What is Health Insurance? All You Need To Know

What is Health Insurance?

Health is one of the most important facets of your life, and it is in your best interest to have insurance that can cover you in case you face any health-related issues. Health insurance is one such service that can take care of your finances if you or your family members have a medical emergency. Besides this having a health insurance policy gives you peace of mind in the time of crises and provides you access to quality health care services.

Following are the features and coverages of the health insurance policy offered by Bajaj Allianz:

• Coverage for Pre-post hospitalization charges
• Coverage for in-hospital expenses, room rent and boarding expenses
• Doctor's consultation fees can also be claimed
• You are also paid for the ambulance charges
• Cashless claim facility available at 6000 + network hospitals
• Multiple customized health insurance plans are available to suit the different set of requirements by different customers like individuals, family members, senior people, pregnant ladies, critical illness patients

Following are the benefits of the health insurance plan offered by Bajaj Allianz:

• You get the benefit of health CDC, which allows you to register a claim through our app - Insurance Wallet
• Multiple VAS (Value Added Services) are available to enhance the coverage of your basic policy
• Our health insurance policies provide maximum coverage at very reasonable premium rates
• We offer 24/7 call assistance for claims settlement
• We have an In-house Health Administration Team (HAT) for faster and more efficient claim settlement
• You can buy and renew health insurance online, which can save you a lot of time and the troubles of substantial paperwork
• You get tax exemption benefit under section 80 D of the Income Tax Act

Why is health insurance mandatory?

Having health insurance is not mandatory in India as per the law, but it is a must-have for availing hassle-free medical treatment and handling your health care expenses.

A health insurance policy helps you manage your finances when you or your family members have to undergo medical treatment. The costs of medical procedures and medicines are sharply rising, making even basic treatments out-of-reach for common people. Thus, insurance becomes the best tool to minimize your out-of-pocket expenses, keeping your savings in reserve and giving you the benefit of cashless claims at network hospitals.

Health insurance plans are designed for customers with varied needs. There are multiple health insurance plans which provide cover to individuals, to family members, to expecting parents, to senior people etc. These plans protect you from the expenses you have to bear for treating a wide range of illnesses.

What is long term health insurance?

The shortest term offered for health insurance in India is one year. However, there is an option to get a health insurance policy for more than 1 year. You can extend the tenure of your insurance plan for up to 3 years, which offers you the coverage for a long time and saves you from the task of yearly policy renewal.

You might also earn discounts on your premium if you opt for a long term policy. You can also take advantage of cumulative bonus for each claim free year. Most of the health insurance policies also provide cover for pre and post hospitalization expenses, which have occurred 60 days prior to hospitalization or 90 days after hospitalization.

What are the different types of health insurance policies?

Health insurance policies have coverages and features that cater to customers with different health care needs. For instance:

• Individual Health Insurance Plan - This insurance plan is suitable for a single person and can cover individuals who are 18 years of age and above. This plan offers sum insured options ranging from INR 1.5 lakhs to INR 50 lakhs and comes with a lifelong renewal facility.
• Health Guard Family Floater Plan - This plan is best suited for covering all the family members (yourself, your spouse, parents and children) under a single health insurance policy. The SI (Sum Insured) options range from INR 1.5 lakhs to 50 lakhs with policy term options extending up to 3 years.
• Critical Illness Insurance Plan - A critical illness plan is designed to cover you in case you are diagnosed with critical illnesses like cancer, kidney failure, stroke, major organ transplant etc. This plan covers individuals in the age group between 6 years and 59 years. This is an annual policy with a lifelong renewal option and a free look period of 15 days.
• Silver Health Insurance plan - This insurance plan is specifically designed to cater to the needs of the elderly. The entry age for this insurance plan is 46 years to 70 years with a lifelong renewal option. This plan provides the financial security you need in your later years by covering you for the medical treatments you require in your old age.
• Extra Care Plus Policy - It is an additional cover available to you, over and above your existing cover. This is a top-up plan that can prove beneficial in case you exhaust your SI during the treatment.

While these are few of the plans that have been elaborated here, there are many more plans and top-up covers, which you can check on our website. All the plans come with a fixed set of features, inclusions and exclusions. It is best advised that you should thoroughly go through the policy wordings to avoid any confusion while filing the claim.

What is the claim process for health insurance?

Health insurance claims can be registered either offline or online.

For offline claim registration, you can call on our toll-free number - 1800-209-5858, where our executive will guide you with the complete claim registration process.

For online claim registration, you can follow the steps mentioned below:

Cashless Claims - For cashless claims, you need to approach the network hospital with your policy details. The hospital will verify your details and send the preauthorization form to the insurance company. This form is scrutinized by the insurance company and it conveys the policy coverage and details to the hospital if the claim is approved. The insurer might also send a query letter asking for more details from the hospital.

Reimbursement Claims - If you do not go to a network hospital, then you will need to file a reimbursement claim. In this case, you need to collect all the required documents from the hospital and submit the same to the insurance company. The insurance company will then verify these documents and then decide to either approve or reject the claim. In case it finds that some of the documents are missing, it will intimate the same to you and begin the claim process after you send all the remaining documents.

You can also opt for more than one health insurance plan and register the claim under multiple health insurance policies.

Hope this article answers the question 'What is health insurance?' and explains it's importance. We recommend that you get yourself and your family members insured to stay covered in the event of any medical emergency.