Awareness is finally on the rise to buy health insurance in India. People have realized that buying medical insurance is a long-term investment. To meet this growing demand, medical insurance providers offer a variety of medical policies to woo their customers. It is important to know the different types of medical insurance plans available in India before starting the buying process.
1. Individual Health Insurance Policy
The individual policy is also known as ‘Standard Mediclaim Policy’ is one of the simplest forms of insurance, and is available with all health insurance companies in India. As the name suggests, this policy is designed to cover the hospitalization expenses of an individual up to the sum insured of the plan.
For example, Mr. Ram has a personal policy of Rs.3 lakhs. If Shri Ram is hospitalized, the insurance company/TPA will bear the medical expenses up to a maximum of Rs.3 lakh.
2. Family Floater Health Insurance
The family floater insurance policy provides a cover to the entire family under one umbrella. This plan covers self, spouse, and two dependent children in one policy. Some medical insurance companies also allow a parent or parents under the same plan.
The main feature of this insurance policy is that the sum insured keeps on floating among the family members listed in the policy. The entire Sum Assured can be used either by one member of the family listed in the policy or by more than one member in the same year.
The quotes for family floater health insurance are cheaper than the total quotes for individual insurance policies. In simple words, a family floater policy provides comprehensive cover at low premiums.
3. Critical Illness Health Insurance Policy
Critical illness health policy provides coverage only for critical illnesses mentioned in the policy wordings. The highlight of this plan is that the insured receives a lump sum amount (irrespective of the hospital bill) specified in the policy on the diagnosis of a critical illness (as defined by the insurance company).
4. Senior Citizen Health Insurance
As the name suggests, the Senior Citizen Policy caters to individuals above the age of 60 years. This policy has a short waiting period. Senior citizen policies generally have a higher renewal age and premiums are also higher.
Each type of insurance policy has its advantages and disadvantages. The best policy to suit your needs will depend on various factors like age, budget, the number of persons to be covered, etc. Whatever you buy, you need a specialized agent to assist and help you buy medical insurance.
Some Facts about Life Insurance Market in India
The life insurance market in India is an underdeveloped market that was tapped by the state-owned LIC till the entry of private players into the market. Insurance products reach only 19 percent of the 400 million insurable population. The state-owned Life Insurance Corporation sold insurance only as a tax instrument, not as a product that provided protection. Most of the customers had low insurance due to no transparency in the products. The rules of the game have changed with the advent of private insurance companies.
The 12 private insurance companies offering life products in India have already captured around 9 percent of the market in terms of premium income. The new business premium of 12 private companies has tripled in a few years. Meanwhile, the new premium business of the state-owned Life Insurance Corporation has seen a steady decline. And in the coming days, more private players have to join the market.
Innovative products, smart marketing strategies, and aggressive distribution networks have enabled private insurance providers to attract Indian customers faster than anyone expected. Indians, who always looked at life insurance as a tax-saving tool, are more aware of the need for insurance for life. People are now suddenly turning to the private sector and buying fresh new products on offer.
The growing popularity of private insurance companies is overwhelming, but state-owned insurance companies still dominate areas such as endowments and money-back policies. Private insurance companies capture more than 33 percent of the market in annuity or pension products. And they have a virtual monopoly in popular unit-linked insurance plans with over 90 percent of customers.
Private insurers are scoring big in other ways. They are persuading people to adopt big policies. For example, the average size of a life insurance policy before privatization was around Rs 50,000. This has increased to around Rs 80,000. But private insurance companies are much ahead in this game and the average size of their policies is around Rs 1.1 lakh to Rs 1.2 lakh, which is much bigger than the industry average.
From these super success stories, all the private insurers are moving towards the second phase of their expansion plans. There is no doubt that the aggressive campaign of private insurers is already paying rich dividends. But LIC is also not lagging behind, it is trying to fight back and woo new customers by introducing innovative products and quality service.
Some more Facts about Medical Insurance in India
Health security is a very important matter in recent times. This is due to rising medical costs. There is no dearth of good hospitals and good doctors and surgeons, but the cost of getting treatment for a serious illness can take a toll on a person’s financial health. Insurance policies are health securities in the true sense. If you are insured with medical insurance in India or abroad, now you need not worry. These insurance policies are generally available in two options for the short term – for individuals and families.
The Sum Assured depends on the premium you pay. The higher the premium, the higher will be the sum insured. It is advisable that you go for comprehensive insurance, especially if you have a large family consisting of yourself, your spouse, your children (usually the insurance is provided to two children above a certain age limit), and Dependent parents are included. Since this is a short-term option, you will have to renew it after the validity expires. If there is no health cost, i.e. if it is claim-free, you get a discount on the next renewal.
Many companies like Tata AIG, Bajaj Allianz, Future Generali, ICICI Lombard, Reliance, Apollo DKV, IFFCO Tokio, Cholamandalam provide medical insurance in India. The basic objective of all the insurance policies offered by these companies is the same, to provide financial security related to health. Policies may differ in terms of benefits covered, critical illnesses included, transaction mode, sum assured, etc. Buyers today come to know about online medical insurance and they try to buy insurance policies that actually prove to be beneficial for them.
Buying medical insurance online has gained a lot of acceptance today. This is due to some hassles as well as the convenience of comparing and buying the best and cheapest. Special mention needs to be made when it comes to acting as a facilitator for providing insurance in India. This online insurance service provider lists all the above insurance companies runs an insurance comparison tool, and facilitates the buyers to make the right purchase on this platform.
Learn How Insurance in India Provides You a Comfortable Life
Insurance in India is a national issue in which general insurance is flourishing with the huge potential of various global companies. Its sector in India has turned different diagonals after the year 1999 when the Government of India opened such sector for private companies to request compensation and allowed FDI up to 26%. After this, it was considered a booming market among global companies.
Insurance in India was done by Europeans from 1818 to meet their need. Later in 1870, the Bombay Mutual Life Assurance Society covered Indian Live at a normal rate and became the first insurance corporation in India. With the year running from 1912, the Government of India has passed two Acts. The first is the Life Insurance Companies Act and the next is the Provident Fund Act. Acts are passed to regulate the business of insurance.
One of the oldest National Insurance companies, which came up in the year 1906, has played an important role in regulating it in India. There were two state insurers in such a sector: life insurers and general insurers. Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) comes under life insurers and General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC) comes under general insurers. But from the year 2000, they were separated from the parent company and renamed as individual independent insurance companies such as National Insurance Company Limited, New India Assurance Company Limited, United India Insurance Company Limited, and Oriental Insurance Company Limited.
There are many companies in India that are giving you great plans for a comfortable future and also assure you of guaranteed financial security. You can go for HDFC Standard Life, Bajaj Allianz Life Company, Life Insurance Corporation of India, Tata AIG Life Insurance, Aviva Life, Birla Sun Life, ICICI Prudential, Kotak, Mahindra and Reliance Life, etc.
