The second wave of COVID-19 is supposed to have worse consequences than the first wave. As of 28 March 2021, the latest figures reflect 62,715 cases a day, with a 300+ death toll. In our country, 5.69 Cr vaccine doses are administered in 70 days, which is around 3.62% of the total population.
The above figures depict the growth of the pandemic versus the control measures. If the same rate is maintained, it will take 12.6 years to vaccinate the whole population against the Coronavirus.
The best thing which you can do is to take possible health and safety measures. Avoiding crowded places, maintaining social distancing, using mask and hand sanitizer. These precautions will reduce unnecessary infections and the spread of the disease.
One other thought to consider is comprehensive health insurance for yourself as well as your family.
How important is health insurance in times of COVID-19
The world has witnessed many dreaded viruses like Zika, Ebola, Nipah, and now coronavirus. All of these diseases have added a financial burden on uninsured people. The test and treatments are so expensive that many people have lost their lives due to money crunch.
This makes it utterly necessary to insure yourself before any such condition arises. At such moments, health insurance will provide useful support for hospital bills, medical bills, and all other expenses which are mentioned in the policy.
Read our previous blog: Why do you need health insurance?
How to choose the right health policy during the COVID-19 pandemic?
To focus on health and not the cost when someone falls sick, it’s better to explore health insurance options. You might consider few questions to choose the best health insurance for yourself.
Q: What does the health insurance cover?
A: Different health plans have different prospects covered. Ensure that you are opting for the right one.
It means you should check the policy coverage, what kind of diseases, medical procedures, treatment, and conditions, are included. Most popular health insurance brands provide a comprehensive health insurance plan.
For example, ICICI Lombard health insurance cover pre and post-hospitalization, pre-existing diseases, ambulance expenses, provides cashless treatment, additional sum insured, and lets you claim tax benefit.
Q: What does the health insurance not cover?
A: Exclusions are the conditions, ailments, medical procedures, therapy, and treatments that a health insurance plan does not cover.
When you are satisfied with a health plan’s coverage, make sure that you have read the exclusions properly. Choose that health plan which has minimum exclusion.
Q: What are the network hospitals in the health insurance?
A: All the hospitals mentioned in the list of network hospitals allow policyholders to avail cashless treatment at their center.
This means that you don’t have to pay anything for taking treatment apart from nominal file charges at the hospital.
So, go through the list of network hospitals and find how many hospitals are near your residence. Do these hospitals provide quick hospital facilities to corona-positive patients or not?
Q: What is the health insurance claim settlement ratio?
A: A Claim Settlement Ratio or CSR is the ratio of settled claims to the total number of claims filed during an accounting period.
A health insurance company with a good CSR (85-95%) means that the possibility of claim settlement is much more and you will get a hassle-free experience.
Q: Is the health insurance Coronavirus-specific health insurance?
A: Coronavirus Health Insurance is a customized health insurance scheme. It is aimed at covering hospitalization, pre-hospitalization and post-hospitalization expenses, and other medical expenses arising due to the treatment of COVID-19. There are two types of Coronavirus health insurance policies in the market: Corona Kavach Policy and Corona Raksha Policy.
Corona Kavach Policy Vs Corona Rakshak Policy
Corona Kavach Policy protects the insured from healthcare expenses related to hospitalization and treatment in case the policyholder catches COVID-19 infection. The policy covers most of the hospitalization expenses including treatment cost, medication, room rent, nursing, etc.
But this COVID-19 insurance policy only covers the treatment cost and nothing else will be considered. Whereas Corona Rakshak Policy is a benefit-based policy that offers 100% of the sum insured irrespective of medical expenses incurred. The policy is recommended if you are the main working household in your house.
Conclusion
Whenever you are looking to buy a health insurance plan, be very specific with the terms and conditions. Go through with each and every detail i.e. mentioned above. At last have a brief of what should a person consider while buying health insurance:
- Restoration type
- Home nursing facility
- Day Care treatment
- Air Ambulance
- OPD Cover
- Tele medication facility
How Capital Tree can help you in buying a suitable Health Plan?
Capital Tree is an emerging brand in terms of all financial services. We help our clients understand the policies. We explain and compare the terms and conditions of multiple health plans. With us, you have the freedom to choose the best plan as per your requirement.
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