Insurance providers across the country offer various benefits that allow you to avail comprehensive coverage to reduce the financial liability incurred from seeking comprehensive healthcare for your parents.
To make sure that you maximise your benefits from your healthcare plan, it is crucial for you to check whether it covers the following expenses.
1. Coverage
- Accidental & Illness Hospitalization Expenses - Accidents or illnesses are unforeseen events that can come with huge financial liabilities if you do not have a comprehensive health insurance policy. Look for insurance providers who offer coverage in case of medical expenses resulting from an accident or an illness.
- Pre and Post Hospitalisation Expenses - Along with the expenses incurred in due course of your treatment, look for a policy that covers pre and post-hospitalisation expenses. For instance, a comprehensive policy should cover expenses incurred for diagnostic tests, doctor’s fees, surgical follow-ups, OPD visits, etc.
- Annual Health Check-Up Expenses - Annual health check-ups of the elderly are a prerequisite to ensure ideal health conditions, as it reduces the chances of being diagnosed with a fatal disorder. Check that all expenses borne towards this cause can be covered under your health insurance policy.
- Major Surgeries - Any major surgeries, including bariatric operations, are associated with high-value expenses. Make sure such charges are covered through your health insurance policy for parents, ensuring no compromise is made when it comes to such treatment. You can get your parents admitted in premium hospitals in the country, and have renowned surgeons deal with the case.
- Psychiatric Illness Treatment - Psychiatric treatment is slowly overcoming social stigmas and gaining popularity in the country, and major insurance companies often incorporate the same in their policies. So, go for a policy which covers expenses if you are hospitalized for Psychiatric treatment.
- No Room Rent Capping - Room rent can be a cause for concern when it comes to seeking treatment from the premium hospitals across the country. With no capping on room rents, you can easily afford a private room for your parents if they have to be hospitalised for a prolonged-term. It is, therefore, best to ensure that you avail an insurance policy without a hospital room rent cap.
2. Critical Illness Benefits
Severe heart problems, cancer, end-stage lung and liver failure, kidney-related problems, etc. qualify as critical illness cover. Treatment for such medical conditions starts from Rs. 1 Lakh on an average and can go up to Rs. 10 Lakh or more.
Opting for a critical illnesses proves beneficial in such cases, as comprehensive coverage is extended with high sum insured guarantee. All hospitalisation expenses and post-release expenses are covered in such scenarios, along with surgical charges.
An important thing to note about such insurance policy is that a lock-in period of 30 days is associated with activation, during which no claims are entertained.
3. Affordability
Make sure that the premiums you pay towards the health insurance policy for your parents that you choose are affordable and do not pose a burden on your finances.
Compare the coverage, the sum insured, and premium offered by different health insurance providers and make an informed decision.
Know more about Compare Health Insurance.
4. Claim Income Tax Benefits
Cashless treatment is one of the most important benefits provided under a health insurance policy.
With this benefit, insurance providers pay for your treatment charges directly to the network hospital where your parents are admitted. So, look for a policy with maximum network hospitals under it.
Know more about:
5. 0% Co-payment Option
There are insurance policies which require you to pay a percentage of the treatment costs incurred, while the rest is covered by the insurance provider. Since the treatment expenses incurred towards your parents’ can be quite high, it is best to look for a policy without the co-payment clause.
Looking for a Health Insurance policy for Parents with 0% Co-payment? Check the plans offered by Digit Insurance.
6. Claim Settlement Ratio
Claim settlement ratio refers to the number of claims settled by your insurance provider against the total number of claims raised.
High claim settlement is one of the primary factors to keep an eye on to make sure that your claim is not rejected in case of an emergency.
7. Comprehensive Pre-Existing Illness Coverage
With most pre-existing illness coverage benefits offered by health insurance policies, you have to serve a waiting period before you can raise a claim. It is, therefore, pertinent to look for policies that have a minimal waiting period for their pre-existing illness coverage.
You should also look through the number of illnesses covered to make sure that your policy offers you maximum benefits.
8. Add-on Benefits
Apart from the features mentioned above, you should also look for add-on covers that can make your policy better-rounded. Some of them include:
9. Easy Claim Process
Usually, insurance providers offer two options when it comes to settling claims. These are:
- Settlement for cashless claims
- Reimbursement for claims raised
Regardless of the option you choose, you must ensure that the process for settling claims is uncomplicated. With most insurance providers shifting their claim process online, it has become much easier than before to raise claims.
10. Review the Company’s Reputation
Finally, don’t forget to check the customer reviews and testimonials for your insurance provider on social media sites, through Google reviews, etc. to make sure that you avail the best services for your healthcare plan.
