6 REASONS YOU NEED TO REVIEW YOUR HEALTH INSURANCE POLICIES ANNUALLY

Health uncertainties and risks are a part of life. Health insurance is the solution that provides financial assistance at the time of a medical emergency. Hence, it is essential to choose a plan that meets your requirements best. Health insurance is a yearly renewable contract, so it is advisable to see if any changes in your life that you wish to cover and also so that you don’t end up paying for any additional medical expenses from your own pocket. Let’s take a look at the reasons why you should review your health insurance annually.

Significance of Reviewing Health Insurance Policies Annually

While it is essential to purchase health insurance to keep yourself out of the stress of emergencies and the financial strain of expenses, it is also important to regularly review the insurance policy. Let’s take a look at the reasons why you should review your health insurance plan annually;

Lifestyle Changes: One of the important reasons to review your health insurance plan is the lifestyle you tend to live. Substantial factors like age, stress levels, work environment, travelling, diet, eating habits, or fitness outlook make you prone to a broad range of health disorders. Hence with the increase in the cost of healthcare and maintaining good health, it is imperative to insure yourself with a health policy that not just covers any diseases or accidents but also suits your changing lifestyle.

New Products and Features: Insurance is a massive field in India. Every few months new health products are introduced in the market to enhance your insurance. Some insurance companies also revise their existing health services and products to offer added protection. Hence, researching new products and features would help you get your hands on the latest and most convenient health insurance plan that best suits your medical requirements.

Rising Medical Costs: Lately, medical costs have witnessed a dramatic rise across the country. In case of a medical emergency, spending a huge chunk of money from your own pocket to fade off the hefty medical bills is what it has come to. So, if you do not have enough health coverage, then the cost-heavy medical bills would disrupt your financial security in a big way. It is never wise to depend on your savings to tackle health emergencies. It will only leave you in massive stress. And to avoid it, reviewing your health plan annually is a good way to ensure your health coverage is not affected due to the rising medical costs.

Different Phases of Life: A big part of life is major events like marriage, birth of a child, change of jobs and so on. For these reasons we need to review the health plan as you will have to include this event in your insurance as well. You will have to add spouse insurance or child insurance along with yours for better coverage for the whole family.

For instance, say if at the time of your policy purchase, you had only covered for you and your wife, but at the time of renewal, you also have a child in your family then you have to add the child in your insurance as well. It also includes death, like of parents so as to remove their name from insurance. With such life-changing events, your responsibilities increase and therefore, your need to review your health insurance coverage annually becomes a responsibility too.

Competitive Pricing: With several insurance companies entering the health insurance industry, they are now offering health insurance plans at an appealing pricing to attract customers. Due to the competitive market, insurers are now offering coverage for a number of diseases that were earlier not provided for. For instance, health insurers now offer coverage for infertility, maternity and even mental health, after a predefined waiting period.

No Claim Bonus or NCB: Insurance companies offer an additional bonus on policy renewal in the form of No claim bonus or NCB. By not reviewing your policy annually, you are likely to lose out on the benefit of No claim bonus or NCB.

Conclusion

Reviewing your health insurance plan annually not only offers you broader coverage but also helps you save on premium, overcome the effect of inflation and avoid rising healthcare costs. Renewal of every health insurance plan is crucial to ensure you stay covered aptly at all times. Reviewing the policy is also of equal importance as it gives you a clear idea of the amount of protection you have or require ahead to rise against untimely medical contingencies in the future.

FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions

Let's take a look at some frequent queries on the Importance of reviewing your insurance policies annually;

Q1. What should I keep in mind before reviewing a health insurance plan?

Always check for what is covered, what is not covered and what changes happened in life which makes it a need to cover in your health insurance policy by reading through the terms and conditions carefully. Choose the right plan and sum insured depending on your age, your healthcare needs, your life-changing big events like marriage or increasing medical costs and even strength of your insurance provider.

Q2. Can I add members to a health insurance policy after reviewing it?

Yes, once you review your health insurance plan annually and decide to add members you can do so at the time of policy renewal. For Example, if you wish to add a new-born baby, you can do so at the time of policy renewal.

Q3. What are the other major events to review health insurance policy?

Apart from getting married and the birth of a child there are many other major events that make us evidently review health insurance plans annually. Like;

• Getting divorced
• Buying or selling off property
• Remodelling home
• Children leaving home
• Starting a new job
• Starting a new business
• Bringing ageing parents into home
• Purchase or receipt of an expensive gift
• Death in immediate family
• Paying off mortgage

Q4. Is taking in a pet also a reason to review a health insurance plan?

Yes, if you have got a new pet and wish to insure it too, you can consider adding the factor in your policy and make sure you have adequate coverage. Many insurance companies offer great cover under pet insurance.