Uncertainty is the only certain thing in today’s world! With an increase in the rate of critical- diseases like cancer and sky-touching cost of healthcare services, having a mediclaim insurance has become a need. The mediclaim policy protects the insured person from sudden financial loss due to hospitalization.
Just like health insurance plans, selection of the health insurance company is crucial in order to avoid any future complication. Selections of an insurance company can be tricky as well as very uninteresting task. Certain factors related to the insurance companies that highly influence the overall experience of policyholders. Here are tips to choose the right health provider:
History of the Company
Start researching the history of medical insurance companies before deciding the right health insurance provider. Consider their active years in the insurance market along with their mission, vision and values.
Legal Recognition
Choosing an insurance company that is accredited by the government is always good because such recognized companies do ethical business by following the rules and regulation made by the government.
The Financial State
Most of the insurance companies work with independent rating and analysis agencies. These agencies review the financial strength of the insurance companies by reviewing their assets and market research. According to their analysis, rating agencies score to the insurance companies and their products. A higher score indicates that the particular insurer is doing financially able to settle the claims.
Speciality
There are many insurance companies providing most types of insurances like a vehicle, health and so on. However, insurance companies are specialists of individual insurances. Check whether a particular company is a specialist in providing health insurances.
Coverage
Select the health insurance or mediclaim policy that provides coverage for all needs.
Premium
The premium for health insurances helps a lot in selecting the insurer. Premium is the amount paid by the purchaser to buy a mediclaim policy. Lower premiums do look attractive, but their coverage can be lower than need. The premium should be cost-effective in comparison with similar insurance companies.
Deductible
The amount policy-holder pays after filing a claim is deductible. Companies offering health insurance policies with low deductible generally ask for a higher premium and vice versa.
Facilities provided by insurance provider
Check whether the health insurance company provides facilities like cashless payment, online claim reporting, etc. These facilities are extremely helpful at the time of hospitalization as the entire intention behind buying health insurance is to reduce the burden of cash management at the time of hospitalization.
Claim Settlement Ratio
Every insurance company has its own rules and regulation to settle claims, which are described in the policy document. As per those, they settle every claim filed which eventually determines the claim settlement ratio. In simple words, claim settlement ratio is the total number of claims made divided by the total number of claims settled. Higher claim settlement percentage are good, as they mean that the company settles maximum claims made.
Discounts
Some insurance companies give special discounts on the premium of health insurances to the people living healthy lifestyles like non-smokers and non-alcohol consumers.
The health insurance or mediclaim policy is like a shield that guards the buyer and his family against financial losses. Nobody wants to feel alone at the time of a medical emergency. The health insurance provider is the one that helps to deal with the difficult times of medical emergencies. But choosing the insurer that does not provide sufficient coverage could be problematic. Thus, considering the above factors while choosing health insurance provider is a wise choice.