Tackle medical inflation, upgrade features, eliminate loopholes

ANNUAL HEALTH INSURANCE REVIEW

- SANJEEV SINHA

Policyholders must review their health insurance plans regularly to ensure that their coverage remains adequate and useful.

While changes can take effect only at renewal, the review should be done along with other year-end financial checkups.

Measuring adequacy of cover

With medical inflation hovering at around 13-14 per cent annually, policyholders must reassess their sum insured once every two years. “Adequacy should factor in medi cal inflation, changing financial capacity, family size, and evolving health needs. City-wise treatment costs also matter, with hospitalisation in metros such as Delhi and Mumbai costing 30-50 per cent more than in smaller towns,” says Amarnath Saxena, chief technical officer-commercial, Bajaj General Insurance.

Look beyond the big number