WHICH HEALTH INSURANCE IS BETTER ONLINE OR OFFLINE

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Online health insurance

Offline health insurance

What is it?

Online health insurance means that you purchase health insurance from an insurer’s website or through their mobile app.

Offline health insurance means that you have to personally visit the insurance provider or buy it through an insurance agent.

The Process

To buy online health insurance just log on to the official website or mobile app of the insurer. Input your personal and health details. A quote will be generated for you accordingly. After going through the terms and conditions carefully you can pay the premium online and the policy document will be officially emailed to you.

To buy offline health insurance you have to manually compare plans, complete entire documentation and submit your application in person. After your application is approved, the hard copy of the insurance policy will be generated and posted to you.

Time element

Buying health insurance online takes only a few minutes to complete and is a much quicker process.

Buying health insurance offline is time consuming. It generally takes few weeks for your insurance policy to be issued.

Convenience

You can purchase online health insurance from anywhere and at any time. All you need is a computer or a smartphone with a working internet connection.

To purchase an offline health insurance, you need to book an appointment with an insurance agent or visiting your preferred insurance provider.

Options

Purchasing health insurance online gives you more options to choose from several available policies, according to your needs and requirements.

If you purchase health insurance offline, you have to rely on the agent that you are in touch with. So, your choices get limited.

Documentation

Buying health insurance online involves no paperwork. You do not have to submit any physical documents or details.

Buying offline health insurance requires a set documentation. Some of the documents required include medical records, birth certificate, &Aadhar card for personal identification.

Transparency

You can access information about the insurer online. Details like claim settlement ratio and so, make the process more transparent and straightforward.

Buying health insurance offline means relying on information provided by an insurance agent. Since agents usually only represent the insurers, they work for, their opinion is likely to be biased.

Comparison

One of the major advantages of buying health insurance online is being able to compare policies. You can do this by visiting multiple insurer websites or through neutral financial websites and blogs.

Comparing health insurance policies offline is challenging since you have limited access to information. And it will be manually impossible to visit every insurer to see the policies offered to compare.

Reliability

When you buy health insurance online, you can check the reviews posted by existing customers to get a good idea of the insurer’s reliability.

When you buy health insurance offline, you cannot find out the reviews of existing customers. You will have to rely solely on the information provided by your insurance agent.

Policy Premium

The online mode excludes and saves up on agent fees or other operational costs for the insurer. Thus, policy premiums are offered at a significantly lower cost.

The policy premium charged for offline health insurance is higher than that of online health insurance. As it involves cost of the middlemen as well.

Support

The websites of health insurers have customer support for client assistance.

If you purchase health insurance offline, only an insurance agent can guide you through the process.

Claims

Online claim registration steps include informing the insurer, choosing the hospital from the list of available network hospitals on your insurer’s website or mobile app and submitting documentation online. On completion of these simple steps, your insurer will pay the hospital directly as per the terms of the policy.

Offline claim registration is a lengthier process. You first need to call the insurer’s office to inform them and ask about the nearest network hospital. Then you need to contact your Third-Party Administrator who will handle the process. For network hospitals, the treatment is cashless as per the terms in the policy document. For other hospitals, you need to pay for the treatment and later get the payment reimbursed by your insurance provider.

Renewal

To renew any policy, you need to just visit your insurer’s website or mobile app, fill in your previous policy number and registered mobile number reviewing the policy details and the renewal premium. Making an online payment will complete the process to renew the policy.

You can renew your health insurance offline by visiting your insurance provider personally or you can get the renewal done through an insurance agent.

Security

The terms of an insurance policy online can be checked and referred at any time making it transparent with less security risks.

If you buy health insurance offline, you need to rely on the information provided by an insurance agent. This opens up the possibility of manipulation and fraud.

Benefits

As seen, buying online health insurance has several advantages like cost-effective, time-saving, simpler, easy to compare and choose from. Along with transparency, ease of transaction and no middlemen or travel. You can buy online insurance with comfort at any time.

In comparison to online health insurance, offline health insurance has fewer advantages like there is an insurance agent to personally guide you with entire process. Also, it is beneficial option for those who are not used to operating a computer or cannot avail internet services.