support for your medical expenses. a health Insurance Policy is a Contract between You and the insurance provider(Insurance Company) where the Insurance Company promises to pay off your medical expenses basis on the Contract Terms & Conditions.

A health Insurance Covers a wide-range of medical expenses like the hospitalization, surgery, Doctor Consultation, medicines, room rent and ambulance.

There are various types of health plans offered to ensure that you find the right one for your requirements and it has the necessary coverage. So, what are these different kinds of health insurance plans? And how do they differ from each other? Let’s find out.

8 Types of Health Plans You Should Know About-

1. Individual Health Insurance

Individual health insurance plans, as the name suggests, are recommended for individuals with no dependents. They have the lowest premiums compared to other health plans as the number of people covered is minimal. The individual health plans can also vary in terms of the type of coverage offered. They can include only hospitalization expenses or other riders, such as daycare expenses included, which you may need to buy extra.

2. Senior Citizen Health Insurance

Senior citizen health plans are the most expensive health plans because the probability of a senior citizen cashing in their medical insurance is higher comparatively. These insurances cover hospitalization costs as well as other treatment costs.

The coverage varies significantly among insurance providers. The key difference between this and other kinds of health insurance is senior citizen health plans may not require people to go through a mandatory health checkup before the insurance coverage begins.

3. Family Health Insurance

This type of health plans are most commonly offered by employers to their employees. Family health insurances generally include the main insured, one spouse, and two dependents, which can be parents or children based on your requirements.

The details of each insured member as well as a brief medical history of the person insured is required before the insurance coverage is provided. This type of policy is also commonly bought by the breadwinners in a family and have varying monthly premium based on the insurance provider and the type of coverage opted for.

4. Personal Accident Health Insurance

Personal accident health insurance is different from other health plans discussed here. This type of policy is more similar to term insurance plans, as the amount you pay for the premium is not returned if the insured does not face any accident during the policy tenure.

Personal accident health insurances have a very low monthly or yearly premium. These policies can be extremely helpful in case of personal accidents as they provide a lump sum payout.

5. Critical Illness Health Insurance

Critical illness coverage is one of the most important parts of health insurance. This is why insurance providers offer dedicated critical illness coverage health insurance that covers patients from the significant medical costs that may come with a critical illness diagnosis.

It is important to note that critical illness health insurance can only be purchased as a preventative coverage. Generally, insurance providers do not offer critical illness coverage for preexisting conditions. However, exceptions can be made by insurance providers, though the insurance premiums may be significantly higher in such cases. 

6. Hospital Daily Cash Health Insurance

This is one of the newer types of health insurance plans. It is aimed at helping patients meet the day-to-day hospital expenses of an unexpected hospitalisation. The policy is not concerned with preexisting health conditions and active treatments. It provides a daily hospitalisation fee as determined by your policy for every day a patient is hospitalised.

There are certain terms and conditions that patients need to fulfil during their hospitalisation to be eligible for the payouts. So, make sure you’re clear about the policy terms and conditions to ensure you are able to get the payouts on time in case of unexpected hospitalisation.

7. Maternity Health Insurance

Maternity health insurance, as the name suggests, is aimed at pregnant women to help them go through a pregnancy without a load of medical expenses. The insurance needs to be purchased beforehand as it generally has a significant waiting period before coverage kicks in, which can be as long as four years.

The coverage generally includes the hospitalisation costs before the delivery as well as the cost of the delivery. So, make sure you compare different insurance providers to get the best coverage and lowest waiting period for your policy.

8. Mediclaim

Mediclaim is the most commonly known term when discussing kinds of health insurance. It is similar to the other health insurance policies discussed above and it offers similar benefits. Different insurance providers offer a mediclaim policy that offers coverage for treatments such as surgeries and hospitalisation costs for any medical conditions that you may have after the policy coverage begins.

This is all you need to know about the types of health plans available in India. The key is to always compare different insurance providers and understand your coverage requirements before purchasing any plan.

Health insurance is key to a financially independent life in today’s time, so make sure you take regular care of your health and get a policy that meets your needs adequately. For more information about insurance providers in India, check out my other blog on the top 10 insurance companies in India.

Also Read: What Is Insurance and Types of Insurance available in India?

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Buying Health Insurance

Health insurance is a necessity for modern life. However, as it is with most insurance products, the cards are stacked against you if you don’t know what you’re doing. When it comes to health insurance, the fine print and the terms and conditions are everything. Unlike traditional life insurance, health insurance doesn’t guarantee returns on maturity. 

