In today’s age, having an insurance plan that covers our health and health-related ailments is a necessity to be better equipped for the future both mentally and financially. And to be better equipped one must carefully choose their health plan by opting for a health insurance policy or a mediclaim policy.
If you are surprised to see that we used the above two as two different types of health plans, as they should be, it means you have been living in a myth believing the two to be the same thing. Health insurance and Mediclaim are in fact two different types of policies; let’s take a close look at their differences to find out if the decision to buy health insurance or a mediclaim policy is best for you.
Health insurance Policies
In this type of health plan is comprehensive in nature. It tends to cover not just the cost of treatment but also takes care of the pre and post hospitalization expenses incurred by the policyholder during the entire phase. Moreover, health insurance policies also offer potent critical illness insurance cover because such policies tend to offer coverage over 30 diseases including cancer, paralysis, cardiac arrest, renal failure, etc. An interested policyholder may or may not add-on a critical illness insurance cover in their health insurance plan.
Mediclaim Policies
The mediclaim policies are not as comprehensive as health insurance policies. Mediclaim policies mostly offer coverage that includes the cost of hospitalization and the expense of treatment meted out towards accidents or a particular ailment. Unlike health insurance policies, mediclaim policies don’t cover other crucial costs of hospitalization and also excludes the critical illness.
Basic differences between Health Insurance Policies and Mediclaim Policies
Other crucial differences between health insurance and mediclaim policies can be made on the basis of the following:
Coverage – Depending on the benefits offered by a health insurance plan, it not just offers the pre and post expense of hospitalization but also covers expenditure for an ambulance and compensates the loss of income.
While in the case of mediclaim policies, it mostly takes care of the expense incurred during the course of hospitalization.
Sum Assured – In case of a health insurance policy, the sum assured that a policyholder can avail is up to Rs. 6 Crore. While in the case of mediclaim the sum assured doesn’t exceed over Rs.5 Lakh.
Remuneration – The health insurance policyholders can avail compensation for their lost income through their policy besides availing a predefined coverage.
In the case of mediclaim policyholders, the policy reimburses the medical expenses incurred by them during treatment.
Claims – The policyholder of health insurance with an accidental disability cover or critical illness insurance cover can avail the sum assured at a single go. This is one of the major reasons why health insurance policyholder can make only one claim.
While in the case of mediclaim, the policyholder can make multiple claims until they have exhausted the entire amount.
If you are still confused about whether to buy health insurance policies or to buy a mediclaim policy, obtain more details about each of their benefits and coverage. Visit the websites of trusted insurance companies like Bajaj Allianz General Insurance to clear your doubts regarding the best choice of health plan instantly.