Pre Existing Disease covered from day 1, India – Health Insurance Plans covering pre existing diseases from first day of policy

Most health policies are available with a Pre- Existing Diseases (PED) waiting period of 2 to 4 years as per the age and health condition of the insured.  The PED waiting period covers the diseases that a policy seeker is already suffering from at the time of buying a policy. Hence, people suffering from certain ailments see the PED waiting period as an obstacle while claiming for health insurance. However, you would be glad to know that there are some health plans which allow PED coverage from day one of the plan commencement.

Before going into the details of these plans, let us know the details of PED meaning and PED waiting period for better understanding.

What is PED Full form in Insurance?

As already mentioned in the post above, PED full form is Pre-Existing Disease.

What is PED in Health Insurance?

These diseases or conditions play an important role in deciding your health insurance premiums and the waiting period applied for PED conditions.

PED in insurance is a health condition that an insured is suffering from for over 2 years at the time of buying a policy. It can be a severe medical ailment such as cancer, diabetes, allergies, high blood pressure etc.

Why is it Important to Declare Pre-existing Diseases (PED) while Buying a Health Plan?

It is important to declare a Pre-Existing Disease (PED) in advance and to be transparent about it because if you hide such conditions and they are revealed in the due course of time, you may be barred from using the policy any further. Also, other strict actions might be taken against you by the insurer. Hence, it is good to complete the waiting period to avail coverage rather than getting penalized for not declaring it.

What is a PED Waiting Period in Health Insurance?

Most insurance policies come with  an initial waiting period of one month to three months depending on the insurer before a policyholder can avail the benefits of the insurance. However, the waiting period of PED or pre-existing diseases is different from the initial waiting period.

The waiting period at the start of a policy is levied just once at the commencement of a policy and not required later during policy renewals. Further, during the period of the initial waiting period, the insured is not covered for any disease (including PED and Non-PED) except for any accidental injury.

On the other hand, PED or Pre-Existing Diseases waiting period is levied for ailments that the insured is already suffering from, while buying the health policy. This waiting period, in this case, is levied for 2-4 years depending on the age and health condition of the insured.

For some policy seekers, the waiting period under PED becomes a cause of concern since it disqualifies them from availing the policy benefits for a long time.  However, the good news is that there are some health insurance policies which allow policyholders to avail coverage for PED from day one of the policy commencement date.

Let us discuss below the top health insurance policies offering coverage to PED from day one.

Health Insurance Policy that Covers Pre Existing Diseases from the First Day of Policy

There are some health insurance plans which allow  coverage for Pre-Existing Diseases (PED) from the first day of policy initiation. These plans do not apply any waiting period against raising claims for pre-existing diseases.

List of Health Insurance Plans that Cover Pre-existing Diseases from Day 1, India – Key Features in Detail:

#A – Aditya Birla Activ Health Platinum Essential Plan – Features

1.The plan covers health facilities like:

• In-patient hospitalization
• Modern treatments
• Pre-post hospitalization
• Day care procedures and
• Ambulance services

2.The policy allows reload of sum insured up to 100% once during the policy term

3.It also offer the option of super reload of the sum insured

4. The policyholder can avail cashless treatment at home for some diseases such as dengue, chemotherapy, gastroenteritis etc.

5. The policy offers free preventive health check-up facility

6. The policy offers cumulative bonus for each claim-free year which in a way doubles the coverage amount.

7. The policy also covers AYUSH treatment, physiotherapy charges, OPD, dental consultation, mental illness hospitalization, obesity etc.

8. It also allow waiver of premium if a critical illness is detected.

9. Further, optional benefits are also covered such as personal accident cover, cover for critical illness, international coverage for major illnesses etc.

#B – Aditya Birla Activ Health Platinum Enhanced Plan – Features

1. The plan covers health facilities like:

• Day care treatments
• In-patient hospitalization
• Road ambulance service
• Pre-post hospitalization

2. It allow coverage against domiciliary treatment, mental illness, modern treatments, obesity, OPD and AYUSH treatment
3. Offer facilities like sum insured reload up to 100%, free annual preventive health check-ups etc. are also covered
4. Premium waives off option is also there for one-year if the policyholder is diagnosed with an illness listed under their policy
5. 50% cumulative bonus is offered for every claim-free year under the plan
6. The policy also comes with the dental consultation benefit, recovery benefit and investigations coverage, second opinion benefit for major illnesses etc.

#C – Star Diabetes Safe Insurance Plan – Features

1. The  plan covers hospitalization caused by diabetes complications
2. Allow coverage for pre and post-hospitalization, day care procedures etc.
3. It allow coverage for OPD treatments
4. Also offer coverage against personal accident in the event of accidental death of the insured

Further, Star Health Insurance also offers a buyback rider facility. As per this facility, the policyholder can  lower the waiting period on his/her regular health insurance plan by availing a PED buyback rider. This rider reduces the regular PED waiting period from 3 to 1 year. The insured has to pay a nominal additional premium for the same to avail the rider and has to undergo pre-medical screening as well.

Advantages of PED Coverage from Day 1 of Health Policy

• Ensures Quality Coverage – The PED waiting period serves as a major limitation for policyholders with PED conditions while buying health insurance policies. The long PED waiting periods of health insurance policies of 2 to 4 years restrict many people from availing health insurance. However, the availability of policies with Pre-Existing Disease covered from Day 1 has allowed PED patients to avail and enjoy the benefits of health insurance better.
• Better Penetration of Insurance  – The availability of policies with PED coverage from Day 1 allow greater penetration in health insurance.  By omitting the PED waiting period clause from the plan, insurers have made insurance penetration faster.