Changes to Make in Your Health Insurance Portfolio
Last Updated : March 23, 2022, 4:18 p.m.
Reviewing health insurance, which offers financial protection to individuals during medical emergencies, and making suitable changes to it over time makes one feel assured in earnest. You need a robust health insurance policy to stand the test of time. Something that may not be the case when you start with this insurance. Inflation does not remain the same, and if you haven’t factored in the same while buying, do so on renewal to stay cool going forward. Similarly, your health insurance may lack some impressive features that its competing products may have. So, you need to make a change to your health insurance portfolio to fill these gaps should they exist. Let’s check such changes in detail.
Health Insurance Portfolio Changes Regarding Sum Insured
Feeling financially secure during medical emergencies depends on the amount you’re covered for. Medical inflation, which grows by around 10-20% a year, may make your sum insured redundant if that is too short. Health insurance does allow an automatic rise in the sum insured on renewal if you don’t claim in a financial year. But if the sum insured chosen while buying is too short, the automatic hike may not suffice. So, you need to request the insurer to get your sum insured up to meet medical inflation. This way, your health insurance portfolio becomes robust.
What Will Change with the Change in the Sum Insured?
The rise in the sum insured will lead to an increase in the premium accordingly. So, check that too with the insurer while renewing health insurance. Knowing beforehand will help you arrange the increased premium amount on time.
Check If the Sum Insured Restoration Facility is Available in Your Health Insurance Policy
Chances of exhausting your entire health insurance coverage amount with one medical emergency can’t be ruled out given the inflation around. But what matters is whether your insurer offers the sum insured restoration facility or not. If so, what are the clauses to it? Does it come under the base plan or as a rider? Ideally, it should come under the base plan itself so that you won’t have to pay the extra premium which happens when it comes as a rider.
Also, check the number of times for which you can restore your sum insured. Some insurers may come with a cap, others may have unlimited recharge options for their customers. Some insurers may not allow restoration for the diseases for which you had claimed earlier. So, check your existing health insurance portfolio and see how flexible it is regarding sum insured restoration. If you find too many gaps, look to plug them by asking your existing insurer to do so. In case it does not oblige, look to port the policy to some other insurer that agrees to the changes you want. You need to request for health insurance portability at least 45 days before the renewal date.
Structure Related Changes to Health Insurance Portfolio
Many who buy health insurance before marriage wonder how they can add their spouse and kids after getting married. That too at an affordable premium. Most likely, they must have bought an individual plan and want to have all their dependents under a family floater plan that comes at less premium. Well, they can do so by requesting their insurer for the same. Maybe the insurer will tell you to wait till renewal for the same.
How Does a Family Floater Health Insurance Plan Impact Premiums?
A family floater plan comes with a lower premium compared to that of an individual plan. But still, one has to be mindful of its delicacies. What’s that? Well, the premium for a family floater plan is decided based on the age of the eldest insured member. If you add your old-aged parents under this plan, the premiums will rise astronomically. So, don’t add them to this plan, instead, get a separate plan for them.
Premium Payment Related Changes to Health Insurance Portfolio
Paying the health insurance premium comfortably often remains the concern of policyholders. The premiums are payable mostly at monthly or annual intervals. So, if the annual premium amount stands at around INR 12,000, the monthly amount will drop to around INR 1,000. For most, arranging a bulk amount annually might be demanding, although they will pay less overall choosing this mode. Insurance companies apply modal factors by which the overall payment through the monthly mode remains greater than that of the annual mode. So, check which mode of premium payment you’re comfortable with and choose the same.
Can I Do Some Changes to Reduce My Health Insurance Premium?
Health insurance portfolio only becomes stronger with reduced premiums. Insurance companies can allow you to pay the premium of two-three years in advance. Doing so will fetch you discounts on your premiums.