Our stressful lives combined with pollution, poor eating habits, sleeping patterns and the lack of exercise have given rise to many lifestyle diseases like high blood pressure and diabetes. Therefore, protective health insurance cover has become a necessity. With health insurance, you need not worry about paying for unpredictable medical contingencies from your savings and income. You can receive adequate health cover that will reduce your medical expenses considerably.
Eligibility Guidelines for Buying a Health Insurance Policy in India
The Indian healthcare system is among the largest in the world. Sadly, health insurance penetration in India is only 0.7.%, which is considered to be very low. One of the reasons for such low insurance penetration is inadequate knowledge about the eligibility and the process of buying health insurance. Hence, let’s look into the eligibility guidelines for buying health insurance in India:
1. Age: Adults between the ages of 18 years to 65 years of age can buy a health insurance policy. The amount of premium paid will differ, according to age. If you purchase a health insurance plan at a young age, you will be able to pay lower premiums due to good health and fewer visits to the doctor.
2. Pre-existing health conditions: If you are already ailing from a certain pre-existing health condition such as diabetes or heart problems, you can still choose a policy designed to cover these illnesses. Some insurance companies also have a co-payment option for these health conditions where the insurer pays some part of the premium amount.
3. Medical testing: Before buying health insurance, the insurance provider requires a medical report that determines whether you are eligible for health insurance. Generally, if you are above 40-45 years of age, the medical tests are mandatory.
How to Buy Health Insurance Online in India?
Buying a health insurance plan online is an easy and hassle-free process:
1. Choose a health insurance plan that suits your needs: There are different types of health insurance plan available in India. You can browse through comprehensive health plans, critical illness plans, individual health cover, family floater plans, senior citizen health insurance and so on. Go through the health insurance plan offered by your insurance company. It is advisable to opt for a comprehensive health insurance plan, with critical illness rider benefit, for all-round coverage. You can choose between an individual plan and a family-floater based on your family’s requirements.
2. Choose the member you want to insure: You can extend the coverage of your health insurance plan to any of your family members, depending on the policy guidelines. This can either be your spouse, a parent, a dependent sibling or even your child.
3. Enter the date of birth: Fill in the complete date of birth of the family member in the correct format needed on the website.
4. Choose the amount of the sum assured: You can choose the amount for which you want yourself or your family member to be covered. If you feel that you should go for a higher sum assured then you can scroll and choose it.
5. Filling in the personal details: To be able to get the right premium quote for yourself or your family member, provide the personal details such as your/their email address, the state’s name, and the mobile number.
6. Pre-existing illnesses: It is crucial to mention any pre-existing illness of all the members to be covered under the health plan. Health insurance policies have higher premium prices and pre-determined waiting periods for certain pre-existing conditions. Make sure to acquaint yourself with these guidelines before buying the policy.
7. Get an appropriate quote: Once the insurance provider has calculated the premium quote, you can proceed with the online purchase of the health insurance plan.
Conclusion
It is necessary to protect yourself with a suitable health insurance policy that will reduce the burden of your medical expenditures. While we are aware of how important it is to lead a healthy lifestyle, medical emergencies and the subsequent bills are not always under our control.
Kotak Life offers an attractive, fixed-benefit, comprehensive health insurance plan called the Kotak Health Shield. With 4 extensive critical illness covers (cancer, heart, liver and neurological) and accidental death benefit, you get a comprehensive health cover. Visit the website today for more details.
