Reasons to Review Your Medical Insurance Plan Every Year

One way to buy an effective health cover is to review it every year. If you review the policy closely at the time of purchase then there are better chances to tailor-make it as per your requirements.

The reason why you should review your insurance portfolio is that your health insurance requirements keep changing. It is significant to match your health insurance cover to the changing healthcare needs at different junctures of your life. Here is what you can consider to make your health insurance effective and adequate to your insurance needs:

New Policy features

The digitization of the insurance industry and the introduction of new-age insurance companies has led to the introduction of digital and innovative insurance products. They offer improvised insurance plans with extensive features and benefits almost every year.

By reviewing the policy, you will get to know about these new health insurance schemes with upgraded policy features.

Coverage and Premium

There is intense competition in the health insurance sector, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. To stay ahead of the fierce competition, insurers keep revising their policy coverage benefits to enhance the customer experience by including more ailments and diseases.

Earlier health insurance plans did not cover daycare treatments like cataract surgery, varicose veins, and likewise. These are now covered under almost all medical insurance policies.

Pre-existing Illness

Failing to review health insurance could lead to impacting the pre-existing disease waiting period. If your health plan covers pre-existing ailments after a waiting period of 3-years and while reviewing the policy you find out that some other insurer is providing coverage for PEDs after 2-years only. Then you might want to switch the insurer if it’s a priority requirement for you and your family members.

For example, a 2-year waiting period applies to maternity cover. If you review your health insurance plan on regular intervals, you might get to know more about other insurance companies. If others providing with a lower premium and lower waiting period on pre-existing illnesses than your current insurer or not.

Medical Conditions

Once you review your health insurance you might find out that your existing insurance provider does not cover a certain illness and the other insurer covers it or provides it as an add-on cover. This is common for health conditions like diabetes, etc.  

Reviewing the policy at the time of renewal can help you in buying the one that covers lifestyle diseases.

No-claim-Bonus

All the health insurance companies provide their policyholder with No-claim-bonus or NCB. Depending on your claim-free years, it can range between 10 percent and 100 percent.

By reviewing your health insurance policy every year, you won’t miss out on the No-claim-bonus or receive less NCB. If you do not get the right NCB, you might end-up paying an extra premium.

Lifestyle Changes

With age, the vulnerability towards lifestyle disease increases. The sedentary lifestyle, stressful work environment, food adulteration, lack of exercise, and pollution puts us at a higher risk.

The cost of treatment for lifestyle diseases is also on the higher side. Therefore it makes sense to review your health plan and customize it as per your changing requirements.

Marriage and Children

For different phases of life, you need to have adequate health insurance cover. Your medical policy needs some modifications after marriage and even after children. For example, if you are single at the time of policy purchase and then you got married, you can upgrade your health coverage to insure your spouse as well.

As your responsibilities increase, you need to enhance your policy coverage features with add-ons or by switching the insurer. You can buy a family floater policy your get individual cover for you and your family under one umbrella policy.

Additionally, if you are planning to have children, then you will again need to re-evaluate your healthcare needs. You can check if your current policy provides an option to include your new-born baby while renewing the policy.

Bottom-line

Now you would agree how important it is to review your health insurance at regular intervals. While you are already paying hefty premiums, why not upgrade your health plan to your satisfaction.