What you should know about Health Insurance and its claims

Healthcare, whether in India or someplace else in the world, is expensive, which means that many can’t pay for the treatment that they need. Even if one is financially sound, it doesn’t make sense to dip into your savings to pay the hospital bills. What does make sense, however, is having a health insurance plan to cater to your healthcare needs as and when they arise.

A health insurance plan can provide the financial support which one may need during a medical emergency. Furthermore, the plan comes along with a number of benefits for those who are insured under it.

But, how does a health insurance plan help?

Being insured under a health insurance plan is extremely important to stay covered for many aspects of healthcare. These include:

1. Coverage for hospitalization.

2. Ambulance charges.

3. Cost of buying medicines.

4. Cost of treatment for the insured.

5. Post hospitalization expenses.

6. Expenses for when the insured does not earn.

As the insured, you need to file a claim against your health insurance plan for the aspect you need reimbursement for.

Types of claims you can make on your Health Insurance plan

Smart Advice – Before you buy a health insurance plan, make sure you thoroughly check its claims process before buying it. This is actually one of the factors within an insurance plan that sets it apart from others.

Health insurance claims are primarily of two types, cashless and reimbursement claims. Out of the two, cashless claims are the one which is preferred by customers.

Cashless vs. Reimbursement Claims

Cashless claims are possible if you make a claim on your health policy in a network hospital that is affiliated to the insurance company. In this type of claim, you will not have to pay any amount in terms of medical expenses, and all the expenses are borne by the insurance company. Cashless health insurance plans that have a higher number of network hospitals are actually the ones that are preferred the most by customers in India.

Reimbursement claims, on the other hand, occur when the insured does not get treated at a network hospital. In this scenario, the expenses are all borne by the insured which are later reimbursed to him/her from the insurance company. Reimbursement claims can take more time as the insurance company requires proof for reimbursement to be made to the customer. A big reason why this is the lesser preferred of the two is that not many would have vast sums of money at hand to pay for the hospitalization expenses from their own end.

While all of this is straight-forward information, the need for knowing it often goes amiss in many insurance buyers who emphasize way too much on the premium they are paying towards their health insurance policy. Make sure that’s not the case with you.

Click here to know more how to apply for health insurance claim online