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| For Your Health |
| Tinesh Bhasin / May 17, 2009, 21:27 IST |
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It's easy to buy health cover online nowdays, but they are only meant for those who have age on their side.
Buying health insurance has never been so easy. More and more companies are selling it on the internet. Just go to the insurer's website, enter details and hit the pay button. No hassles of health checks, no photograph and no signature.
But how can someone buy such a complex product just on the web? When you buy a book, you know what you want. After all, if the reader does not enjoy it, the author will be blamed and not the seller. Health insurance, obviously, is very different from buying a book.
Unless you are an expert or have already been advised, you may not be sure what you’re getting into. The buyer needs to look at a whole set of parameters to zero on a policy that is both cheap and serves his requirement. But financial planners and even insurance agents say it does make sense to buy health insurance online, though they also crooned in the ifs and buts. But before we get into the details of who should buy mediclaim on internet, let's look at what's on offer.
THE PLAYERS
Selling health insurance online is not old. It started only about a year earlier. Currently, only five companies have the model – ICICI Lombard General Insurance, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, Royal Sundaram, HDFC Ergo General Insurance and Star Health & Allied Insurance.
All of them sell only two or, at most, three policies online from their entire bouquet. These are pre-underwritten. Meaning, the insurers perceive a limited risk and do not need to check the well-being of the person and change the premium. As a result, policies sold online are restricted to a particular age group. In most cases, it is up to 45. Very few companies also insure people up to 55 years of age; ICICI Lombard does.
The sum insured is restricted, too. Most insurers have kept it confined to Rs 4 lakh for products other than personal accident cover, and none crosses Rs 5 lakh. For instance, Bajaj Allianz Health Guard provides a sum insured up to Rs 10 lakh for its Health Guard policy. But online, the maximum available is Rs 5 lakh.
Otherwise, there is not much difference in buying a policy on web or physically.
WHY BUY?
Given the restriction of age and sum insured, advisers and agents say buying mediclaim online does makes sense if you are going for a basic policy, for a lower sum insured. "You can buy a policy online if you have enough trust in the company and there is already an experience with their processes and claim settlements," said Rahul Aggarwal, CEO, Optima Insurance.
Online purchase comes most handy if your existing insurer gives a facility to renew the policy on the internet. "But if you are a first-time buyer, do remember that buying a policy is only half the work," said an agent. Claim settlement is also a very important part of health insurance.
HOW TO DO IT
The insured needs someone to help with the claim procedure during contingencies. Else, they can lose a lot of money. This is probably why agents and brokers are responsible for selling 80 per cent of insurance in even developed economies, as per industry estimates.
Agents believe first-time buyers are also likely to miss the fine print. This includes the pre and post-hospitalisation period, exclusions of some disease for a certain time, capping on expenses and so on.
In any case, financial planners advise that at a young age, a person does not require a huge amount of cover. Till 35, the person can do with about Rs 3 lakh mediclaim. The chances of falling victim to any major illness is not common in the younger years. "After 35, one should increase the cover as the cash flows get better with the professional progress," said Suresh Sadagopan, Director, Ladder 7 Financial Advisory Services and a certified financial planner.
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