Is Health Insurance Necessary?
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‘Health is wealth’
In this current scenario of pandemics and high levels of stress, health insurance plans have become the need of the hour. An adequate health insurance plan insurers you and your family from expenses arising due to hospitalisation and other medical costs.
In this article, we will dive deep into health insurance and its importance.
In health insurance plans, the health insurance companies take the guarantee of financial compensation, if the insured or their family members fall sick or meets with an accident that requires hospitalisation. Few medical insurance policies also take care of other medical expenditures.
It has now become easy to access medical insurance as most companies offer cashless health insurance if customers opt for treatment in any of the partner hospitals. Insurance companies have tied up with several leading hospitals to provide cashless treatment for their customers.
If the hospital has no tie-ups with your health insurer, you can get the costs reimbursed.
While it is important to have health insurance to safeguard the lives of your dear ones, you can also avail income tax deduction through health policy.
Health insurance is one of the essentials of a healthy financial plan. It comes with a lot of benefits such as taking care of the medical expenses, tax benefits etc.
Here are some of the reasons why medical insurance is a must-have for everyone:
Health care costs are rising at a very fast pace. Data shows that health care inflation is almost double the rate of overall inflation. In 2018-19, the average retail healthcare inflation in India was 7.14%.
It indicates that quality medical care is expensive and the cost is likely to increase in the coming years. Without insurance, hospitalisation and medical costs can harm your savings. You may have to withdraw money from investment options that were earmarked for other financial goals.
Health insurance takes care of the hospitalisation expenses etc. All you need to do is pay a small premium at regular periods.
Best health insurance plans also cover other costs such as doctor consultation fees, costs towards medical tests, ambulance charges, post-hospitalization recovery costs etc.
Currently, most insurers have tie-ups with hospitals and offer cashless hospitalisation for the insured and family members. As a result, you don’t have to worry about managing money upfront to take care of the hospitalisation charges etc.
Taking individual health insurance for you and your family members is expensive. Family floater plan is the cheaper option and covers the entire family with additional coverage.
In the present scenario, many people have desk jobs. This means that we are sitting down a lot of time than our forefathers. It has led to higher chances of lifestyle-related diseases such as diabetes, cardiac problems etc. Also, the treatment of these diseases is expensive. Most health insurance plans cover these diseases and you can protect yourself and your family from the financial burden arising from these diseases.
The premium paid on health insurance helps to save tax under section 80D of the Income Tax Act. You can claim a tax deduction up to Rs.25,000 in a financial year for payment of medical insurance premium. The premium paid for you, your spouse, and dependent children will be considered for tax exemptions.
Typically, individuals under 45 years of age may not be required to go through health check-up. However, individuals are expected to disclose any pre-existing diseases. Taking health insurance at a younger age is cheaper.
The premium charged will depend on health care tests. While you may not be required to take a test, it is better to take the test as it can help to check any underlying infections or diseases. Insurers can reject claims based on pre-existing health conditions.
Here are a few documents that may need to provide to buy health insurance:
1.Any one document to prove your age
2.Identity proof document to prove your citizenship
3. Address proof document that mentions the permanent address
4. Passport Size Photo
There are two main ways to buy health insurance plans i.e. offline through an insurance agent or online by directly going to the health insurer’s website. You can also compare health insurance plans through online aggregator sites before buying a health insurance plan.
Health Insurance is an important financial product for everyone. Health insurance helps to compensate for expenses incurred for hospitalisation and other expenses. Medical insurance plans also cover expense arising due to pandemic diseases such as coronavirus.
