F(N)AQ: How To Boost Up Your Health Insurance Cover To Remain Covid Ready?

Health insurance isn't as simple as it might sound, and the various underwriting norms, terms & conditions, policy features, etc. tend to vary amongst different insurers.?

Therefore, it's best to have transparent communication with your existing insurer, if you already have health insurance, so that they can help you boost your cover and/or avail add-on/riders depending upon your premium repayment capacity as well as medical needs.?

And for those who haven't taken health insurance, besides the above-mentioned ways to fetch a higher cover, it would be prudent to compare as many health insurers as possible and then zero in on the one that offers the widest range of features and coverage at manageable premiums.?

Also, with the COVID-19 still around and in fact showing no signs of slowdown, it's natural that this question of ‘does health insurance cover COVID treatment?’ comes across everyone’s mind.?

So, make sure to enquire about this aspect as well before finalizing and purchasing or even porting your health insurance.?Having adequate health insurance coupled with the inclusion of COVID treatment would enable you to be ready to face pandemic related medical adversities that may knock on the door in the future.

Besides health insurance, it would not just be smart but in fact necessary to go for?these must-take steps to further strengthen your finances?against life's uncertainties and avoid commonly committed mistakes.

For those of you who haven't taken health insurance yet, you have the simple chance to carefully choose an appropriate health insurance cover, especially taking into consideration the ongoing deadly pandemic. But, besides being prudent in choosing the cover amount, of course as per your premium repayment capacity too, you can boost your health cover through these two ways as well.

Firstly,?look for No-Claim Bonus (NCB). This basically means that the insurer will offer you a bonus or reward for being claim-free during a policy year. And how is it offered? As an increase in the sum insured amount, which is usually based on a specified percentage of the base policy coverage amount. This would eventually imply an enhanced health insurance coverage which would support higher expenses in the future.

Another way to boost your cover is to?seek restoration benefits, which is yet another appealing benefit of health insurance policies. This useful feature implies that your sum assured gets restored or replenished upon partial or complete exhaustion in a policy year. Having this benefit ensures that you stay covered even after consuming the total insured amount.?

Yes you can?port your plan?to another health insurer that offers better features/services and higher cover for similar premiums. This is even more important if your existing insurance policy does not include COVID related expenses.?

But remember that porting is subject to the underwriting guidelines stipulated by the insurer, and even the revised premium could be impacted by your prior claim history with the existing insurer. Nonetheless, you can explore this option when contemplating the thought of increasing your health cover.

As far as top-up is concerned, it is often termed as a cost-effective way and economical option to boost your existing health cover, v/s increasing the sum insured of the base policy.?

Simply put, on top of your base policy, you can opt for a top-up as well, whose benefits will kick in to cover hospitalization costs after your threshold limit (known as deductible) of the regular plan gets exhausted. The deductible is that portion of the claim amount which is not covered by the insurer and has to be paid by the policyholder.?

There are not one but multiple ways to boost your existing health insurance cover.?

First is by?increasing the existing sum insured upon renewal. Most insurance companies allow their policyholders to opt for a higher cover at the time of renewal, although at a slightly higher premium too, subject to underwriting. In case you think the new and higher premium seems over budget for you, you can opt for the half year, quarterly or monthly premium payment instead of annual, or even EMI option if available.

The second way is by opting for?add-ons and/or top-up. In the case of the former, note that health insurers offer optional riders or add-ons over and above the base health insurance policy, which can usually be open to selection at the time of renewal in order to make the overall plan both customized and comprehensive.?

Keep in mind that the basic plans, as their name suggests, tend to usually include coverages for hospitalization, daycare procedures, etc, but other special or extra features and services like critical illness cover, daily hospital cash, health coach, etc are offered through add on/riders, for an extra premium.