PSA

Please please buy health insurance for yourself and family. No - corporate insurance doesn't do the job. It's mostly too little and stops working the moment you are not employed.

I will personally help if you need assistance in buying/evaluating etc. Reach out!

One medical emergency can throw many middle class families into poverty. Don't let that risk hang over your head.

Having insurance makes the decision to get private care a no-brainer and finances shouldn't be your concern when it's about someone's life!

I have always had my own personal health insurance running despite company insurance across jobs.

A. It gives you added security
B. It's not opaque. Most cos have no clue what their insurance plans are !
C. If you've bought insurance yourself, you know what's included/excluded

If you/someone finds it too expensive. Here's a tip: Buy from @policybazaar and pay through Credit Card EMI.

A 10 lakh insurance will cost less than Rs 2k per month for a 25 year old. And it is more than worth it when it keeps you away from debt!

If you need help evaluating insurance, here's what I'd suggest.

1. Look for the largest panel of cashless hospitals - number and spread. You don't want to be sick in another city to find out there's no hospital that accepts your insurance for a cashless admission.

2. Look for claims ratio: This tells you how many claims out of total claims is the insurer processing/disbursing. Anything above 93-95% is a good bet. The higher the better.

Insurers are notorious for rejecting claims mid-treatment and you don't want that.

3. Find out claims process: Many private insurers offer faster authorization and some even provide automatic disbursals. My current insurer approved dad's hospitalization expense in 24 hours of admission and I haven't had to speak to them even once.

4. Coverage amount: Go ambitious with it. Don't settle for a cover below Rs 5 lakh in most cases. Private hospitals bill that much for a week's hospitalization. And serious diseases cost much more! Try to get as big a cover as you can afford. High premiums are worth it.

5. When to buy? ASAP. Most people around me think they are young and won't be sick. But it's such a fallacy.

I had already claimed insurance 4 times before I reached college. Because guess what? Accidents can happen irrespective of your age. Buying earlier saves premium too.

If my family had to decide where to go for treatment, they would have chosen a substandard hospital because of the sheer expense of a surgery. I have had three.

Insurance made that decision making automatic and I got the best possible care.

Super grateful for that.

6. Who should be covered? If you have a 2-3 people family, you could opt for a family floater insurance to cover your parents in one instance. Makes it cheaper but the insurance amount is shared so keep that in mind.

For independents, nothing like having your own cover.

7. Exclusions? Most policies will have certain exclusions like maternity, dental work, non-hospitalization expenses etc and that's OKAY - you should just know what you are buying.

What's covered is usually much more so don't fret but pick policies that have higher inclusions!

8. Renew: If your current insurer is working fine, please don't switch unnecessarily. Renewing the same policy IN TIME gives you added bonuses in terms of extra claim amount, lower policy premiums and most importantly, the waiting period is waived off for coverage.

9. Waiting period: Most health insurance policies will have a 30-60 day waiting period before they cover diseases etc. So buy it BEFORE you need it.

But, they cover accidental claims from day 1. Confirm these two factors with the insurer directly before buying.

10. Claims: Cashless insurance works by allowing admission by paying a token amount. I paid Rs 10K and later, the insurer authorized the entire hospitalization expense.

Do take advantage of it. The list of panel hospitals comes with insurance docs. Ask if you can't locate it.

11. Research: It's not rocket science. Insurance looks scary and that legalese doesn't make it easy. But, pick up the phone and talk to the insurance company and ask questions. Or @policybazaar folks. Or @BimaPeBharosa !

There's enough help around.

12. Recommendations: Lots of newspapers/publications have their list of recommended insurers etc. But trust the factors I have listed above and then evaluate. A company could be offering two wildly different health insurance policies and you should know what you are buying.

Lists such as these are all over the internet. Just look up and then evaluate from a shortlist. https://twitter.com/dubeyamitabh/status/1388014615129251840

Disclaimer: I am not an insurance professional/agent. I must clarify that the above thread is for educational purposes only. Please talk to registered distributers and professionals before buying.

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