The 9 vital factors of Health Insurance Plans to look upon before purchasing one in 2025
Desiring to get Health Insurance for you or your loved ones? In this blog, Fintra highlights some vital factors before finalizing one.
With the rising health-related costs and unfavourable environmental conditions, it has become a necessity to opt for Health Insurance. Although at first finalizing a Healthcare plan can appear to be a hectic task, Fintra will present some vital factors to look upon, and they will assist in deciding which Health Insurance Policy to opt for.
Purchasing a good Healthcare plan is very crucial. Nowadays, new diseases are popping up just as popcorn in a machine- unhealthy conditions are arising due to the changes in lifestyles and the environment we're living in. How can one forget the year 2020 that turned out to be “A Global Pandemic”. There is no assurance about health and any new health conditions that might arise in the near future. Hence, opting for a good Health Insurance Policy is a necessity in 2025.
Selecting the best Healthcare Plan is an intense task. Therefore, take a glance at the following vital factors affecting a good Health Insurance Policy before opting for one:
- Age: This is an important factor to consider before getting any Health Insurance Policy because it directly affects the amount of premium you have to pay for the policy. Every Insurance Company follows a simple rule: “Higher the age, Higher the premium and Lower the age, Lesser the Premium”. Everyone should get a Healthcare Plan as soon as they are 18 years of age. People of higher age have more chances of catching any infection or virus in comparison to a young individual. Availing Health Insurance at a younger age will reduce the premium and provide some additional benefits which elder people might not get. Now employers also offer healthcare facilities to the employees that come at a very cheap cost. Reason being that the insurance is purchased in bulk for all the employees and so it costs less. It is a good idea to get your healthcare covered by your employer because you won't have to purchase third-party health insurance nor bother about renewing the health insurance policy every year.
As we can see that for a person aged 20, the premium is calculated at Rs. 5,197/- per annum.
As we can see that for a person aged 30, the premium increases to Rs. 6,371/- per annum for the same plan.
Now we can see that for a person aged 45, the premium further increases to Rs. 8,451/-per annum for the same plan.
For a person aged 60, the premium is increased to Rs. 19,522/- per annum. This is a very huge increase just because of the high age of the person.
- Your Medical History: An individual's medical history also determines the premium in a way. Those who have a medical history of suffering from crucial diseases or are more prone to getting new infections will be charged with a higher premium. On the other hand, those who have a clean medical history, who don’t have any pre-existing diseases or medical conditions, and are living a relatively healthy lifestyle, are charged with a lesser premium. You should not hide if you have any pre-existing illness or medical conditions while getting a Heal Insurance Policy. Moreover, your medical history includes any hereditary ailment such as any specific health condition that your parents or grandparents might have had. For example, hypothyroid or high/low blood pressure or diabetes and so on. In this case, you should mention the heredity ailments to the insurer so that in the future if any of those health conditions arise, they will cover the treatment and all the expenses
- Policy Tenure: The duration of the policy you are opting for plays a vital role in determining the premium. Usually, Healthcare Plans have a validity of one year, but some plans have a validity of two to three years. Do note that the premium for a policy of one year will be slightly higher and the premium of the policies with a validity of two to three years will be having a slightly lesser premium. Do note that if you've availed for a policy having a longer duration, you don’t have to renew it every year. Thus, by choosing a policy with a longer duration along with availing benefits similar to the lesser premiums you can avoid renewing the policy every year.
- Occupation: Your occupation or nature of work also affects the healthcare plan and its premium. For example, if you work in a University, where the environment is relatively clean, and the risks of getting ill are less, you will pay a lesser premium. On the other hand, for people with jobs related to construction, sanitary, or who work in factories where the environment isn't sophisticated and risks of getting infected or injured are higher, the insurance company will charge a higher sum for the premium of the healthcare plan.
- Body Mass Index (BMI): We all know the benefits of living a healthy lifestyle and being fit in today’s world. One more benefit of staying fit and healthy is that you will have to pay a lesser amount of premium for a healthcare plan. People with higher BMI are at a higher risk of getting crucial ailments like high blood pressure, diabetes, heart problems, breathing problems, cancer, etc. Thus, the Health Insurance companies will charge a higher amount of premium from the people with a higher BMI and charge a lesser premium from the people with lesser BMI. Fintra advises to always strive to remain fit not just for paying a lesser amount for the premium but to avoid such serious health conditions, too.
- Smoking Habits: “Smoking is Injurious to Health”, and the consumption of tobacco is not only a bad habit but also a serious cause of cancer. Consumption of tobacco or smoking cigarettes is not only bad for health, but it also is very expensive. People with smoking habits or tobacco consumption are at a very high risk of getting serious health ailments such as cancer. For this reason, the insurance companies will initially ask whether you intaking these things or not. People who do smoke or consume tobacco have to pay a higher premium for the health insurance policy in comparison to the people who don’t. People who have this bad habit are at a very high-risk and therefore, they charge more money for the premium from the smokers.
- Geographic Location: The region where the individual lives also play an important role in determining the premium for a healthcare plan. Your geographical location affects Health Insurance Policy and its premium in various ways. For example, a person living in a region where healthy food options are not available, health conditions aren't taken care well, or the climate is not favourable, the Insurance Company will charge higher for a healthcare plan. On the flip side, for a person living in a good and healthy geographical location, where the availability of healthy food, good water is available, and the overall lifestyle is good the insurer will charge slightly lesser for the same healthcare plan.
- Premium: This is the most vital factor. Although your Health Insurance Policy is good and ensures everything, including providing certain benefits, what if the premium is heavy on your pocket? What if you won’t be able to afford it every year? This certainly won't be an ideal situation. Thus, it's advised to opt for a health care plan which is easy on your pocket and is sustainable in the longer run. Acquiring the best insurance policy that is more expensive and available in the market once is not recommended, but buying a relatively good policy that is pocket friendly regularly is a good option. Also, buying a very cheap Health Insurance policy is not recommended as it won’t be able to fulfil your requirements at the time of need.
- Type of Plan: There are several different types of health care plans in each company. You have to identify your needs and buy a good plan accordingly. There are group plans also available that are slightly cheaper as compared to individual plans. Generally, these group plans are issued to office workers or a whole family. Getting a group healthcare plan will be a better idea reason being the low cost and more coverage. However, if you have any specific ailment or health condition, then opting for an individual health insurance policy with add-on benefits, will be advisable - this may increase the premium amount, but provides the appropriate insurance. All policies differ from company-to-company, hence. Have a look at all the available options and choose the best which suits your healthcare needs.
Summary of this blog:
Before purchasing a Health Insurance Plan, there are various factors and checkpoints to analyze. Do bear in mind the above-stated factors while choosing a health care plan. Never trust any broker or insurance agent blindly. Do your research well before finalizing one. If an insurance plan checks all the above-mentioned factors for you and is not too expensive nor too cheap, then go for that healthcare plan. Due to the constant rise in healthcare bills, treatment costs, and medical bills, it is highly recommended to get a good health insurance policy because we never know what the future holds for us and our health. The degrading lifestyle along with the air quality index falling low, it's suggested to boost your overall health by exercising regularly. By doing so, it will significantly improve your health condition and help in improving your BMI. Health Insurance Policy not only covers your healthcare requirements, but it also helps in saving some tax and provide tax benefits. Getting the perfect healthcare plan might look like a hectic task but is also a necessity. Hence, go through all the above-mentioned points and select the best healthcare plan for you and your family.