It provides payment for medical services when you are hospitalised in case of medical emergencies. However, the blanket statement we mentioned doesn’t accurately represent health insurance. There are numerous conditions that an insurance policy has before it pays out any money to you to cover your medical expenses. 

So, what should you do? Like most things in life, the key is to make yourself aware of the common health insurance mistakes and make sure you don’t do them. So, what are health insurance mistakes? Let’s find out.

7 Common Health Insurance Mistakes You Must Avoid

1. Don’t Only Focus on Saving Money

When you are buying health insurance, one of the first things people do is try to find the policy with the lowest premium and buy it. That’s not the healthiest way to look at it. Saving a few rupees on premium may cost you big time in the long run. It may force you not to get full coverage at times of medical emergencies.

It may cause you to get your claim rejected because you’re not very clear about the policy inclusions and exclusions at the time of buying. Lastly, buying health plans solely with the goal of saving money can cause you to carry additional out-of-pocket expenses at times of medical emergency.

2. Know Your Medical Risks & History

It is crucial to know your medical history, as it applies to your medical risks and family medical history. If you don’t know you are at risk of diabetes and you are diagnosed with it one year after getting your health plan, it may not cover the condition as the insurance provider may say you failed to mention your risks previously.

Similarly, if you don’t know your family medical history, you may not know that you’re at a higher than average risk of cancer, and that may fail to be covered if you don’t disclose it upfront at the time of getting your health insurance.

3. Don’t Avoid Add On and Riders

Avoiding add-ons at a fast food restaurant is okay, but it is not okay when you are buying health insurance. Add-on and riders are provided to help close gaps in the insurance coverage. They may increase your premiums slightly, but they significantly improve your coverage and allow you to protect your future in the best way possible.

If you are at risk of any critical or chronic illness, these riders can help you get the coverage you need, which would otherwise have to be borne out of pocket. The add-ons and riders are also not that expensive, so it is better to get them than not.

4. Not Checking The Network Hospital List

Your hospital network list is crucial when you are choosing the right health insurance plan for you. If your plan doesn’t cover the hospitals in your area, it makes no sense to get that plan. At the time of a medical emergency, it may not be possible for you to visit the hospital that’s further away just because the one closer to your location isn’t covered under your policy.

Make sure you check the hospital network list of the policy you’re choosing before you buy. You can also opt for a rider or add-on for your policy, which covers expenses at non-partner hospitals if you already have an active health plan.

Also Read: Do’s and Don’ts of Buying Life Insurance

5. Not Knowing The Claim Settlement Ratio

When you are hospitalised, you either submit your hospital bills to the insurance company for reimbursement or the hospital sends the bill directly to the insurance company; that’s called a claim. When the insurance company pays out this claim, that’s called claim settlement. This is the most crucial metric of a health insurance provider and plan. The claim settlement ratio is how many times the insurer has paid out the submitted claims without any problems.

If the claim settlement ratio is high, which means over 97% in this case, then it can be a good deal for you to buy that plan. If the claim settlement ratio is low, it means that you may face problems at the time of claim reimbursement or disbursal, so be wary of purchasing those plans.

6. Not Getting Your Own Health Insurance

Employers provide health insurance as a part of employment benefits in most cases. While they may seem enough, it is always better to have your own health insurance as well. Having your own health plan can help you cover any of the gaps that your employment health plan has, and it can also be much cheaper for you to get this second policy as you may not need the comprehensive coverage that a solo health plan offers. In fact, if you are in between jobs, the personal health plan can help you keep your medical expenses in check in case of any emergency.

7. Not Knowing Policy Exclusions

Exclusions are the bane of your health plan coverage. The exclusions are placed for various reasons quoted by the insurance companies. No matter if you agree with their logic or not, they are there and ignoring them won’t make them go away. You need to be very clear about the policy exclusions and make sure you don’t get a policy that has unfair exclusions.

Even for simple things like your policy not covering parts of your hospitalisation expense, they can lead to an added out of pocket expense in case of medical emergencies. So, make sure you study the policy exclusions of your health plan before purchasing and even talk to different health insurance providers to get a fair idea of industry standards.

These are some of the most common health insurance mistakes that you must avoid. These mistakes can end up being very expensive for you and also lead to greater out-of-pocket expenses in case of hospitalisations. Also, make sure you always compare health plans among different insurance providers and get the plan that has the most benefits for you.

Lastly, if you can spare the expense, try getting a cashless plan, as it can have various benefits for you at times of a medical emergency. For more information about insurance policies and health insurance, check out our other blogs.