Is the Employer Health Insurance Plan Sufficient for Medical Emergencies?
Last Updated : April 4, 2022, 12:33 p.m.
How does it feel to get something for which someone else will pay? That’s what the Employer Health Insurance Plan does! It covers you against a wide range of diseases and conditions, and your employer pays the premium for the same. It feels like a KING, but that doesn’t mean you should not analyze the plan. Analyzing the same will only help you understand the plan’s strengths and weaknesses. As a result, you can decide on the right retail plan for you. Yes, even with an employer health insurance plan, you will need a regular plan where YOU will have to pay the premium for coverage. Because employer insurance ceases to exist the moment you leave the workplace. All that makes analysis of your employer health insurance very important.
So, How Should You Analyze Your Employer Health Insurance Plan?
The first and foremost thing to check is the coverage of employer health insurance plan – both in terms of amount and the diseases. Secondly, see if some value-added features are there in that policy. Let’s check all that you need to do in greater detail below.
Check Employer Health Insurance Cover Holistically
The coverage amount should be high to accommodate the prevailing inflation. Employers may choose a low sum insured amount to get their premiums reduced, thereby increasing the possibilities of out-of-pocket expenses for policyholders. And that somewhat defeats the purpose for which people buy health insurance. At the same time, check whether the plan covers your family members alongside you. Because some employers choose not to cover the families of their employees. In that case, that plan will not help you much. Instead, a regular family floater health insurance plan will be needed.
Look for Value-added Services
Employers can think of not having value-added features such as daily hospital cash, emergency ambulance to reduce their premiums. But these are must-have features. Daily cash allowance disbursal helps you cover miscellaneous expenses during medical emergencies. Whereas emergency ambulance cover may become the difference between life and death in certain medical conditions.
You’re Never Sure of the Plan’s Longevity
Your employer can anytime cancel the health insurance plan even if you’re employed with it. It could leave you clueless about what to do in case a medical emergency strikes at that time. So, you cannot rest on employer health insurance alone. A regular health insurance plan is also needed. And our advice would be to buy it soon as you will need to serve an initial waiting period of one month, except for accidental injuries. Yes, during the waiting period, health insurance companies don’t cover your illnesses and conditions.
Conclusion
Employer health insurance is good to have as you don’t need to pay the premium for getting health coverage. But for continued and adequate coverage, you will need to buy a separate health insurance plan. Do a cost-benefit analysis there too. So, the premium you pay must cover you adequately against a wide range of diseases and illnesses. Keep adding 8-15% medical inflation every year to choose your sum insured. The automatic rise in the sum insured based on no claim filing in a year does ensure so. And choosing a higher sum insured only enhances it more. A higher sum insured will increase your premium accordingly. So, weigh your cost and benefits thoroughly before accepting a deal.