Planning to buy health insurance policy, then these are some important terms related to the health insurance policy

The coronavirus pandemic has made medical insurance an important necessity. When customers go to buy medical insurance for the first time, they are not well acquainted with the various terms associated with it, they may have to face some problems. Today we will be telling some important words related to medical insurance. Let’s know.

After purchasing a health insurance policy, it is not necessary that you start getting coverage for every disease from day one. In such a case, you have to serve a waiting period for a specific period of time to claim. Different policies and diseases may have different waiting periods. For example, if you bought a medical policy today, you may not get the cover of Covid-19 from day one, but you can get this coverage from an accident from day one. This is called the waiting period.  

‘Pre-aging disease’

Generally, if you buy a policy in March 2021, any disease or injury you have suffered since March 2019 to date is placed in the category of ‘Pre-Existing Disease’. However, it is not that the insurance company does not cover pre-existing disease, but usually has a waiting period for it. This waiting period varies for different diseases.

If you want to cover your pre-existing disease from day one, you may have to pay a higher premium than usual. Companies cover pre-existing diseases such as high blood pressure, thyroid, diabetes and asthma after a waiting period. However, diseases such as HIV or cancer can be excluded from this list forever. While buying the policy, you should not hide anything about your previous medical condition, as this is likely to result in a claim being rejected. 

Grace period

If you have a health policy expiring on March 31 and you cannot renew that policy on time, then you get a grace period. On paying during this period, you continue to get pre-existing benefits in the policy. These include the benefits associated with waiting periods and pre-ageing diseases. However, the grace period also varies according to the plan of payment. This is usually one month for the annual payment. At the same time, it is 15 days for monthly payment. However, you do not get any claim during the period for which the premium has not been paid.

Co-payment

If you are going to take a medical insurance policy, then you should keep this aspect in your mind. Co-payment or co-pay means that the policyholder has to pay a portion of the claim. Co-pay is usually equal to 10 percent of the sum insured but varies from company to company. Suppose you have claimed two lakh rupees for some treatment, then you will have to pay 20,000 for your co-pay of 10 percent from your pocket. 

Rider

You can choose a rider to increase the facilities available under your basic insurance plan. Rider associated with maternity is a common example.