Health insurance is a type of insurance policy that covers an insured individual’s hospitalization costs and medical expenses arising from an illness, injury, or accident, against a fixed premium amount.
What Is Health Insurance?
Health insurance plans in India are basic indemnity-based insurance products, which are specifically designed to provide financial assistance against medical expenses incurred in case of hospitalization or critical illnesses.
- Health insurance in India is a contract between an insurance provider and a customer in which the insurer promises to pay for the medical bills if the policyholder is injured or sick in the future, resulting in hospitalization.
- Health insurance covers medical expenses, which includes hospitalization expenses, treatment expenses, surgeries or any other medical cost.
- Generally, insurance companies who provide the best health insurance plan in India are associated with a vast network of hospitals, which ensures convenient cashless treatment for the policyholders.
- Furthermore, a health insurance policy also helps you cope with the work-pay loss while undergoing treatment, which may otherwise cause imbalances in your family finances.
In other words, having coverage with the best health insurance in India will enable you to opt quality medical treatment without burdening your savings
Types of Health Insurance Plans
The best health insurance in India is the one that can adequately satisfy your specific financial needs. To be able to make an informed decision before purchasing, you must know the many types of health insurance plans in India, such as:
- Cancer insurance plans
- Critical Illness benefit
- Individual health insurance plan
- Family Floater Health Plan
- Group Health Cover
Let us take a closer look at these plans in detail:
a) Cancer Insurance Plans
Cancer Insurance plans help tackle the medical treatment expenses in case you are diagnosed with cancer. These plans provide comprehensive protection against all stages of Cancer. You receive a portion of the cover paid upfront upon diagnosis of cancer at an early stage, while all the future premiums are waived. If cancer is detected at a major stage, you may receive the full cover amount with an additional income for a specific period
b) Critical Illness Plans
Along with the best health insurance in India, you can get a critical Illness plan/benefit that helps you avail comprehensive financial protection in the form of payouts upon diagnosis of any life-threatening ailments. Unlike health insurance companies, Max Life Insurance offers
Critical Illness Benefit as an add-on feature with its Max Life smart secure plus plan which is a term plan
c) Individual Health Insurance Plan
An Individual Health Insurance Plan provides financial protection against health expenses incurred by an insured individual. These health insurance plans in India cover for surgical and hospitalization expenses (for up to the cover limit as per the plan). The premium payable for an individual health insurance plan in India is decided based on the age and medical history of the individual purchasing the plan.
d) Family Floater Health Insurance Plan
If you wish to purchase the best health insurance in India for your entire family (including spouse, children and parents) under a single plan, then you may choose a Family Floater Health Policy. The family members are covered against hospitalisation and surgical expenses under the family floater health insurance plan. The premium payable for a family floater health plan is calculated based on the age of the eldest family member.
You can use the health insurance premium calculator to estimate the sufficient cover and premium for you and your loved ones. It will help you get excellent benefits at affordable prices with the best health insurance plan in India.
e) Group Health Cover
Group Health Insurance policy in India is purchased by employers for their employees. The premium payable under a group health insurance plan are usually standardized and offer the same set of benefits to all the employees covered under the plan, when you opt for the best health insurance company in India.
Benefits of Health Insurance Plans in India
Health insurance plans provide comprehensive coverage against the medical costs associated with the treatment of life-threatening ailments such as cancer and other medical emergencies. With comprehensive health insurance coverage, you can protect your finances while your medical insurance plan takes care of the high medical bills, hospitalization, and other treatment expenses.
Here are a few benefits of investing in the best health insurance policy in India
1. Comprehensive Coverage Against Medical Treatment Expenses
Having health insurance enables you to receive the best possible care in case of a medical emergency, without putting any strain on your savings. In other words, the best health insurance company in India will offer comprehensive protection against medical costs, which may increase rapidly depending upon the situation. A helpful online health insurance tip
would be to use the health insurance premium calculator to estimate your coverage requirements.
In a nutshell, a health insurance policy provides coverage against hospitalization expenses, domiciliary expenses, day-care procedures, and ambulance charges, among other costs. Subsequently, you can focus on a speedy recovery while your loved ones can support their regular expenses.
2. Additional Financial Protection Against Critical Illnesses
Some of the health insurance company in India offer critical illness insurance protection, either as a rider add-on or as a standalone health insurance policy. Having health insurance coverage, together with critical illness cover, provides financial protection against several life-threatening ailments such as kidney failures, cardiovascular issues, bone marrow transplants, stroke, and accidental dismemberment. Common critical illnesses covered under Max Critical Illness & Disability Rider include:
- Cancer of Specified Severity (malignant tumour)
- Angioplasty
- First Heart Attack – of Specified Severity
- Open Heart Replacement or Repair of Heart Valves
- Surgery to Aorta
- Cardiomyopathy
- Primary Pulmonary Hypertension
- Open Chest CABG
- Blindness
- Chronic Liver disease
In case you are diagnosed with a critical illness included under the predetermined list of your health insurance policy, you are eligible to receive a significant amount as a lump sum.
In case you are diagnosed with a critical illness included under the predetermined list of your health insurance policy, you are eligible to receive a significant amount as a lump sum. You can utilize this amount to meet your daily expenses, illness-related treatment costs, and any other requirements.
3. Avail of Cashless Treatment Across Leading Network Hospitals
The health insurance plans in India, nowadays, also offer cashless claim facilities across any of the leading hospitals in the country. In cashless treatment, you do not have to take care of treatment costs out of your pocket. Instead, your health insurance provider directly settles the hospitalization expenses with the hospital on your behalf.
To avail of cashless treatment benefits, however, you have to seek admittance at any of the network hospitals as prescribed under your health insurance policy. Furthermore, you may have to fill out a pre-authorization form and provide your health insurance card to avail of the cashless treatment facility
4. Significant Tax Saving Benefits
To promote awareness and access to comprehensive health insurance plans to the masses, the government offers significant tax-deductions on the premium paid towards the health insurance policy.
Accordingly, the premium paid towards your health insurance policy is eligible for tax deduction under Section 80D as per income tax act 1961. The quantum of tax deductions under your medical insurance plan is as below:
a) If you purchase health insurance coverage for your spouse, children and yourself, you can save up to Rs 25,000 as tax deductions.
b) By including your parents (below 60 years of age) under your health insurance coverage, you can avail of additional tax deductions up to Rs. 25,000, to take your total tax savings up to Rs. 50,000
c) In case your parents are ageing 60 years or above, the total amount of tax savings may increase up to Rs. 75,000
d) You can also avail of a deduction of Rs. 5000 towards payment of preventive health check-up of your spouse, dependent children, parents and yourself.