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Health Insurance Plans – Start protecting your savings while you are young

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Published on 24^th Aug 2020 EST Read time 4 Mins

We all have grown up with the learning that “health is wealth”. This recapitulates the ideology that leading a healthy life is one of the most expensive luxuries. This statement can help you to cherish wellness in life; however, this statement is equally true as well. You would need wealth for the maintenance of good health and even for recovery from ill health.

A common cold or headache can be so distressing by affecting your daily life and work; then just imagine the predicament if you end up suffering from a serious ailment or illness. The current time's hectic work life and the continuous struggle to maintain work-life balance has made us more susceptible to diseases especially youngsters.

Therefore, you need to get yourself covered by health insurance as the skyrocketing cost of health care services can be a cause of further troubles in your life. When you are young and healthy, purchasing health insurance would prove to be quite advantageous especially from the insurance premium perspective. The younger you are the lower is your health insurance premium amount.

Reasons to start protecting your savings with health insurance

There are several reasons, which prove that the purchase of health insurance plans at a young age is one of the rightway to protect your savings.

• Get far and past the waiting period

  The waiting period is that period after which, a selected list of ailments starts being covered under your health insurance policy. In the case of pre-existing diseases, the waiting period is generally 4 years, whereas it is around 2 years for certain conditions and specific ailments. If you have purchased health insurance for family , then there is a waiting period of 90 days, after which you would be able to include your newborn baby into the plan.

  As said earlier, medical expenses are a huge burdento your finances as well as your mind. Therefore, if you think about getting health insurance from a young age i.e. when you are in sound health, the waiting periods would not be less stressful. You would find yourself in a good position to make claims without any constraints.

• Cumulative benefits

  If you don’t make any claims during a policy year, you would be eligible to obtain a reward from your insurance provider, in the name of No Claim Bonus. This is offered to you for being conscious about your health and for not making a claim. Usually, this is offered in two forms i.e. Discount on Premium or Cumulative Benefit. 

  As the name suggests, a discount on the premium would help you in obtaining a reduction in your payable premium at the time of policy renewal. The cumulative bonus or benefit would help you in obtaining an increase in your sum insured for not making any claims. This can be availed while you are renewing your health insurance policy.

  Purchasing a health insurance policy at an early age can be helpful for you in obtaining the cumulative bonus, as a young policyholder would renew his policy every year. In addition to that, these cumulative benefits will be helpful for you when you grow older in the form of an increased sum assured and cover.

• Tax saving tool

  One of the major advantages of purchasing a health insurance policy is the tax benefits it offers. You would be eligible to claim a tax deduction of up to Rs. 25,000 if you are paying the health insurance premium for self, your spouse, and dependent children. In addition, you can claim additional deduction for your parents, i.e. up to Rs. 25,000 if they are less than 60 years of age or Rs. 50,000 if they are above the age of 60 years. Also, you can claim a tax deduction of up to Rs. 1, 00,000 if you and your parent (proposed policyholders) are above the age of 60 years.

  Therefore, if you get health insurance plans at a younger age, you would be able to claim these tax-saving benefits too.

• Comprehensive plans – Much more than the hospitalisation cover

  Health insurance plans would provide you with the basic cover, which includes the cover for hospitalisation, pre-hospitalisation, and post-hospitalisation as well. Apart from that, many insurers provide innovative and comprehensive health plans, which provide additional benefits such as the cover for day-to-day medical expenses that can also include the specialist consultation fees.

  Many health insurance plans even cover for the maternity expenses, and newborn babies (generally, up to 91 days) without charging any additional premium.

• Better planning for medical emergencies

  The purchase of a good health insurance plan with good coverage helps in preparing you for facing medical contingencies. The basic coverage in case of either an individual health insurance policy or health insurance for the family would help you to be financially stress-free during an emergency. By the cashless claim settlement method, the need to accumulate money together for meeting hospital expenses is history now. Moreover, you can choose critical illness policies and be prepared with a contingency plan in case of any serious health issues.

• Lower rejection rate at a younger age

  In case you are an applicant for an individual health insurance plan and you are being diagnosed with any critical ailment like heart disease or cancer, it is obvious that the insurance provider would be more likely to reject your application or would charge a very high rate of premium from you. At a younger age, it is less likely for your application to be rejected by the insurance provider, as your probability of being prone to any such critical ailments would be quite low.

   

Conclusion

So, being a millennial you might have a lavish wish list, which includes house, car, and many more items. However, this wish list can be complete only when a health insurance policy has been included in it. It is admissible that along with the purchase of a health insurance policy at a young age many responsibilities would creep in. Nevertheless, along with these responsibilities, there are several benefits, which can be enjoyed too. Hence, you must grasp the art of planning your finances carefully to achieve your goals easily.

This  blog is written by Dr. Kavita Ganesh 
Asst. Vice President, Health & Accident Product Underwriting

About The Expert :  Dr. Kavita Ganesh holds over 15 years of work experience in health insurance industry. She highly recommends buying health insurance for securing finances in case of a medical emergency. Looking at the current pandemic situation, she enforces the idea of having a higher sum insured for covering the entire family.

Disclaimer: The above information is for illustrative purpose only. For more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales.