Do you need a high health cover?

Ideally, people who have a family medical history should buy high sum assured if they can afford the premium of the same.

Let's admit it. The biggest worry among people today, apart from the rising cost of living, is health and health related issues. A vast majority of individuals are either not aware of health insurance benefits and those who are, are not sufficiently covered.

Most people live in a constant fear of their health cover running out in times of an emergency. With ever rising inflationary cost of medical treatment, medicines and other related aspects, people feel that any critical or serious disease may dent their savings.

For instance, an organ transplant today can cost anywhere around Rs 30 lakh to 50 lakh. Even the price of medication post the operative procedure is on the higher side. Also, with change in lifestyle, new and complicated forms of diseases are being discovered involving complicated treatment and surgical measures. Most private hospitals offering best treatment facilities also charge a high amount of hospital fees among other charges which collectively raises the cost of medical treatment.

Ideally, people who have a family medical history should buy high sum assured if they can afford the premium of the same. Those people who want to get advance treatment and related services in a luxury hospital should also go for a high sum assured products, as should those who desire to go abroad for a treatment. You can take help of online comparison to get the best plan for yourself.

Do you require high health cover?

According to numerous experts of the insurance industry, a cover of Rs 10 lakh is not adequate for getting treatment for critical illness, especially in metro cities where the cost of such treatments is very high. A person who is suffering from any critical disease does not have a choice but to visit leading hospitals for the best possible treatment.

In metro cities like Mumbai or Delhi, the cost of a single room in well-known hospitals costs anywhere around Rs 5,000 to Rs 7,000 per day and the cost of a room in ICU will cost you at least three to four times more than a normal room.

If a person can afford the premium of high sum assured insurance plan then surely s/he should buy the same.

However, the high cost related to the premium of the health cover can prove to be a deterrent for many.

In case you are unable to pay a high premium, then you should try to add a health top-up cover to your existing basic health plan. The maximum top-up cover which is available in the market is around Rs 15 lakh.

However, if you feel comfortable in getting the treatment from tier-2 hospital, a lower coverage will be sufficient since tier-2 city hospitals charge less.

Go through the fine print

A high cover doesn't mean that it would reimburse all expenses. Pay attention towards features such as the network of hospitals, exclusions, sub-limits in the plan, pre-existing diseases and additional benefits such as maternity cover, dental treatment and neonatal coverage among others. In the case of high-value plans, there may not be any limits on the room rent; however there may be a definite category of the room that is covered under the plan.

So before you decide to go for a high premium medical cover, clearly evaluate your requirements and spending power towards the high premium that will be charged for the policy.

There are many insurance companies that are offering the best health plans. To be precise, the public sector insurance companies come out with great claim ratio and you can select anyone from them. Alternatively, you can opt for private players as well but only after thoroughly comparing and going through the finer details of the plan.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

Naval Goel is CEO and Founder, PolicyX