Buying health insurance is a necessity. When you have decided to buy a plan, you may wonder where to start from, whom to approach and which is the best policy for your family. In this article, you will get to know the steps on how to apply for a health insurance policy in India.
The exponential rise in healthcare costs, illnesses, lifestyle choices, work pressure, etc. have made Medicare cost very high. You may have savings, but would that be enough if there is a medical emergency in your family? That is why health insurance is essential.
Health insurance is a contract between you and insurer, where the insurer compensates if there is an emergency or any planned hospitalisation. The insurance company offers a stipulated sum assured in exchange for premium you pay. There are various types of health insurance cover; these include:
- Individual health insurance
- Family Floater Health Insurance
- Senior Citizen Health Insurance
- Critical Illness Health Insurance
If you’re planning to buy a health cover for you and your family, you can choose any of the above plans. Below is the stepwise process to apply for health insurance policy in India:
Step 1 Know your needs
To apply for health insurance policy in India, you first need to identify what type of plan you want to apply for, depending on your family and medical needs. Insurance companies decide the rate of policy in such a way that the person of same health conditions would get the same sum assured from the same company. The companies decide the sum assured based on your needs, for instance, the policy amount of an individual cover would be less as compared to the family floater health plan. This is because the latter divides the sum assured based on the health and age of the dependent family members. You can view the types of health plans online and choose the one which suits your budget and family needs.
Step 2 Apply for the Policy
After you review the health insurance policy of various companies, and you find the insurance quote suitable, you can submit the request form online. The insurance representative will give you a call for further process. You will need to go to the insurer’s office, where you will have to complete the interview process, which lasts for a maximum of 30 minutes. During this process, you do not need to pay the premium along with the application. However, the payment process varies from company to company. Post this; the next step will be a medical examination.
Step 3 Medical exam
Whenever you’re applying for a health insurance policy in India, knowing the health of the policyholder is pre-requisite for a person’s eligibility. The pre-medical test enables insurers to know illness and health condition, based on which they offer a suitable health cover. The policy’s premium rate is low if the policyholder’s health is stable. There are companies which provide insurance without conducting pre-medical tests; however, such policies tend to have inadequate coverage. The test is carried out either at your home, place of work or local office.
Step 4 Underwriting process
This refers to the evaluation process of the application. The insurer reviews your application, medical tests and other health information. Based on these parameters, the company decides whether to approve or reject your request. The underwriting process takes 3 to 4 weeks, wherein the company will provide a health class and premium. During the process, the final quote may not match with the original quote you received at the time of applying online. The quote may vary as it takes into account all the health information.
Step 5: Policy delivery
Once the underwriting is complete, you will receive the policy and delivery papers via post or mail. You need to review the plan. If you agree with the terms, you will have to sign on the delivery requirements and submit it with a premium amount.
So, when are you planning to buy a health insurance policy? You can either apply for the policy online or offline via a broker as per your convenience.
