Health is a priority for most individuals. You would want to protect yourself and your family financially as well as health-wise. Nothing could possibly be a better option than health insurance. You might think that finding the right insurance policy is a tedious process, but here is how it can be made easier.

However, there are several factors to consider before buying health insurance; they are:

1. Efficiency of Claim process

The claim settlement time, as well as ratio, has to be one of the most important factors to be considered. If the settlement ratio is high and settlement time fast, it means that the insurance provider has done an excellent job with genuine claims.

2. Co-payment

Co-payment basically means that you will have to bear a pre-defined percentage of the claim amount, and the insurance company will settle the remaining amount. While buying a health insurance plan, but it always a good practice to ensure the co-payment terms.

3. Day-care procedures

Most of the health insurance plans do not cover day-care procedures. If you wish to make a medical claim, hospitalization for at least 24 hours is compulsory. Due to all the different innovations in technology, a lot of procedures don’t require hospitalization. Therefore, it is better that you go for a plan that will cover the maximum number of day-care procedures.

4. Pre & post hospitalization expenses

Pre and post hospitalization means the medical expenses that are incurred before and after hospitalization. When you’re hospitalized, there are times when the treatment might extend beyond the hospitalization. Things that fall under the category of post-hospitalization are follow-up visits to the doctor, medicines to be taken or follow-up investigations that need to be done. Expenses that are relevant to the ailment for which the person is hospitalized will be considered under Pre and Post-hospitalization expenses. Health insurance riders that tackle life-threating diseases and provide financial assistance when required should be considered while opting for a health insurance plan. The critical illness insurance cover, which offers a lump sum benefit upon detection of any of the listed critical illnesses,

5. Network hospitals for cashless claims

It is very important that you check the list of network hospitals to see whether it includes the facilities that you often go to. It becomes even more important to consider this factor if you are travelling or moving to a different city, as your health insurance must travel along with you. It is only possible to avail the cashless facilities in network hospitals.

6. Cumulative Bonus

If you haven’t made any claim in the previous year, then most of the insurance companies offer a cumulative bonus. In cases like these, the sum insured increases.

7. Maternity coverage

The cost associating with maternity is rising. It has become very essential to check if your policy provides maternity coverage. These are the points that you need to pay careful attention to, before buying a health policy:

• See if the waiting period is applicable to claim maternity expenses.
• Take into consideration the sub-limit.
• Look carefully whether the policy is covering outpatient expenses related to maternity.
• Go through the exclusions and check the specific exclusion (if any) related to the cover.

8. Lifetime renewal

You can renew a health insurance policy on an annual basis with a company for a lifetime, provided it is within the grace period of 30 days from the day of expiry. Hence, there isn’t any age limit for the same.

Another thing to know before buying an insurance policy is to compare health insurance online and choose the one that suits your needs. You can also make use of the health insurance premium calculator on the company’s website and calculate the premium online.