A Health Insurance Policy in India is the best saviour more than any other thing considering the rise in the cost of healthcare facilities. Since the outbreak of Covid-19, the need of having adequate health insurance has been felt by one and all. But, when it comes to buying a health insurance policy, there is often confusion as to which health insurance policy to buy. There are different types of insurance policies available to meet your requirements. Let us discuss different types of health insurance available in India.
1. Individual Health Insurance
The simplest option is sometimes the best. The individual health insurance policy too is believed by many to be the best available option. Individuals who fall in the age bracket of 18 years to 70 years can choose to buy this plan. The best part of buying an Individual Policy is that it offers individual Sum Insured limit for each covered member.
This plan is designed to insure an individual against illnesses and ensuing medical expenses. It covers hospitalization and surgical expenses till the cover limit is reached. This cover limit is the sum assured by your insurer.
Like all insurance plans, you have to pay a certain amount as premium to buy this health cover. The premium amount is directly related to the size of the policy cover; if you want a larger limit, you must pay higher premiums.
Features of an Individual Health insurance Plan
- It covers an individual. You need to buy separate policies to cover each family member (spouse, kids and parents).
- Individual sum assured amount for each covered member.
- Covers hospitalisation due to illness/injury, surgeries, room rent, daycare treatment, etc.
- Individuals between the age group of 18 to 65 years can opt for this plan.
2. Group Health Insurance
A Group Health Insurance policy is designed for a group of employees working together. So if you own a start-up or a corporate house, you should buy such plans for your employees. It is a kind of benefit offered to the employees. As an employer, you can buy the cover to boost the rate of employee retention.
Group Health Insurance Plan comes with a low cost premium. Some insurance companies allow refilling the sum insured, that too, unlimited times, if it is exhausted. A Group Health Insurance Plan covers you for hospitalization due to accident, illness, critical illness, psychiatric illness, and maternity.
Buying a Group Health Insurance policy not only offers coverage to your employees but also enhance the goodwill of your company. A very crucial point here is that the employees are covered only till the time they work with your company.
Features of a Group Health insurance Plan
- The policy provides medical coverage to the employee and his/her dependents.
- No waiting period to avail of policy benefits.
- Floater sum assured
- Basic coverage is free for an employee.
- Covers hospitalisation due to an illness/injury, critical illnesses, etc.
- Some group insurance plans also cover maternity, OPD and daycare treatment.
3. Family Floater Health Insurance Plan
The Family Floater Health Plan is an affordable insurance plan that covers all the members of the family under a single policy. That means the sum insured floats for all the covered members. The premium for this plan is comparatively lower than individual health policies that cover all the family members. The Family Floater Plan covers yourself, your spouse, children and parents.
Features of a Family Floater Health insurance Plan
- A single policy covers the entire family.
- Floating sum assured amount.
- It covers hospitalisation, cost of treatment, surgeries, daycare treatment, etc.
4. Critical Illness Plan
Unlike a mediclaim plan, the critical illness plan, regardless of your hospital expenses, pays the entire sum insured on the occurrence of the specified illness. All insurers cover 10 to 12 major critical illnesses or even more, some of which are cancer, coronary artery bypass surgery, heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, aorta surgery, heart valve replacement, major organ transplant and paralysis.
Features of Critical Illness insurance Plan
- It covers critical illnesses such as heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, paralysis, organ transplant, etc.
- Some plans also offer complimentary health check-ups.
- Provides a one-time lump sum benefit (up to the sum insured) upon being diagnosed with a critical disease.
- The insured should survive for 30 days to avail of the policy benefits.
5. Daily Hospital Cash plan
As the name goes, a Daily Hospital Cash plan is a health insurance plan in which the insured pays a fixed amount on a daily basis when the policyholders get hospitalised. No matter what the hospital bill including the room rent, doctor fees and other charges, the Daily Hospital Cash plan will pay depending on the number of days plan opted by the insured.
6. Senior Citizens Health Insurance
The health insurance policy which is dedicatedly designed for old people above the age of 60 years is called Senior Citizen Health Insurance Plan. If your parents or grandparents are above 60, then this cover is a good choice for you.
