By Mashum Mollah
You must have experienced the change in the standard of living in India over the past few decades. Earlier, landline telephones used to be available in not many households, and now every person has at least one mobile phone. There is a drastic shift in the conditions of living too.
Where there was just one family with a car in your neighborhood, now every family has at least one vehicle. All these factors have contributed to the nation’s growth, no wonder, but have brought about some problems too. Lifestyle diseases and increasing health conditions associated with living standards are on the rise.
It has forced us to pay attention to our health. In this pursuit of safety, health insurance has gained its importance. Without a doubt, it stands true to its name and offers the required protection for your family. Let us look at the various challenges that can be overcome by buying a reliable health insurance plan –
1. Financial Protection against Medical Expenses
The primary purpose for which a health cover is to provide financial protection. The increasing standard of living, as discussed above, has made tremendous improvements in medical technology. These developments come at a steep cost of medical facilities that otherwise can burn a hole in your pocket.
2. Critical Illness Protection
Health insurance not only protects against regularly occurring diseases but also fatal ailments like cancer and heart attacks. Under critical illness insurance, the insurer pays a lump sum amount on the detection or occurrence of the ailment. During such times of critical diseases, one might lose their income sources. It is given to maintain their livelihood along with the finance required for availing treatments.
3. Optimum Coverage
When buying a health insurance plan, there are various types of facilities that you must look out for. Some of them may be critical to influencing your purchase decision; like a cashless facility is handy in times of distress for the patient to arrange for finances to pay medical bills. On the other hand, pre and post hospitalization coverage will offer overall protection before and after availing the treatment. You can check more about the same in your policy document. Another such feature to look for is no claim bonus or NCB. It helps in increasing the sum assured at the time of the renewal of health insurance. Apart from the above, there are a few other facilities that you can look for while buying like the ambulance services, medical check-up facility, capping on various room rents, and more. Reading the policy document well in advance will save you the hassles during times of treatment.
4. Cheaper Premiums for Starting Young
Most youngsters believe that they do not need health insurance coverage. In fact, in present times, it is uncertain to predict when a medical emergency may strike. Also, the earlier you start, the cheaper are the premiums. Starting early saves a substantial amount of premium while offering a similar sum assured when you avail health cover. Using a health insurance premium calculator can help you in assisting the different premiums that you will be charged for different plans.
5. Tax Benefits
If you feel that all your premiums are a cost, it is not the case. A health insurance premium helps you avail a tax deduction under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act. Limits are specified for the deductions available for a regular individual and senior citizens.
The above are some of the challenges that can be overcome using a health insurance plan. Make sure you check for the different plans available and select the one that suits your needs.
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