How to pick the right health insurance plan

For those who still think they can do without health insurance, let us set the record straight. The need to get health insurance is more than ever before. Health care cost is rising. It is actually rising by a whopping 19% every year, which, by the way,  is more than 3 times the inflation rate in our country. Understand it like this: Cost of cardiac treatment shot up by 2 lakh from 2007 to 2011 (about 137% rise) and further inflated by more than 60% in the last 3 years. Even if you can afford the occasional health expenses now, you have to just wait a few years to realize that you can’t. But what you can always afford is health insurance.  

Listing the many benefits of getting a health insurance plan is a beaten path and you should read more about it in our previous articles. The matter here is how to choose one health insurance policy out of so many choices available. Not all that easy a thing, but we proudly say we make it easy. Here you go.

Think and rethink your priorities

The first thing to do before you take an insurance plan is figure out your needs and priorities. This will require on your part to consider the benefits you expect from the policy. You will have to think in terms of your age, area of residence, family size, illness history etc. In terms of policy structure, you should assess which limits are acceptable and which are not. You may have an issue with an associated co-pay, some may not have. You don’t want a policy with room rent limit, others may be willing to adjust on that. All this can be easily done if you have the policy features neatly listed out for you.

Mind Your Budget

Once you know the kind of policy you have to buy, decide a budget. This essentially means knowing how much money you can fork out. Of course, this decision is central to the amount of cover you want to opt for. With regards to pricing, a family floater plan costs much less than individual plans.

Read more about family floater plan and individual policy

More than the premium to be paid now, you should think of what the cost of hospitalization in a good city hospital will be. Bear in mind that it can go as high as several lakh rupees. A higher cover amount will increase your premium by a few thousand rupees but will save you from bankruptcy in case you are hospitalized for anything serious.

How to get the Perfect Match

After zeroing in on the budget, you will certainly find a policy that fits the bill. Except that, you will find a number of policies that come close to your expectations. This may make it difficult to arrive at a decision but it’s always nice to have options. Here you will use your customer discretion to sift out the good from the better. The insurers’ claim settlement ratio, rate of claim settlement, pricing of the product and network of hospitals and other data will help you eliminate the unwanted. As part of our motto to empower customers, this data is provided on the site. You just go through the motions and the perfect policy picks itself for you. No kidding!

Know the policy

You must enquire about the details of the product you plan to buy, as much as you can. Knowing the fine print is crucial to your understanding of the policy limits and advantages. It is always good to be sure than be under some impression. And why not? When your policy details are so simply and clearly explained, there is no reason to stay unaware.Visit our health insurance page to compare and buy policies

Read more about Separate health insurance plans for parents or floater?

Read also An anatomy of an health insurance plan

Read more about Dejargonizing health insurance terms

Know what to look for in car insurance

Want to reduce your car insurance premium and ensure you are covered for potential claims that can pinch you the most? Here is a list of the most important things that you must consider when getting car insurance, in that order.

What kind of cover?

This is the first thing you need to decide. The IRDA makes it mandatory for every vehicle to have a Third Party Liability insurance that pays for the damage you cause to others in an accident you were at fault. To cover the damages to your vehicle, you get an Own Damage insurance. The general practice is to buy a comprehensive motor insurance that covers both third party liability and own damage.

Read more about Is it worth buying third party car insurance?

IDV- Not more, not less

IDV (Insured’s Declared Value) is the value of the car declared by the owner. It is the sum paid by the insurer in case of total loss of the car. At the time of renewal, the IDV (Insured’s Declared Value) of your car is lower than what you declared the last time due to depreciation. It is important to call the correct IDV. Your insurer will not allow you to quote either a higher or a lower value. It must be close to the present value of the car that has depreciated.

Read more about Should you increase the IDV of the car?

Add-ons that matter

With an own damage car insurance you are covered only for accidental situations. But a lot of times one finds oneself in non-accidental situations where an insurance cover would have saved the trouble. Also, your own damage policy covers only your car, not you, not your driver and not the passengers. For all these events, you’re offered add-ons at very reasonable rates that are always advisable to have in your motor policy. Some of them are:

Engine protect cover– Covers the car engine repair/replacement if it becomes dysfunctional due to non-accidental situation.

Read more about Engine protect cover

Roadside assistance – Covers you for on-road situations like fuel arrangement, flat tyre, battery replacement etc. 

Driver legal liability cover– Covers your driver for death and disability if he meets with an accident driving your car

Passenger PA cover– Covers the passengers for death and disability due to an accident

Read more about Personal accident cover

Your OD insurance cover reimburses you only for the depreciated value of the car parts. If you want your insurer to pay the entire replacement cost, you should think of adding zero depreciation cover to your policy.

Voluntary deductible

Deductibles is the amount you pay out of your packet before the insurer steps in to reimburse the claim. There is a standard deductible applicable to all insurance policies. It is Rs 1000 for engine capacity of 1500cc or less and Rs 2000 for engine capacity of more than 1500 cc. There is also the provision to choose a higher (voluntary) deductible. You should go for a higher deductible if

-You want to bring the premium down.

-You think you’re a safe driver and claiming damages will be a rarity

Compare quotes

This can’t be stressed enough. Comparing quotes is absolutely essential if you want to give yourself a good deal. For this reason, buying car insurance online is always a smart move. One, you get a lot of options to compare and choose from and two, there are the online discounts that save you up to 60% on the premium. That sweetens the deal, no?

For the lowest car insurance prices, visit Turtlemint: www.turtlemint.com