Zero Waiting Period Health Insurance: Immediate Coverage and Benefits

Waiting period in health insurance is the time when you cannot raise a claim. There are different types of waiting periods applicable when you buy the plan. Note: Your policy is still active and you can claim for events like accidents.

For example: Most health insurance companies will require you to wait for 2 to 3 years before you can actually claim the maternity benefit. It means you need to have your policy for at least 2 years (or the specific duration mentioned in your health insurance policy) in order to access the maternity benefits.

Let’s understand these different types of waiting periods in detail.

Pre-existing disease waiting period: At the time of buying a health insurance policy, if you or other insured members of the policy have existing ailments such as hypertension (high blood pressure), diabetes, thyroid, etc., then these ailments are referred to as pre-existing disease/conditions. 

Most traditional health insurance plans cover pre-existing conditions after the completion of the minimum waiting period. Group health insurance waiting period may have different terms and conditions.

Please check with the respective insurance provider for more information. However, you get health insurance without waiting period and coverage for pre-existing diseases under Rs. 1 Cr ACKO Platinum Health Plan.

Waiting period for specific illnesses/diseases: Certain diseases or medical conditions and procedures may come with a specific waiting period. These may include cataracts, ENT disorders, osteoporosis, hernia, joint replacement surgery, etc. The waiting period for such illnesses can vary from 2 to 3 years, depending on the policy’s terms and conditions.

Waiting period for maternity and newborn baby add-on: Most health insurance plans cover maternity-related expenses and include a newborn baby only after the specified waiting period. It can range from 9 months to 3 years. The maternity benefit covers the delivery expenses and the newborn baby for the first 3 months. However, there are plans that do not cover maternity expenses. Make sure you confirm the coverage details before you purchase the plan.

Initial waiting period: The initial waiting period in health insurance is the duration from the date of policy commencement to the date from when you can start using the policy’s benefits. Except for accidental hospitalisation, no other medical expenses are covered during this initial waiting period in health insurance.

Waiting period for accidental hospitalisation: As stated in the previous section, only accidental hospitalisation does not have a waiting period in health insurance. All health insurance plans cover accidental hospitalisation from day 1 of your policy commencement date.

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Let’s discuss the important elements of the waiting period in health insurance and how it impacts claim settlements.

The high likelihood of being affected by lifestyle diseases such as hypertension and diabetes has led to increased acceptance of health insurance. When you opt for a health insurance plan, you must understand that there are various aspects of the policy that needs your attention.

For example: Some health insurance plans may include Maternity Cover that may have a 2-year waiting period. And, in some plans it can be 9 months to 3 years before you can enjoy the policy’s benefits on maternity coverage.

There are multiple reasons why health insurance plans have a waiting period.

While it may not be possible to reduce the waiting period for health insurance, you can opt for ACKO Platinum Health Insurance Policy which has a zero waiting period for pre-existing diseases. Provided you disclose all your medical conditions while buying the plan.

Here are some important points to keep in mind about waiting periods in health insurance.

The survival period in health insurance refers to the specified time duration the policyholder needs to survive after being diagnosed with a critical illness (cancer, heart or kidney failure, etc.). This period can be anywhere between 14 days to 180 days, depending upon the type of plan and the illness. Note that the survival time period is in addition to the waiting period of a policy. The survival period in health insurance is an important part of critical illness plans. If a policyholder has a critical illness and raises a claim, the insurer will pay a pre-defined lump sum amount. However, this amount will only be paid if the policyholder survives through the specified survival period. Once this lump sum amount is paid for the surviving policyholder, the policy is terminated.

Refer to the below table to understand the differences between survival and waiting period in health insurance.

Both the survival and waiting periods are associated with health insurance to make sure that genuine customers get adequate health insurance coverage during their time of need. However, they are not the same.

Now that you understand the definition of the waiting period in health insurance, it’s time to choose a plan that suits your requirements. However, you need not worry much about the waiting period in medical insurance if you buy a health insurance plan at an early stage of your life.

Health insurance plans with zero waiting periods are ideal for coverage from day 1. Take advantage of ACKO’s Rs.1 Crore plan with zero waiting period and zero deductions at claims for optimum coverage.

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