Importance of Health Insurance Plan for People Nearing Retirement

Why Health Insurance Plans are Must for Retirees?

We all eagerly wait for our retirement, right? That is the time when can indulge in all the activities that we wanted to try for so many years. Well, we also need to consider the fact that post-retirement years are also the period when a majority of the adverse health conditions and illnesses show up. Once you are retired, unless you were a public servant covered under the national pension scheme, you would not have a pension. Therefore, before you retire from your work, you must make your financial planning so strong that during any emergency, you can deal with the situation. Learn about the importance of health insurance plans for retirees .

One of the most important things to buy even before your retirement are health insurance plans. Even if a medical emergency comes up, you will be able to use your health insurance policy to pay the medical bills and save your hard-earned money.

What is a health Insurance policy?

A health insurance policy provides cover against medical expenses that were incurred in medical treatment. A health insurance plan is valid for a specified period and throughout the tenure, the policyholder has to pay the premiums. During the tenure of the policy, if the policyholder meets with an accident that needs medical treatment or is diagnosed with an illness, the insurance company will bear the expenses.

Nevertheless, the illnesses that are covered under the medical insurance policy may vary from one plan to the other. Therefore, you must go through the terms and conditions of the policy thoroughly. You can even use a health insurance premium calculator to get an idea of the kind of premium that you have to pay to continue using the policy.

Types of Health insurance Policies in India

Individual health insurance

As the name suggests, an individual health insurance policy can be availed of by an individual only. If you are hospitalized, the expenses incurred by you will be borne by the insurance company. If your spouse is also covered under the policy, each member will get the basic sum insured individually.

Family floater health insurance

Under a family floater health insurance policy, the entire family can be covered. The sum insured is divided among the family equally. However, this is more preferred by people when it comes to buying a health insurance policy because the premium to be paid by the insured is comparatively lower than an individual health insurance policy.

5 Benefits of buying a health insurance policy

To get the best healthcare facilities, having a health insurance policy is very important. All that you need to do is to get treatment at a network hospital and you are sorted. Let us take a look at the top benefits of having a health insurance policy.

1. Hospitalization expenses

Under a standard health insurance plan, any medical condition or illness that needs urgent hospitalization is covered. However, claims are approved if the disease was not previously diagnosed before availing of the insurance plan.

2. Pre and post-hospitalization expenses

Pre as well as post-hospitalization expenses are covered under the health insurance policies. The pre-hospitalization expenses include doctor’s fees, expenses related to diagnosis, etc. The post-hospitalization expenses include injections, medication, routine check-ups, and many more.

3. Cover against mental illnesses

Some health insurance policies even provide coverage for psychiatric treatment. Mental illness has become a major concern across the world, and insurance providers are making sure that they take care of their policyholders in every way possible.

4. Daycare procedures

Expenses for daycare treatments which include cataracts, dialysis, tonsillectomy, and many more are covered under the majority of the health insurance plans.

5. No Claim Bonus

If you do not claim in a year, you will get discounts or a high sum insured. And for the high sum insured, you do not even have to pay an additional cost in the succeeding years.

Top Health Insurance Plans for Retirees

If you are going to retire from your work in a few years, or are planning to take early retirement, you can consider the following health insurance plans.

Insurer: Bharti AXA General Insurance Company

Plan: Bharti AXA Smart Health Insurance Plan

The minimum age to buy this plan is 18 years, while the maximum is 65 years. The basic sum insured is INR 50,000 to INR 5 lakh, the premium sum insured is INR 1 lakh to INR 5 lakh, and the optimum sum insured is INR 1 lakh to INR 5 lakh. It is suitable for people above 45 years.

Insurer: Cholamandalam General Insurance Company

Plan: Cholamandalam Individual Healthline Insurance Plan

To buy this health insurance plan, the minimum age criterion is 18 years, and the maximum is 65 years. The standard sum insured is between INR 3 lakh and INR 5 lakh; the superior sum insured is between INR 3.5 lakh and INR 5.5 lakh, and the advanced sum insured is between INR 4.5 lakh and INR 10 lakh. This is the best plan for people over 55 years of age.

Insurer: Future Generali Insurance Company

Plan: Future Generali Health Suraksha Plan

The minimum age to purchase this health insurance plan is 18 years and the maximum is 70 years. The sum insured offered under this plan is varied. Under Gold, you will get a sum insured between INR 1 lakh and INR 5 lakh; under Platinum, it is between INR 6 lakh and INR 10 lakh; under Topaz, it is between INR 1 lakh and INR 5 lakh; and under  Ruby, it is between INR 6 lakh and INR 10 lakh. It is perfect for people more than 50 years old.

Like this, there are many more health insurance policies that you can get online, and which are suitable for people who are going to get retired soon.