Health insurance is the most important and cost-effective way of protecting your finances. It is an imperative decision that requires you to be careful while buying. By saying that, without knowing the types of health insurance plans available in India, you can’t ensure the right deal!

The exponential upsurge of quality healthcare expenses has made it compulsory for everyone to be covered with a health insurance. Health insurance mitigates those unexpected financial burden arising out of an accidental hospitalisation or illness. Buying health insurance is easy, only if you approach the right way. In this regards, to guarantee a sufficient coverage you should be well aware of the types of health insurance policies. Below is the rundown on the different types of health insurance that you can consider as per your insurance needs:

Different Types of Health Insurance Plans in India

There are two types of health insurance policies -

• Indemnity Plans
• Defined-benefit Plan

Indemnity Health Insurance

Indemnity plans are the traditional health insurance that covers your for hospitalisation expenses up to the sum insured. These plans include:

• Mediclaim Insurance
• Individual Coverage
• Family Floater Coverage
• Senior Citizen Coverage
• Unit Linked Health Plans

1. Medical Insurance

Mediclaim insurance compensates you for the hospitalisation expenses incurred due to illness or accidental stay. It includes in-patient expenses such as nursing charges, surgery expenses, doctor’s fee, oxygen, anaesthesia etc. This insurance is known as Mediclaim Policy that is available in the market as group mediclaim, individual medical insurance overseas medical insurance etc.

2. Individual Insurance

 Individual insurance policy is meant for an individual only. Under this policy, you are entitled to receive the incurred amount during a hospitalisation. The insured can claim up to the basic sum insured. With this policy, the covered members get individual sum insured. For instance, if you own an individual health cover of Rs. 1 lakh where your spouse is also covered, you both can claim up to Rs.1 lakh, individually.

3. Family Floater Plan

This policy comes with a twist and meant for the entire family. You can cover your complete family under a single plan with Family Floater health insurance policy. The sum insured is equally divided among the members. One positive thing is that the premium that you shell out with these plans are comparatively lesser than the individual or mediclaim policies.

4. Unit Linked Health Plans

Unit Linked Plans, commonly known as ULIPs are investment cum insurance plans that come with the dual benefits of investment and insurance. With this plan, a portion of paid premiums are utilised in the stock market and the insured is offered with insurance coverage. The returns are based on how the market performs.

5. Group Mediclaim

Group Health Insurance plans are gaining popularity among the medium or large scale enterprises which are offered by the employers. This policy is helpful in retaining the talent within an organisation. With health insurance plan becoming imperative, the employers cover their employers for a financial crisis and prudence.

Definite-Benefit Plans

On the other hand, under a defined-benefit plan, the insured is compensated a lump sum amount on the detection of illness. These plans include:

• Critical Illness Plan
• Personal Accident Plan
• Hospitalisation cash benefit plan

Critical Illness Plan

This plan is especially design to treat certain specific illness. With lifestyle disease are on the rise, covering yourself against these illnesses has become imperative. As treating these can be an expensive affaire, especial for a middle-class family, buying critical insurance you can mitigate those expenses up to an extent. On the detection of an illness, it pays a pre-decided amount towards treatment, irrespective of pre-or post hospitalisation expenses. The major diseases that are covered most of the critical illness plans include:

• Major organ transplant
• Cancer
• Stroke
• Aorta graft surgery
• Multiple sclerosis
• Kidney failure
• Paralysis
• Coronary artery bypass surgery
• First heart attack
• Primary pulmonary arterial hypertension

Hospital Daily Cash

This coverage is offered by some of the health as an in-built cover under their health insurance coverage.  Under this policy, the insured is paid with a daily cash allowance up to a certain limit, apart from the hospitalisation expenses.

Personal Accident Plan 

This policy covers the owner/driver against an accidental injury or death. A lump sum amount is paid to the insured or its family in case of death, loss of income due to permanent partial or total disability.

Health Insurance Companies in India

Every health insurer comes with different policy feature to cater to the different needs of people. However, with a proper list of insurance providers, you can go with the thumb rule of opting insurance with proper research. Our list included the below insurance companies:

New India Assurance Oriental Insurance United India Insurance Max Bupa Health Insurance Apollo Munich Star Health and Allied Insurance Company Limited Reliance Health Insurance Bajaj Allianz General Insurance TATA AIG Health Insurance *This list is not in chronological order, thus not giving preference to any of the companies. Insurance seekers must do their own research while buying.

Reasons to Buy Health Insurance at Young Age

Apart from the ever-rising medical expenses, the reasons for buying health insurance are:

1. Comes with Lower Premium

Yes only if you buy it when you are young. Yes, the health insurance premium is much lower in this age than when it is in your old age. As you’re less likely to fall sick in this stage, insurance companies offer health insurance plan at a lower premium considering the low-risk appetite. If you compare, the same premium that you pay at your 30s will cost you double in your 50s.

2. Easy to Get Insurance

It’s quite difficult to avail health insurance with existing health issues. Even if you get that cost you a higher premium. If you don’t disclose at the time of buying and claim for a complicacy arising out of such illness, your claim will get rejected by default. At your young stage you less prone to such illness, so availing health insurance is easy.

3. Save More on Tax

The Section 80D of Income Tax Act 1961, benefits the insured with tax benefits for paying the health insurance premium. By health insurance at an early age, you enjoy tax benefit for a longer period as compared to a person who bought it in his/her middle age.

4. Reap the Benefits of Savings

In other words, health insurance is a kind of investment to cover yourself financially against unforeseen circumstances. If you invest at your young age, you will eventually develop the habit of savings. As inflation has a sharp impact on every sphere of our life, by growing the habit of savings you can cope up with this up to an extent.

5. No Waiting Period

Health insurance comes with waiting periods such as initial waiting period of 30 days, a pre-existing illness waiting period of 2 to 4 years etc. However, it may differ from insurer to insurer. When you are hale and hearty, you don’t need to claim your insurance. This way you can serve the waiting period easily and a file your insurance without a hassle.

6. Avail Bonus

Health insurance comes with an additional bonus as well. One such bonus is No Claim Bonus that is offered for not claiming your insurance, which ranges from 20% to 50%. The NCB if offered as a discount in the premiums of consecutive years or as a hike in sum insured. When you are young there are less chances of claiming insurance and you can earn a maximum of NCB bonus and can make the best out of your health insurance policy.

The Bottom Line!

The soaring medical costs have made it almost compulsory to own health insurance plan in India. You may find a variety of health insurance plans available to cater to your different insurance needs. However, it requires thorough research of the market before zeroing down on a plan. Hence, it becomes vital to compare the different insurance types online in terms of their offerings, premium or claim settlement ratio of the insurers. It is observed that, most of the time we end up paying an exorbitant premium without getting the sufficient coverage. It wouldn’t happen if you go with a proper comparison and buy. There is no dearth of types of health insurance policies in India. It’s just you have to be proactive and careful to ensure the right one. In this regard, you can consider the afore-mentioned types of health insurance and cover yourself for the unforeseen!