A Few Things You Must Know Before Buying a Health Insurance Policy in India

 Health is Wealth' is an old saying, which depicts that good health is as important as having lots of wealth. A person with good health can work efficiently to earn wealth and lead a quality life. On the other hand, a person who does not have good health spends a lot of his wealth to regain health. According to an Arabic proverb, "He, who has health, has hope; and he, who has hope, has everything". All of these sayings imply that good health is of great importance, and cannot be compromised.

So, don't we need to take the necessary steps to protect it? Since, despite all precautions, the possibility of an accident or illness cannot be ruled out; we need to be prepared for any eventuality. In such tragic circumstances, we fall prey to the dual economic crisis - first, we have to abandon work because of poor health, and second, pay huge healthcare expenses. Our hard-earned money is spent on illnesses. At times, we are forced to borrow from within or outside the family.

A World Health Organisation (WHO) study on the impact of rising health expenditure in India, states that about 40 percent of low-income families have to borrow money from outside the families to meet their healthcare expenses resulting in over 16% of them getting pushed below the poverty line.

Therefore, to safeguard any health-related eventuality, we must have a health insurance policy of appropriate coverage. Today, there are many health insurance products from various insurers available in the market. Through research and comparison, one can identify the best product which suits one's needs. With hundreds of products to choose from, this research can be quite confusing and time-consuming. Thankfully, with the advent of insurance web aggregators, simple comparisons of all products are available. Web aggregators allow customized comparisons of products based on their features, coverage, and premium among other things. The fact that web aggregators provide unbiased comparisons has helped consumers in their search for the ideal insurance product.

There are a few points that need to be kept in mind before buying insurance products:

1. Premium and Coverage: Expensive insurance policies are not necessarily always good. If premiums are identical, benefits such as OPD, Hospitalisation Cash Benefit, Coverage of Critical Illness, etc. should be reviewed. Assess and identify the benefits you need. Choose the appropriate cover. Identify 3-4 products and compare them to find your ideal policy.