Health is one of the most important assets of a person’s life. If health is not properly maintained, the things one wants to achieve will take a backseat. While this does not mean a person’s health would never hit a low, getting back up with proper care and treatment is important.
To ensure proper treatment, one needs a financial backup in today’s time where medical costs are skyrocketing. This backup is provided by health insurance. Everyone knows that buying a medical policy is necessary, but many fail to buy the right one. This is due to certain mistakes they make during or before the purchase. In this article, we will focus on how you can avoid those mistakes.
Contents
Common mistakes while buying health insurance
#1 Being secretive about medical history
Buying health insurance means that you are securing your financial needs in the time of a medical emergency. For this, your insurer must be aware of your medical history and current health status. If you hide your medical history, you might not receive a medical coverage if you fall ill because of a pre-existing medical issue. However, if you disclose this information to your insurer, there are chances that you might get coverage for a recurring medical issue. Similarly, not disclosing your current medical status would also pose a threat for future claim settlement. Things which you might feel are insignificant, for example smoking, might be a driving factor for other medical conditions like a lung disease.
#2 Not considering own requirements
Nowadays health insurance plans are not standard products. You can choose your insurance coverage to fit your needs and customize it accordingly. Many times, people do not take advantage of this flexibility and end up buying a standard policy. Ideally, one should first note his/her requirements and then search for medical insurance plans that fulfill those requirements. This will be highly beneficial at the time of claim. Due to this, a policyholder will make claims against a relevant situation and the chances of claim rejection reduce.
#3 Buying a policy without taking a look at the exclusions
Exclusions are situations that are not covered by your insurer. Since these situations are already present on the policy, you can decide whether to make a purchase or not. However, most of the times, people only consider the coverage offered by the policy and do not bother to look at the exclusions. Not being aware of the exclusions increases the chances of claim rejection and disappointment in the time of need.
#4 Buying a policy without reading the documents
Similar to exclusions, a medical insurance policy also has a list of terms and conditions that the policyholder needs to abide by. A health insurance policy can prove to be complex in nature if the policyholder is not aware of the terms of his/her insurance company. Always take some time out to understand the text written in your policy document. If you buy health insurance from a digital insurer, the term and conditions might be present on the insurer’s website. You as a policyholder will have easy access to these pages.
#5 Being either under or over insured
Lack of research about the product you are buying can lead to you spending more or less amount of money than required. This can be a nightmare with respect to health insurance plans. If you buy more coverage than you need, you are unnecessarily spending to buy a cover that you may never need. On the other hand, if you are buying less coverage you will be left exposed to financial risks in the time of need. Thus, it is very important that you understand your needs, carry out research to buy the right product, and buy adequate coverage.
In conclusion
Being honest to your insurer will help both parties to be on the same page in the time of need. Be sure to allocate ample amount of your time for research and don’t make haste while buying your health insurance policy.
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