Comprehensive Health Checkup for Health Insurance – Why It is Crucial Before Purchasing Health Insurance in India?

Importance of Comprehensive Health Checkup in Health Insurance Policy

It is very important to get your comprehensive health checkup before you buy health insurance.

A health insurance policy is supposed to help you get coverage for various expenses that you incur before hospitalization and after the same. Having such a policy means you have to face far less strain on your finances. These policies include check-ups that are done at regular intervals so that various ailments can be detected as soon as possible. The period for which you have to get the check-up done also depends on the insurer from which you have bought the policy. Apart from the regular medical tests, you might have to undergo a health test before you renew such a policy.

However, please remember that these tests are not mandatory as far as buying health insurance plansare concerned and the insurer could always waive them off. However, if you are older than 45 years you may have to get such a test done before you can buy a health policy. This condition, though, varies marginally depending on the insurer that you are buying the policy from.

What are pre-existing medical conditions?

People normally buy health policies so that they can protect themselves from the uncertainties of life and delay their deaths as much as they can.

Now, even when you are buying the best health insurance you may already be suffering from an ailment. It is common knowledge that health insurance is so costly that most people find it hard to afford. On top of that, if you are already suffering from a disease when you try to buy such a policy the premium can rise even more sharply making it hard for such people to afford these costs. During the time that you are covered by such a policy you may develop some illness, which could then be covered by the insurer.

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What does pre-existing medical condition mean?

The word pre-existing medical condition means a disease that you are already suffering from when you are attempting to buy the best health insurance in India. Now this condition could be an illness or a medical injury. Examples of such pre-existing health issues are the likes of cancer, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), diabetes, and depression, to name a few. Normally, the likes of diabetes and hypertension are rather common conditions but even they entail a higher premium.

What are pre-medical tests?

When an insurance company is selling  comprehensive health checkup packages it conducts a medical checkup of the subscriber. This is done mainly by the insurer so that it can find the health risks that are possibly associated with the buyer. This also helps them learn about the illnesses that the person in question is going through. In case you are over 45 years, an insurer could ask you to take such tests. However, this depends on the insurer that you are buying the policy from. The IRDAI (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India) states that the costs of these tests should be divided equally between the buyer and the seller.

Why are these tests important?

Following are the reasons why a full body comprehensive health checkup is important in the context of these policies:

• They function as a risk tool for the insurer
• This helps the insurer offer suitable advice to the insured
• It helps you buy sufficient health cover
• You can get benefits such as discounted premium rates if you ace the tests
• This helps later on in case of claim settlement and disbursement
• You could get rewards in case of positive results

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Why do you have to go through these tests?

There are several reasons why you should get these tests done before you buy a health insurancepolicy. First of all, an insurer would only accept the claim when it has total information on your health. It represents a contract of good faith. If you hid any condition while buying the policy and fell ill because of the same your claim would be rejected by the insurer. In that case, it would be well within its rights to do so. This is why it is your responsibility to disclose all the important information over here.

What tests do you normally need to undergo in these cases?

Following are the tests that you should get done when you are trying to buy health insurance plans:

• blood tests
• cholesterol level
• sugar level
• ECG (electrocardiogram)
• urine test
• CBC (complete blood count)
• physical examination
• ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate)

It is common knowledge that you have to get a check-up if you are 45 years and older in these cases – below that it is optional. So, if you are not 45 yet you could always skip these tests. However, getting these tests done could be just as beneficial for you as it could for the insurer.

Is it necessary to get these tests done?

If you want the best health insurance we suggest that this is something that you do not bypass. We have already said how you can skip them if you are under 45 years. In the case of some insurers, this comes down to 40 years. So, as you can see for yourself, this varies from one insurer to another. Usually, if you want to buy a health plan with coverage of over five lakh rupees you would need to get these tests done.

Conclusion

Even if you think that you are buying the best health insurance in India you should keep a few things in mind before you make any final decision in this regard. The first such thing is what you require from the policy. Talk about them with the insurers. Always choose the plan that you think offers you the best option in terms of the needs that you have. Try to find policies where you get facilities such as free health check-ups, discounts on premiums if you are healthy, no-claim bonuses, and coverage for pre-existing illnesses.

Also Read:

• Is LASIK Eye Surgery Covered under Health Insurance Policy?
• Buy Health Insurance without Medical Checkup.

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