On the face of financial turmoil, an important thing to note when we prepare for the possibility of perhaps a job loss is what happens to my medical insurance? Most of us have a company given medical insurance and if that vanishes it’s a serious worry. So what we're saying is job or no job, it’s fairly prudent for you to go out and take a private medical insurance to top up your company one. It does not cost that much.
Why do you need a medical cover?
# Medical emergencies deplete wealth
# Hospital costs are rising
# One hospitalisation can cost Rs 1-2 lakh and more
What does Basic medical policy covers?
# Hospitalization, pre and post
# Medicines
# Surgeries
# Surgeon's fee
What it does not cover?
# Maternity
# Dental
# Consultation
Medically Secure!
# Take employers' plan
# Buy a family floater of at least Rs 2-5 lakh
# Pay premiums annually, on time
Cashless Cover
# Policy details are confirmed with insurer
# If authorized, cashless treatment is done
# Valid across network hospitals
Non-network hospitals
# Patient co-pays the bill
# Pays the full bill, which is later reimbursed
Which are the Cheapest Medical Policies?
Taking the cost of a standard policy, these are what you can go with:
# Apollo DKV
# Star Health and Allied Insurance
# ICICI Lombard
# IFFCO-TOKIO
Medically Secure - Must Dos
# Keep the list of hospitals, I-card and numbers
# Keep a copy at home
# Be sure of what treatments are covered
# Know the insurance amount
ICICI SMART INVESTOR TIPS
Medical Insurance: What should you look for?
# Define what you want to cover yourself against - critical injuries, hospitalization, OPD expenses etc. to be able to chose the right product.
# Remember to check what medical conditions are excluded by the policy both initial and permanent, and the maximum age till which one is covered.
# Check the network coverage and service levels of the Third Party Administrator (TPA) that the health insurance provider has employed.