Health Insurance Renewal
Health insurance renewal is a term which means renewing your health insurance policy to continue enjoying the benefits of the policy. Like all other things, your health insurance plan also comes with a validity period of a year or more depending on the policy or insurance company, and you must renew it before the policy expires to enjoy unlimited and continuous benefits. If you miss the renewal date of your policy, it might get lapsed. In that case, you might lose all the benefits accrued including waiting period and NCB. Moreover, if you purchase a new health plan, you may have to pay hefty premium.
To renew insurance you can either visit the official portal of your insurer or you can get it done at PayBima. It doesn't take more than a few minutes to renew a health insurance policy if you are doing it online. Though you have the option of Insurance Renewal via both online and offline methods, the online mode is mostly preferred by people these days. This is because the online mode is safe, time efficient as well as cost efficient. It also presents the insured with the flexibility of using different payment options.
Whether you get your health insurance policy renewal via online or offline mode, the important thing is to renew it on time to enjoy continued benefits.
Benefits of Renewing a Health Insurance Policy Before Expiry
The most important benefit of on-time Health insurance renewal is definitely the peace of mind in terms of your health. Some other benefits are as follows:
- Uninterrupted protection : in case of health insurance, there are many insurers who do not let an individual enter the policy or buy a health policy after a certain age. The reason behind this is that as people age, they tend to be surrounded by many age related diseases. Thus many insurers do not permit people to procure insurance coverage after a particular age so that they can avoid giving coverage to those who are already engulfed with numerous existing or chronic diseases. Thus, it becomes important for people to buy health insurance at a young age and continue its coverage by renewing it continuously so that they can get protection during old age when they need it more.
- Tax Deductions : tax benefit is another important advantage of on-time mediclaim renewal. By buying health insurance, you become eligible for tax deductions under Income Tax's Section 80D. This benefit you can keep availing along with staying away from healthcare worries by timely renewing your health insurance policy.
- Medical Insurance is Costly for Elderly : purchasing medical insurance at a young age allows you to pay low premium rates as compared to when you buy it after reaching a particular age. So, if you do not renew your existing insurance policy and let it lapse, you might have to buy health insurance with a greater premium amount.
Process to Renew a Health Insurance Policy Online At PayBima
You can follow the below steps to renew your existing policy of health insurance online at PayBima:
- Visit PayBima website.
- Click on the ‘Health’ tab.
- Now, at the menu bar click on the tab of ‘Renewal.’
- Add the details of the policy such as policy number, expiry date etc.
- You will be diverted to a new page automatically showing your details.
- Submit any other information, if asked for.
- Now, pay the premium using your preferred online payment mode.
- Once your payment is successfully done you can receive a copy of the policy on your registered email.
- You can get a print out of the policy and save it with you.
At the time of Health insurance renewal , it is possible to increase or decrease the amount of sum insured. If you choose to increase the policy amount, you will have to pay a higher premium accordingly.
Health Insurance Renewal Online Process via Insurer’s Website
Health insurance Renewal online is a very simple process. To get your policy renewed via online mode through your insurance provider's website, you have to follow the steps below:
- Go to the official website of your insurance provider to renew health insurance.
- Now proceed to the section of insurance renewal.
- Here, you have to submit the details like policy number, registered phone number etc.
- You can verify the policy information and the renewal premium amount etc.
- Once you confirm the facts, make the payment using your internet banking facility.
Once the payment is done, you will be notified about the receipt of the payment via SMS on mobile or via email. Keep a copy of the Health insurance renewal receipt for future reference.
Things to Remember While Renewing a Health Insurance Policy
There are few things to keep in mind at the time of mediclaim policy renewal online as mentioned below:
Keep in mind your requirements
Are you going to use your health insurance policy for your own self or you are going use it for your family. This is the first thing to consider while renewal of health insurance policy. If it is a family floater plan, you might have to consider the entry of a new member in the plan or any other inclusion or exclusion as per your requirement. In such a situation, you might have to reconsider the policy coverage and upgrade it accordingly.
Port your policy
This is another important thing to consider at the time of mediclaim policy renewal . IRDAI or Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India permits the holder of a policy to switch insurance companies if the policyholder is not happy with the services of the insurer. This facility can be availed at the time of policy renewal by informing the insurer 45 days before the expiry of the policy. So, if you are not happy with the benefits accrued from the policy provider, you can reconsider the plan and port to another beneficial plan at the time of renewal.
