Women and Health Insurance -Time to Empower Yourself

Year after year we come across several days dedicated to women i.e. International Women’s Day, Mothers’ day, etc. These are primarily for marketing purposes, and they hardly do anything to change the existing ground realities regarding women empowerment. For example, when it comes to tohealth insurance, Indian women are either underinsured or uninsured. Let’s state it from the outset - a health insurance policy is as important for women as it is for men.

Insurance is a Must for Women

Today, the word ‘feminism’ has caught everyone’s fancy, which stands for gender equality. There are constant talks regarding women empowerment. But how can we empower women when the majority of them are without basic facilities such as health care and education. The time is ripe to pay equal attention to women's health care and hygiene. Women are so busy fulfilling family obligations and duties that they forget their welfare aspects in the process. To protect the backbone of every household, the women,it is pertinent to bring them under a family health insurance policy or an individual plan.

Women-centric policies in health insurance include: -

1. Cover forailmentsspecific to women such as breast cancer, fallopian tube cancer, uterine cancer, ovarian cancer, vaginal cancer, cervical cancer

2. Personal accident cover for insured woman and earning members of the woman's family

3. Cover for hospitalization and post-hospitalization treatment charges for critical ailments

4. Livelihood support benefit in case of accidental death and permanent total disability of Insured woman and earning members of woman's family

Insurance is not Age-Specific

Owing to the rise in lifestyle diseases, women, irrespective of the age group they belong to, are at risk these days. Health insurance is no longer restricted to elderly women either. Each and every woman, be it a 21-year-old or a 61-year-old, needs appropriate health insurance plans. As the popular saying about health insurance goes: "Buy health insurance when you don't want it, because you may not get it when you want it."

Things women should keep in mind while selecting a health insurance plan

Family or Individual

Decide the kind of plan you want, whether it is a floater plan or an individual sum insured plan. In the floater plan, a single sum covers your entire family and in an individual plan, a limit is prescribed for each person covered under the plan.

Waiting Period

Find out if there is a waiting period involved in certain illnesses such as hernia, gallbladder/kidney stones, cataract, etc. under the plan. Also, check if there is a waiting period for chronic ailments such as cysts or fibroids or a procedure like a hysterectomy.

Coverage of Women-Specific Ailments

It is important for women to evaluate certain women-centric diseases in the health insurance policy. Ensure that these are covered under the policy. Also, find out the extent of their coverage in the specific policy.

On a Concluding Note

Women should ideally opt for health insurance at a young age, as the premium will be on the lower side. However, as you grow older, the premium amount would increase for a fresh policy. Also, above everything else, ensure that the insurance policy provides hospitalization charges during pregnancy. Women's empowerment will be incomplete as long as they remain outside the purview of health care. So, to ensure their well-being and prosperity, let us work towards achieving the objective of insurance-for-all.

**To understand exactly about the policy coverage, exclusions, etc read the Policy Wordings carefully.**