The cost of healthcare in India is increasing exorbitantly. It is a good practice to invest in Health Insurance policies at a suitable time in your life. 

When you are faced with immediate medical emergency, the last thing you want is to worry about medical expenses. However, in absence of comprehensive Health Insurance Policies, you may end up blowing all your savings for the treatment alone. That is the reason, you must consider adding a health policy to your investment plan if you haven’t done that already. 

However, choosing the right health insurance policy is easier said than done. There are so many options available these days that it becomes daunting for first-time buyers to pick the best option. But choosing a good policy will protect you against exorbitant medical bills. It will also provide coverage for pre and post hospitalization, diagnosis expenses, etc. Some insurance providers, such as Care Insurance, even allow you expand the coverage of your policy with add-on features. 

But before you are choosing from the health insurance policies available in the market, here are some things you need to keep in mind. 

1. Types of health insurance policies 

• Individual health plan

An individual health plan is designed to benefit individuals only. You can either buy the policy in your name or your wife/child. The premium will change as per the insured person’s age as well as sum insured. This plan is best for you if you are an early career professional with low-cost premium and relatively lower risk of terminal conditions. 

• Family floater plan

This policy is best for you if you want to secure your entire family under a single policy. These policies provide coverage to people of different age groups in a single plan without the need to manage multiple premiums for multiple health insurance policies. 

• Top up policy

This type of insurance plan is the same as a regular health insurance policy. While the policy covers the hospitalization expenses, but the costs will only be reimbursed upon reaching the threshold limit, also known as deductible. 

• Senior citizen health insurance

These plans are designed for senior citizens, between the ages of 60 and 75, that take care of their healthcare requirements tha arise due to old age. The best feature of these plans is that they allow cashless hospitalization and cover for pre-existing illnesses, and a disease cover. 

• Critical illness plan

This plan will pay for the entire treatment cost and other expenses in a lump sum amount if you are diagnosed with one of the critical illnesses listed in the policy document. In most cases, you will be able to add a critical illness rider to your regular health insurance policy by paying additional premium. 

2. Factors to consider 

When looking to buy the best health insurance policy, you need to keep the following factors in mind: 

• Age

Your age plays a critical role in identifying your insurance needs. When people buy policies at a young age, they can benefit from the low premium costs because there is a lower possibility of serious health problems. However, the premium cost increases with age. 

• Overall health

Your current health status too plays a significant role in determining your health insurance requirements. If you are healthy, you can invest in a low coverage policy. But people with existing health conditions may require serious medical attention. Therefore, it is important to opt for a higher coverage. 

• City of residence

The city you live in will also have an impact on the type of medical facilities available to you. Needless to say, the healthcare costs in metropolitan cities will be much higher than tier two or tier three cities. 

• Income

When you are buying a policy, it is important to take your income into account because you must choose a premium that you can sustain for a long time. There is no point in choosing a health insurance policy that will not fully cover the cost of treatment. 

Buying health insurance policies don’t have to be so difficult. So be sure to use this detailed guide to help you make an informed purchase decision. 

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