Why is health insurance important?

There could never be a more appropriate time to use the age-old expression “Health is wealth”
With the world struggling with a global pandemic, it is now more important than ever to take care of our health and wellbeing.

That being said, uncertainty can strike at any time, and it is important to be protected in the face of adversity. Health insurance can be our cushion during such trying times. So, why is health insurance important? Let’s find out:

Top 11 important benefits of health insurance

It’s critical to have a health insurance policy in this day and age. Learn about the top 7 most important benefits of having a health insurance policy.

• Protection against rising medical expenses
• Maintains your existing lifestyle
• Protection to your family
• Pre and post hospitalization coverage
• Inflation adjusted coverage
• Health insurance plus savings
• Protection against accidents
• New age covers
• Free medical check-up
• Alternative therapies
• Income tax benefits

Protection against medical expenses

A health insurance policy will protect you against unforeseen medical emergencies, and the expenses associated with it. It is also important to understand that the cost of medical expenses is rapidly rising, and you should consider this fact while you decided on your coverage.

Maintains your existing lifestyle

An unforeseen sickness has the ability to wreak havoc on your existing lifestyle. The cost of treatment can adversely affect your existing lifestyle as funds need to be routed towards medical expenses. A health insurance policy can protect your lifestyle as it would be the insurance company looking after your medical bills, not you.

Protection to your family

There are times when a sickness not only affects the patriarch of the family but the entire family itself. There is an old saying “A sickness not only affects one person. It affects the entire family”
It is important to protect your family and their finances in such trying times. A health insurance policy can alleviate a lot of the stress on the family during trying times.

Pre and post hospitalization coverage

a large number of health insurance policies provide pre and post-hospitalization expenses. That basically means that your coverage starts even before you physically enter into a hospital, and is still present even after you exit the hospital.
For instance, a person may need to visit an OPD specialist after his fracture. The insurance company will provide coverage for the same. This is called post-hospitalization coverage.

Inflation-adjusted coverage

Medical expenses are continuing to be prohibitively expensive. The cost of medical expenses in India is rising at an average of 15% a year, compared to general inflation of 5-7% a year. This is a worrying trend if you are not covered.
A No-claim bonus (NCB) can also provide a cushion against high medical inflation. Please enquire about an NCB with your insurance provider.

Health insurance plus savings

There are various insurance plans in the market that provide health coverage along with a savings component. They are called ULIP plans. There are worth investigating.

Protection against accidents

In 2019, over a hundred and fifty thousand Indians lost their lives in road accidents alone. This was a result of over 5 Lakh accidents in 2019. Protection against accidents is a crucial component of a health insurance policy. Ensure that your plan has accident coverage.

New age covers

New age covers include maternity coverage, daycare expenses, OPD expenses, etc. These new-age covers provide additional protection to policyholders.

Free medical check-up

A lot of insurance policies provide the benefit of a free medical check-up, either once a year or once every alternate year.

Alternative therapies

Have you ever wondered if an insurance policy can cover your Ayurvedic treatment? The answer is yes. New age policies cover Ayurvedic, Unani, Homeopathic, Siddha treatments. Ensure that you confirm this with your insurance company beforehand.

Income tax benefits

A person can claim up to Rs 25000 as deductions when you buy a health insurance policy. Further, the limit of deductions can increase based on certain other criteria. It would be a prudent decision to buy a health insurance policy to lower your tax liability. This would provide a double benefit, you get coverage, and you get a tax deduction as well.