Benefits of Heath Insurance Plans in India

A major portion of Indian population is still uninsured and statistics paint a picture of a vastly untapped market. One of the biggest challenges in India in making health insurance a priority for everyone is that a major segment of Indian population is formed by the youth. This includes the millennials in both the rural and urban areas. Though there are differences in outlooks to various things between these two segments, when it comes to buying insurance, not much of a change can be noticed. Spending money on insurance does not count as a priority for a major part of youth population. In rural India, the situation is worse because of the general lack of financial awareness and health consciousness.

Another challenge is posed by the general societal mindset in India, which is savings oriented and where, any annual payout is deemed as an avoidable expenditure.

However, this is just one side of the picture and must be seen essentially as an opportunity for expansion of health insurance industry in India.

Health consciousness in India has undergone a profoundly positive change in the past few decades and this has directly impacted the health insurance sector also. Earlier confined to select middle class and higher income groups, health insurance has become a need for everyone today. Governmental outreach has further boosted the process and the growing financial literacy has added to the growth of health insurance sector in India.

The liberalization and disinvestment in the early 90s and the consequent entry of global players in this field has further changed the scenario of health insurance in India.

In India, generally the inpatient hospitalization was covered under health insurance and not coverage was given to outpatient facilities and requirements. However, the scene completely changed after the government allowed liberalization of insurance in the year 2000. Private insurance companies got a tremendous boost and competition increased. This led to the introduction of innovative insurance products like family floater plans, top-up plans, critical illness plans, hospital cash and top up policies.

In India, IRDA (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority) regularly launches awareness campaigns for further broadening the scope of health insurance.

Health insurance in India covers several domains and the important ones are mentioned below:

1. Hospitalization benefits:

Hospitalization plans are indemnity plans that pay cost of hospitalization and medical costs of the insured subject to the sum insured. The sum insured can be applied on a per member basis in case of individual health policies or on a floater basis in case of family floater policies. In case of floater policies the sum insured can be utilized by any of the members insured under the plan. These policies do not normally pay any cash benefit. In addition to hospitalization benefits, specific policies may offer a number of additional benefits like maternity and newborn coverage, day care procedures for specific procedures

2. Family Floater Health Insurance:

This plan covers the entire family and offers coverage for all the members of the family.

3. Senior citizen health insurance:

Meant for senior citizens, this plan offers protection from health issues during old age. According to IRDA guidelines, each insurer should provide cover up to the age of 65 years.

4. Maternity benefits:

Maternity health insurance ensures coverage for maternity and other additional expenses. It takes care of both pre and post natal care, baby delivery (either normal or caesarean).

5. Critical disease-specific plans:

These plans offer financial protection against specific critical diseases like cancer, cardiac disorders etc.

6. Hospital daily cash benefits:

Daily cash benefit policy is a defined benefit policy that pays a defined sum of money for every day of hospitalization. The payments for a defined number of days in the policy year and may be subject to a deductible of few days.

HDFC Life offers health insurance plans for covering the health-related issues and treatment. These plans are meant for the financial security and safety for you and your loved ones. For details, click on the mentioned link: https://www.hdfclife.com/health-insurance-plans.

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