Medical insurance are of two types – one is a ‘reimburse’ and the second is a ‘trigger’ type of policy.
In the ‘trigger’ type of policy, you are insured for particular major illnesses – cancer, heart attack, etc and once you are diagonised with this illness (and you should be alive 30 days after the diagnosis), the company pays out – irrespective of your decision to take treatment for the illness.
In the ‘reimburse’ type of policy, the company reimburses you the expenses already incurred. This type of policy is commonly known as the ‘Mediclaim’. In my opinion, one should have a Mediclaim policy from birth to death.
One of my friends asked me “I’ve been paying premiums for nearly 20 years but have never made a claim. I have a family floater policy for 1.5 lacs and my agent is asking me to increase it. Most of the claims that I know of is between 1 to 2 lacs and if I do make a claim and it goes above 1.5 lacs, I can afford to pay the amount, so why should I be paying more for premiums?”
First, he is lucky that he has not had a claim in so long. What if the sole earning member met with an accident early in life? The expenses would cut deeply into family savings.
Second, 5 lacs is about the minimum one should take for a ‘family floater’ policy. When one is young, the medical expenses would generally be due to minor falls, fractures, etc, etc., the treatment of which are not too expensive. It is when one cross the 50s that lifestyle diseases start becoming serious – diabetes, hypertension, heart disease. Hospitalisation now becomes complicated even for minor operations – the knees may need replacement, etc, etc. This is where the hospitals make their money and if one is not insured adequately, it could be a disaster financially. The advantage of starting early and not having a claim is that one gets rebates in the premium or increments in the coverage as a bonus.
Third, what if one of the family has an illness that needs hospitalisation regularly. One may have the financial backing to pay up the first year – what if hospitalisation is necessary every year or so? The insurance will definitely come in handy!!
More later
Wish you a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year
Niranjan Bangera
36 Properties Pvt Ltd
09870215520
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PS:
Woman, man & insurance
Question: Do you know what a woman and insurance have in common?
Answer: They are both expensive, difficult to understand and what you get is not guaranteed.
Question: Do you know the difference between a man and a term policy?
Answer: A term policy eventually matures.
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