What is Health Insurance and Why do You Need it?

The importance of good health was further realised after the whole world stood still engulfed by a virus. While you can take precautionary measures to keep yourself safe, you can’t save yourself from the rising costs of healthcare. That is unless you get health insurance in time. A health insurance plan provides you with financial coverage on expenses which include surgical expenses, critical illness and hospitalisation bills, etc. ​

What is health insurance?

Health insurance is a contract between you and your health insurance provider. Under the contract, you promise to pay a pre-decided sum, at a pre-decided frequency as premium for the coverage. In return, the health insurance company will cover the predetermined list of medical expenses. This coverage amount, called the Sum Insured (SI), can be helpful to take care of medical bills and hospital expenses.

The coverage can be in two forms -

Reimbursement of all the expenses: In this case, you have to make the payment to the hospital first. You can then submit all the receipts and relevant documents to the insurance company. This is called ‘filing a claim’. The insurer will check the documents and the treatment, and reimburse the expenses, subject to the coverage guidelines.

Cashless claims: Every health insurance company has a group of hospitals affiliated to it as ‘network hospitals’ for cashless treatment. If you avail treatment at a network hospital, you do not have to pay the entire medical bill. The hospital will intimate the insurance company regarding the course of treatment and the list of procedures. The insurer will pay the applicable amount directly to the hospital. You will only have to bear the costs of procedures that are not covered under the policy.
Make it a point to read the policy document carefully and understand your policy completely. Since, if the time comes to make use of the plan, you must have a clear understanding of what your policy covers and what costs will be borne out of your pocket.

Why do you need a health insurance plan?

There are various reasons why getting health insurance should be your top priority.

The two primary ones are:

1. Changing lifestyles: Health disorders, unhealthy eating habits, and stressful work schedules have simply become normal in our lives. Not keeping our health in check has increased the necessity for getting health insurance.

2. Rising medical costs: Health insurance policies can help you combat the rising prices in healthcare. These policies can be beneficial in keeping your savings intact.

The benefits of getting health insurance are:

1. Cashless treatment: As mentioned above, if you get hospitalised in any hospital that comes under the network of your company, you will not need to pay anything. You will just need to provide your policy number and the insurance company.

2. Medical check-up: Health insurance policies also provide you with the service of getting a regular medical check-up.

3. No Claim Bonus (NCB): This is a bonus that will be provided to the policyholder if no claim has been filed for any treatment. The bonus you get can be availed as either a discount on the premium cost or as an increment in the sum assured.

4. Tax benefits: The premiums paid on a health insurance policy is eligible for deduction under Section 80D of the Indian Income Tax Act. The amount of deduction will vary depending on whether the policyholder is a senior citizen or not.

5. Post and pre-hospitalisation expenses: When you get health insurance, the coverage is not limited to just hospital bills. You will get the benefit for the expenses made towards different diagnostic tests before and after hospitalisation.

6. Coverage of critical illnesses: Health insurance policies cover a list of critical illnesses like cancer, heart ailments, neurological issues, etc. With the rise in the number of people suffering from these ailments, this is one of the crucial benefits of a health plan. However, check the exact coverage of your policy to know the critical illnesses covered.

Health Insurance from Kotak Life

Kotak Life, India’s leading life insurance provider, has launched Kotak Health Shield - fixed-benefit, comprehensive health insurance plan.

With Kotak Health Shield, you enjoy coverage of 4 critical illnesses, the extension of coverage to your spouse, coverage for a second medical opinion, cashless treatment, daily hospital cash benefit, personal accident cover and so much more.

Visit the website today for more details regarding the plan.

Summing up

Our health should be our topmost priority during these turbulent times. Our workaholic lifestyle is gradually taking a physical toll on our health. It is always better to be ready for any medical emergencies. Apart from the financial coverage it provides, a health insurance policy can also help with pre and post-hospitalisation expenses.

In any unfortunate event, you can avoid bearing the brunt of rising medical expenses by getting a comprehensive health insurance policy like Kotak Health Shield.