Renewal Terms
Another significant point to keep in mind is to review the policy details well before renewing it. Check details like claims made in a policy year, amount insured, NCB, etc. Most insurance companies send a reminder email to the insured before the expiry of the policy with all such details that you can confirm before renewal so that any discrepancy can be avoided.
Review Sum Insured
Renewal is also the time to review the insured sum of your health insurance plan as per your needs so that you can enhance cover if you want to or opt for any add-on if required.
Grace Period for Health Insurance Renewal
Grace period in a Health Insurance means the additional period of time provided by the insurer to the policy holder to renew a policy by paying the premium. Most insurance companies offer a grace period of 15 -30 days to the insured after the expiry of the policy during which the insured can pay a certain fine along with the missed premium to renew health insurance online or offline, and to continue enjoying the policy benefits like NCB etc.
Premium for Health Insurance Renewal
Premium of a health insurance is the money paid to the insurer for availing the benefits of the insurance policy. To continue enjoying the benefits of a health insurance plan, it is important to renew health insurance policy by paying the premium.
The amount of premium on your active policy might change during renewal due to certain reasons such as, age of the insured or any other terms and conditions of the policy provider. However, it is not necessary that a premium would change during renewal. It actually depends on the insurance company that you bought the policy from.
Tips to Renew Health Insurance Online
Below are some important tips to keep in mind to renew health insurance policy, which will assist you in making an informed decision:
- Renew your health insurance policy before the expiry date. It is always better to renew the policy on time to avoid paying a grace period fine for the policy. Also, if you do not renew during the grace period, your existing policy lapses. In that case, you might have to buy a new policy and pay more premium. You will also lose any benefits accrued in the earlier policy.
- Tax Benefit on premium amount paid is another important aspect to remember for health insurance renewal . The Section 80D of India's Income Tax Act allows an individual to enjoy tax deductions on premiums. So, to avail such deduction benefit, you can consider changing the name of the policyholder while renewing the policy.
- Reading carefully the insurance policy details in the policy documents is also very important. You must go through the policy documents properly to check its clause regarding renewal, claims and exclusions etc.
- Also, do not forget to divulge a new disease (if any) at the time of mediclaim policy renewal . This will help in the process of claim settlement in future.
- Also, try to opt for a higher Sum Insured at the time of renewing your policy if there is a certain requirement or if you have been engulfed with a new disease.
Frequently Asked Question
Below are some of the benefits of renewing your health insurance policy:
- You can have financial stability with regards to your healthcare needs.
- You are covered well against most health risks.
- By renewing your health plan, you can have protection against diseases without any break.
- You can earn cumulative bonus or no claim bonus for not availing claims on a particular year.
Online renewal of health insurance plan help you gain maximum benefits as they are simple to procure and can be bought within a matter of few minutes. Moreover, they are hassle free and offer varied payment options. Also, you can get the policy renewed while sitting at home and without going to the insurers office physically. The entire process is digital and comfortable.
No, a health insurance plan cannot get renewed on its own. You have to renew your insurance policy when it expires. In case you miss the expiry date of your health insurance policy and couldn't renew it on time, you can use the grace period provided by the insurer to renew the plan by paying a certain fine.
Most insurance companies remind the policyholder via message, email or by making a call to the policy owner so that they can renew the policy on time. However, it is not the duty of the insurance provider to remind the policy holder about policy renewal, rather the policyholder should keep the expiry date in mind and renew it on his/her own.
Yes, you can renew your health insurance policy through PayBima website. Just contact the team at Paybima and they will assist you for the same.
If you miss the renewal premium due date, the following things might happen:
- You will not get coverage for any health claims if you do not pay the premium and if your policy is expired, not even in the grace period.
- Your insurance provider might reject your policy renewal request if you do not pay premiums on time.
- You might even miss the lifetime renewability benefit if you do not pay renewal and if a break between your health plan is seen.
- You will also lose on the No Claim Bonus that you can obtain for not making claims during a policy year.
- If you buy a new policy, you will have to undergo the waiting period once again for pre-existing diseases.