What Millennials Need to Know About Health Insurance

Consider the busy world we live in – we struggle with multitasking at work and at home, sleep deprivation and erratic meal times. This results in a lot of health issues such as blood pressure, diabetes and depression. Being a part of the fast-moving world, we are also prone to accidents. As responsible young adults, we should prepare ourselves for unforeseen medical circumstances by getting a health insurance policy well in time.

Advantages of Health Insurance for Millennials:

Most millennials ignore the idea of health insurance because they see it as an expenditure, or they think that they are young and healthy so they don’t really need it early on. But life is uncertain and it is not wise to take it for granted! Moreover, getting health insurance well in time brings with it a lot of advantages, besides providing financial protection.

Let’s have a look at some of the advantages of buying insurance plans early:

No Medical Screening: There is a threshold age after which applying for health insurance would mean undergoing mandatory medical tests. It is done to detect any underlying medical conditions so that coverage and premium could be decided appropriately. If you get health insurance at an early age, you are free from this step.

Cost-effective Premium: Health Insurance premiums do increase with age.  But if you start when you are young and healthy, you would have to pay a standard premium.  Not only that, you will continue to pay the standard premium for your age, even if you develop medical conditions.  However, if you join later with a medical condition, your premium will be loaded and this loading will continue even while renewing.

Waiting Period served well in time: The waiting period is the time in a health insurance policy during which a customer cannot make any claim on a pre-existing medical condition. It is usually around 2 to 4 years. As health risks increase with age, therefore, if you buy a policy early, then the waiting period is covered early.

Tax Benefits: The amount of premium paid can be deducted up to Rs. 25,000 from the payable tax (under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act). This also helps in saving money.

Protection from Medical Inflation: As medical facilities are getting better, the costs to support them are also increasing. This is called medical inflation. If you buy health insurance at an early age, then you can ensure some financial coverage for any prospective illness, through No Claim Bonus increases in sum insured.

Important Features to look for in Health Insurance

Extensive Base Cover: A health policy would make no sense if the base cover that it provides has a lot of restrictions. Hence, it should be kept in mind that the base cover must include all the necessary expenses, including pre- and post-hospitalization charges.

Flexible Add-ons: Insurers offer a lot of add-on options that can help customize the health insurance plan as per personal requirements at a slightly higher premium. You can select the optional cover as needed to make the policy more wholesome and beneficial.

No-claim Bonus: It is a great benefit to save money on health insurance. It means that after every claim-free year, you get rewarded by addition of a certain specified amount to your base sum assured. This means you get higher coverage while continuing to pay the same premium.

Wellness Benefits: If the customer is a non-smoker, non-drinker, then he/she can get a discount on premium rates. Therefore, this feature preaches good habits and rewards the customers for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Besides, a lot of health insurers reward you for staying healthy with gym memberships, points for fitness trackers and the like.

Family Discounts: Look for a health insurance plan that offers a rebate on adding more family members. This feature will help save some money on premium payments whenever you plan to get married and start a family.

It is important to note that the application process, acceptance of proposal and premium payable would depend upon the proposer’s past and prevailing health condition. Also, the composition of product features, benefits and terms would differ across plans and insurers. It is always advisable to read and understand the policy Terms & Conditions carefully before investing in a health insurance policy that is meant to serve you for a lifetime.

How does SANA.Insure help?

Buying the right health insurance plan is a tricky business. You could easily get lost with all the options available in the market. Complex terms and conditions of the policies make it tougher. SANA.Insure helps make health insurance easy. Our digital health insurance platform lets you conveniently select, compare and purchase the ideal policy, all at the click of a few buttons.

We help simplify complicated health insurance jargons and offer unbiased and reliable advice. A Health Insurance Expert at SANA.Insure is there to help you along the way – you can connect over WhatsApp chat on 8278271818 or call on 1800 202 8118.

Wish you a healthy and happy life!