The importance of purchasing a good health insurance policy to secure the well-being of your family cannot be stressed enough. With the rising costs of healthcare encompassing medical treatment, doctor’s fees, tests and check-ups, having adequate mediclaim coverage becomes imperative. 

There are several different types of health insurance you may opt for depending on your insurance needs. While you cannot control the cost of healthcare, thorough study and a deep understanding of your family’s healthcare requirements may allow you to optimise your health insurance cost.

Top 10 tips to make your health insurance affordable:

To aid you in your search for quality health care without facing a strain financially, let us follow certain tips:

1. Start early:
   Just like the early bird gets the worm, in the case of health insurance, buying a policy when you are young comes with several benefits:

• Lower premium with higher coverage
• The waiting period is completed early (assuming that you have no pre-existing diseases yet).
  

2. Understand and assess the healthcare needs:
   Before you start choosing a health insurance policy, first understand the unique healthcare needs of your family. Such an assessment is core to match with the features offered by a policy. The factors to be considered are:

• Age and existing medical conditions of family members

For ageing parents or those with chronic ailments, you could opt for a telemedicine and OPD healthcare package along with your indemnity health plan for 360-degree health coverage.

3. Cost-efficiency:
   You will always prefer to purchase a health insurance policy offering comprehensive coverage plans. However such policies are expensive. You need to strike a balance between coverage and premium cost. You may personalise a basic, cheaper, plan with some add-on riders.

4. Opt for deductibles and/or co-payment:
   In health insurance, a deductible is the fixed amount of money you agree to pay at the time of claiming. Opting for higher deductibles makes your premiums more affordable.
   
   Co-payment is the fixed percentage of the claim that you agree to pay out of your pocket. This too helps keep your premiums down as you once again agree to pay a certain portion of your medical bills out of pocket.
   
   Pro tip: However, do not just get swayed by the low premium keeping the long term in mind as it may not be cost-effective if your family has frequent healthcare requirements.

5. Check group coverage:
   Those of you who are employed in the corporate sector will be covered by your employer-provided group mediclaim policy. However, the coverage provided by such policies is not enough and they are available as long as you are with that particular employer.
   
   Pro tip: Take time out and buy a personal health accident policy, preferably one which provides health insurance for the family, well in advance to avoid hasty purchases.

6. Consider add-ons:
   Conventionally additional riders would add on to your premium. You may however explore the option for basic coverage and personalise it with some riders after thorough research to keep the overall premium down and yet enjoy substantial sum insured coverage.

7. Cumulative bonus:
   No Claim Bonus in health insurance is a reward to you for not filing a claim and it increases your sum insured by anything ranging from 5 per cent to 50 per cent as per the terms and conditions of your policy. Similarly, some health insurance companies offer you a cumulative bonus on the basic sum insured for every year of policy renewal.

Note: There is a limit till which the sum insured in your health insurance policy may be enhanced. This is mentioned in the terms and conditions of your policy.

8. Wellness Benefits:
   Some health insurance policies incentivise you to stay healthy by offering wellness benefits. Walking several steps daily, joining a gym or getting a periodical check-up done as part of a wellness screening program, all add to reducing your renewal premium. 

9. Inclusions and Exclusions:
   Read all the terms and conditions of your policy, the inclusions and exclusions, to understand how to make the most of your policy. All policies differ slightly and it is in your interest to know what benefits you are entitled to.
   
   You can try to optimise your health insurance coverage to reduce your overall out-of-pocket expenses as well.

10. Flexible payment:
    Health insurance companies usually offer discounts for renewing for longer periods. These discounts could be as high as 10 per cent for renewing for 3 years together. Some insurers also offer discounts in the range of 5 per cent for paying premiums through digital channels.

Pro Tip: Such digital discount is available in addition to the discount on renewal. If you renew for 3 years and pay digitally you effectively avail of a discount of 12.6 per cent on the cumulative premium.

Now that you are aware of the multiple options to check to ensure your health insurance policy is affordable, you may evaluate the various health insurance policies available thoroughly, review your and your family’s medical insurance requirements and match them to have your best fit. 

References

1. https://www.livemint.com/money/personal-finance/medical-inflation-in-india-reaches-alarming-rate-of-14-reveals-report-11700634947658.html#:~:text=India%20has%20one%20of%20the,the%20health%20of%20India’s%20workforce.
2. https://www.wtwco.com/en-za/insights/2023/11/2024-global-medical-trends-survey#:~:text=After%20surging%20from%207.4%25%20in,are%20contributing%20to%20this%20decline.
3. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/insure/health-insurance/claim-settlement-ratio-can-health-insurer-pay-claims-latest-incurred-claim-ratio-of-general-health-insurance-companies-in-india/articleshow/106592391.cms?from=mdr
4. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/insure/9-ways-to-reduce-out-of-pocket-medical-expenses-optimise-your-health-insurance-cover/articleshow/94874255.cms?from=mdr