A Senior Citizen Policy will offer coverage for cost of medicines, hospitalization arising out of accident or illness, pre and post hospitalization and treatment. Along with these, some other benefits like Domiciliary Hospitalization and Psychiatric benefits are also covered.
Add-ons like “Zone Upgrade” helps to meet the city-wise price escalation for treatment. Other than this, you can also choose to buy alternative treatment (AYUSH) cover as an addition.
Some insurers may ask for a complete body check-up before they sell a Senior Citizen Health Insurance Policy. The maximum entry age limit has been pushed to 70 years of age with lifetime renewability. And, as we know, the senior citizens are more prone to illnesses, these plans are more expensive than other health insurance policies.
Features of Senior Citizen Health Insurance Plan
- Ideal for senior citizens over the age of 60.
- It covers pre- and post-hospitalisation due to accident or illness, medical treatment, domiciliary hospitalisation and psychiatric treatment.
- A health check-up may not be required to purchase the policy (depends on the insurer).
7. Maternity Health Insurance
A Maternity cover can be bought as a rider along with the basic health insurance plan. All the expenses incurred in the prenatal stage, delivery and post-natal stage are covered.
Newly married couples or families who are planning a baby in the coming years should buy this policy. It covers for child-delivery (including medically necessary terminations), infertility expenses and coverage for the newborn baby up to its first 90 days. The Maternity Cover has a minimum waiting period of 2 years.
Features of Maternity Health Insurance Plan
- The policy covers pre- and post-hospitalisation expenses.
- It also covers the cost of normal/cesarean deliveries.
- It also provides coverage for termination of pregnancy due to a life-threatening situation.
- Coverage for the newborn baby (first 90 days).
- It covers the cost of vaccination for the newborn baby.
8. Arogya Sanjeevani Policy
If you are too confused as different insurers offer different variants and features in their health policies, then this is the plan to buy. As features and benefits of health cover plans may differ across insurers, there is the Standard Health Insurance on offer from all insurance companies to help in buying a standard plan. Ask for Arogya Sanjeevani Policy, which is the Standard Health Insurance policy, from your insurer and buy it. Standard Health Insurance Product is aimed at taking care of basic health needs, carrying similar policy wordings and enabling seamless portability among the insurers. Arogya Sanjeevani Policy will only be an indemnity policy which means it will work on a reimbursement basis.
9. Personal Accident Insurance Plan
Accidents are unpredictable, and such events can drain your savings due to the medical expenses involved in treating the injury. A Personal Accident Insurance Policy covers the medical costs incurred due to an accident. The insurance policy also covers partial disability, permanent disability and death of the insured due to an accident.
Features of Personal Accident Insurance Plan
- The policy provides coverage against accidental injuries, disability (partial/permanent) or death.
- It covers the cost of hospitalisation due to an accident.
- The policy provides a daily cash allowance in case of hospitalisation due to an accident.
- Death benefit (up to the sum insured) to the nominee in case of death of the insured.
- It covers loss of income if the insured suffers permanent disability.
- It covers the dependent child’s educational expenses in the case of death of the insured
- It covers ambulance charges.
10. Corona Kavach Policy
Corona Kavach Policy is a specific health insurance policy covering hospital bills solely on account of Covid-19. They are available only with general and health insurers and they are indemnity-based plans in which the hospital bill gets reimbursed.
11. Corona Rakshak Policy
Corona Rakshak Policy is also a specific health insurance policy covering hospital bills solely on account of Covid-19 but is available with all insurers including life insurance companies. In Corona Rakshak Policy, 100 per cent of the sum insured is to be paid to the policyholder as it is a benefit-based plan.
12. Unit Linked Insurance Plans
Unit Linked Insurance Plans or ULIPs are insurance plans that double up as investments. When you pay the premium, a part of it is utilized for providing cover to you, as usual. The remaining amount of the premium is invested in a mix of equity and debt. With ULIPs, you not only secure your health but also build wealth for the future with the returns.