Value-Added Features in Health Insurance
Health Insurance is an essential component of financial planning, protecting individuals and families from exorbitant medical costs. It becomes a crucial investment option, especially in times when medical inflation is flaring up.
In recent times, Health Insurance has evolved beyond providing mere coverage for hospitalisation and other medical expenses. Value-added benefits are becoming increasingly popular, with Insurance Companies offering innovative solutions to address the changing healthcare needs of their customers.
Value-added benefits are additional features or services that are included in a Health Insurance policy that go beyond traditional coverage for medical expenses. These value-added benefits help people from maintaining a healthy lifestyle to minimizing the overall cost of healthcare and much more. Here are some of the common value-added benefits offered by most Health Insurance plans and companies:
Wellness Program
One of the most significant value-added benefits offered by many medical insurance plans is Wellness Programs. The Health Insurance wellness program includes a range of wellness activities, including step tracking, condition management, stress management, weight reduction, etc. This motivates people to take proactive steps to maintain their health.
In addition, the wellness program encourages customers with rewards for indulging in wellness activities. People who achieve specific health and wellness goals by taking part in wellness programs can earn reward points as determined by the policy. Later, they can redeem those rewards into premium discounts during renewals. This feature, in addition to helping maintain a healthy lifestyle, also provides monetary benefits by reducing the premium.
Preventive Health Check-Up
Annual health check-ups, commonly known as preventive healthcare, play a crucial role in maintaining one’s health and well-being. Regular health check-ups help people in identifying health risks at the beginning stage and make it easier to address them before they develop into more serious health issues. This also helps reduce overall medical expenses, as the need for frequent hospitalisation can be avoided with early diagnosis and proactive measures.
Understanding its significance, many medical insurance plans provide coverage for preventive health check-ups at their Network Hospitals. Some policies provide health check-up coverage for every claim-free year, while some others offer coverage irrespective of claims made during a policy year.
Cumulative Bonus
In recent times, Health Insurance companies have taken extra steps to promote a healthy lifestyle and reward people for it. A cumulative bonus, also called a no-claim bonus, is one such feature that is offered by many Health Insurance plans as a reward to policyholders for not making a claim during a policy year. People may worry that the premium paid towards a policy will be of no use if they do not make any claims. But staying healthy and not making any claims will be rewarded in the form of a cumulative bonus. This bonus will either reduce the premium in the form of discounts or increase the sum insured. Normally, for every claim-free year, a fixed percentage of the opted sum insured will get added to the existing sum insured. This extended coverage limit can be used later in times of medical need.
Second Medical Opinion
There could be times when we need a second medical opinion from doctors, especially when it comes to treating critical illnesses. Sometimes the doctors’ views differ based on the prevailing technology in the hospital, the level of their expertise, etc. However, with ever-increasing medical inflation, many people hesitate to go for a second medical opinion. But Health Insurance addresses this and offers a second medical opinion. Policyholders can avail themselves of this benefit once in every policy year.
Out-Patient Cover
When it comes to medical expenses, many people think of hospitalisation bills. But out-patient expenses contribute a major chunk of medical bills. People with chronic illnesses such as diabetes, cardiac illnesses, high blood pressure, etc., require regular hospital visits. Managing these expenses without Health Insurance can put a huge burden on one’s finances. It is important to choose a policy that offers out-patient coverage apart from regular hospitalisation coverage if people need frequent doctor visits.
Value-added benefits make it easier for people to manage their healthcare needs. With features like 24/7 telemedicine services and easy access to health check-ups, people can avail greater convenience and flexibility when it comes to managing their health.
