Discover essential tips for purchasing health insurance with pre-existing conditions. Navigate coverage options, understand your rights, and secure the best plan for your needs.
Medical health insurance is one of the necessities in today’s unknown world as it saves us from heavy bills in case of sudden and unseen illnesses. However, getting a health insurance plan with pre-existing conditions is not easy because not all insurance companies license policies with such conditions. This becomes a bigger issue when buying senior citizen health insurance.
What is meant by Pre-existing Disease under health insurance policies?
A pre-existing disease is any ailment diagnosed or treated any time in the past before the application of the insurance policy to underwrite the risk. There are several diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, asthma, and heart diseases that a patient may have before contracting an infection. Existing conditions can either result in exclusion of coverage, increased premiums, a waiting period before the conditions’ coverage takes effect in India.
Benefits of Having a Pre-Existing Health Insurance Policy
Having a pre-existing disease insurance policy offers numerous benefits:
1. Financial protection: Pre-existing medical conditions allow you to have insurance cover to enable you to seek specific medical treatments without being financially drained.
2. Peace of mind: It is also a great comfort if one knows that when the time comes, one has been covered and therefore, can fully concentrate on healing.
3. Comprehensive coverage: The current health insurance plans give you complete coverage for costs incurred on hospitalisation as well as medication costs for your disease.
How a Pre-existing Disease Affects Your Health Investing?
A pre-existing condition can impact your health insurance in various ways:
1. Increased premiums
Insurance companies do have the freedom to load regular health insurance with a premium which becomes higher to cater for the cost of treatment including pre-existing conditions.
2. Waiting period
It will take some time before the insurance policy will agree to compensate for the pre-existing medical condition.
3. Limited coverage
The costs may be limited depending on the policy gained and certain costs may be incurred at personal cost. Terms and conditions may limit the extent of coverage of the expenses.
Things You Need to Consider When Choosing the Right Health Cover for Pre-Existing Conditions
When purchasing health insurance with pre-existing conditions, especially senior citizen health insurance, consider the following factors:
1. Network hospitals
You should settle for an insurer who offers you an extensive list of network hospitals and diagnostic centres to ensure that you get quality services.
2. Coverage and benefits
Compare existing insurance plans and analyse and understand available options from various insurers, sum insured, and waiting period for each pre-existing condition formulated for buyers.
3. Claim settlement ratio
Check the insurer’s claim settlement ratio and claims should not take long to be processed. Look through information with respect to individual insurance service providers and include checking that they have the practice of comparing their customers in the shortest time possible.
4. Pre-policy medical check-up
Before signing on the dotted line, ask your insurance company to run a pre-policy medical check-up, which will give you an idea of how severe your pre-existing condition is.
5. Online comparison
Use the web to research different health insurance policies with pre-existing conditions to obtain more information about price, services offered and the policy offered by any of the insurance companies.
A Few Guidelines to Follow When There Are Pre-existing Health Conditions
1. Disclose all pre-existing conditions truthfully: Failure to do so results in your claim being dismissed in case of an emergency, most especially, a medical one.
2. Maintain a healthy lifestyle: Effectively manage a pre-existing condition may also improve coverage at a lower cost.
3. Consult with your doctor: It is recommended to see your doctor more often to increase your understanding of how to manage the pre-existing condition. This may also assist in a way in ensuring your premiums remain as low as possible.
4. Keep a record of all medical bills and treatments: Doctors’ certificates in the event of an emergency may take a long time to be prepared, therefore it is advisable to keep all the medical bills and treatments in order to hasten the lives of the claimant when processing the claim.
5. Review your policy regularly: Review the policy of the health insurance company and determine if it is still appropriate for you. Depending on the nature of your pre-existing condition, you may have to change your policy as your status changes.
Conclusion
Buying health insurance with pre-existing conditions in India is not easy and should be done with the help of modern means of research. Having a health insurance policy for pre-existing conditions may help you to have a break, and stay carefree about your future state of health and possible serious illnesses.
FAQs
1. What is the waiting period for diseases in health insurance?
It can take one to four years before pre-existing conditions can be covered by the insurer in health insurance policies. At this time, you will be the bearer of all related medical expenses incurred.
2. Would I be a higher risk, so my premium would be higher if I have a pre-existing condition?
Yes, for certain health insurance policies, you might have to pay a slightly higher premium, particularly for those with pre-existing conditions. It depends upon the type of condition, its stage, forecast and the insurer’s tariffs as well as the agreed terms and conditions.
3. Are the health insurance premiums of pre-existing conditions tax deductible?
Yes, the premium towards health insurance for pre-existing alien conditions can be set off under section 80D of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The maximum deduction allowed depends on the age of the individual applicant and whether or not the applicant is a resident or non–resident Indian.
Disclaimer: The above information is for illustrative purposes only. For more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content