BENEFITS OF HEALTH INSURANCE

There are numerous benefits in buying health insurance policy. The policy performs multiple functions and comes with various benefits. We have hereunder discussed some of the most fundamental benefits of health insurance and some other benefits such as the additional ones. The basic benefit of health insurance coverage includes:

1. Provision of Coverage against Medical Expenses
2. Easy Cashless Claim
3. Critical Illness Protection
4. Tax Benefits of Health Insurance
5. Provision of Free Medical Check up
6. Availability of No Claims Bonus
7. Serves as a Savings Plan

Provision of Coverage against Medical Expenses

In this sense, health insurance helps to ameliorate the high cost of medical care. The insurance policy pays for the type of medical coverage it insures. Thus in case of any health issues or emergency, the policyholder need not worry about the cost of medical bills as the insurance company is there to cater for the cost. This is because the first thing a sick person worries about is the medical bills for the treatment. Therefore the first benefit of having a health insurance policy is the provision of coverage against any type of medical expenses that may arise during ill health.

Thus, depending on the type of health insurance policy, you may get reimbursed of all the expenses incurred in the medical treatment or a part of it. For instance, a comprehensive coverage will reimburse you for all the medical bills like pre and post-hospitalization costs, doctor’s fees, ambulance fees etc.

However, if your policy is not comprehensive, then you will be reimbursed for only the medical expenses arising from only the illness insured against. Notwithstanding the above, some Insurers offer rider policies along with the main plan to broaden the policy coverage.

These riders are the insurance policies that offer the benefits that are not provided in the main policy, for instance, personal accident insurance, maternity insurance benefits, critical illness coverage etc.

Easy Cashless Claim Benefit of Health Insurance

Easy cashless claim is also a benefit from health insurance. This is as a result of the fact that almost all medical insurance providers are connected to many networks of hospitals and other health care providers and as such, the process of receiving emergency medical care is made very smooth and easy. The Policyholder is not required by the hospitals linked with the Insurer to pay any medical bill before receiving medical attention with respect to covered treatments.

Therefore, if at any time the health insurance Policyholder undergoes any treatment in a hospital with such connection, and it is difficult for them to make payment out of their pocket immediately, the hospitals treat them and claim the bills from the insurance companies later. This is the reason why many insurers offer the facility of cashless claim at network hospitals to their policyholders.

The cashless claim facility ensures that the policyholder gets the best treatment without worrying about the finances. One just needs to fill the claim form that will be provided by the hospital to enable it receive the reimbursement from their Insurers.

Critical Illness Protection Benefit of Health Insurance

Critical illness medical insurance is a class of policy that caters or provides insurance coverage for serious illnesses such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, kidney failures, stroke and others in similar category.

These illnesses are usually very expensive to cater for. And most times take a long period of time to heal. They are provided for by insurance companies as a base plan, or as a rider plan or as an add-on policy with other medical insurance policy. The indemnity from the insurance company is most times in the form of payment of claims as a single lump after the discovery of a critical sickness such as the ones mentioned above.

As a benefit, health Insurance Policy offers protection or insurance coverage for critical illnesses. That is to say that in case the policyholder is diagnosed with any critical illness as contained in the policy documents, a lump-sum of money will be payable by the insurance company so that the insured can take care of his or her financial obligations with respect to the treatment of the illness.

Tax Benefits of Health Insurance

This is another benefit of health insurance. The policy assists policyholders with an avenue to save on taxes by way of tax exemption.

No Claims Bonus

Another benefit of health insurance is the No Claims Bonus. This is an incentive provided by the insurance company to the policyholders for every claim-free year. In other words, if the Policyholder stays a year without filling and receiving any claim for medical expenses from the company, then the insurance company offers a no-claim bonus to the policyholder in the form of discounts for premiums.

Similarly, if a person does not file and receive a claim from the insurance company throughout the term or duration of the policy, then, the insurer provide an incentive of amount up to a 50% discount on the premium amount due. Moreover, some of the insurance companies opt to provide an increment in the insured amount of the policy in all claim-free year.

Serves As a Savings Plan

This is also one of the benefits of health Insurance policies as it helps to inculcate saving habits among Policyholders. This they do by keeping a portion of income to pay premiums that will act as a guard for unknown future perils. Similarly, many insurance policies come as insurance as well as savings or insurance and investment schemes. Thereby encouraging individuals to save and invest

Therefore, a health insurance plan acts as savings and protects the policyholder and his family members against any type of financial crisis due to any illnesses. Thus, if a policyholder needs any medical treatment for example, a lifesaving surgery then he/she does not need to stake the children’s education fund or retirement savings to be able to do that due to the availability of health insurance policy. Therefore, with the availability of a sound health insurance policy, there is a sound financial protection in times of medical eventualities.

 Provision of Free Medical Check-Up Benefit of Health Insurance

In accordance with the terms of your insurance policy or as your insurer may decide, there is always an incentive of free health checkups in every 4-5 years of no claims by the insurance companies to their policyholders. This free medical check up can be utilized by the policyholder at the hospital that has connection with their insurers.

Conclusion

The above are some of the basic benefits of health insurance plan. Therefore, it is advisable that you subscribe to one plan. And to do this, try to choose the best health insurance policy for you and your family so as to take advantage of the benefits incidental to it.