Health Insurance

Feature Shopping in Health Insurance

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A Competition in the market is a boon for consumers.

Health insurance companies vying for market share has allowed a flurry of features and riders to enter the marketplace that cater to most healthcare needs. This can also prove counter productive if the policyholder zeroes in on the wrong customised plan.

The optimal method would be to identify the crucial need as a policyholder and then to filter the available options for the right fit. As otherwise, to scan through the multiple combinations and features within insurance companies would overwhelm policyholders into making a sub-optimal purchase. Here we choose a central need to be served and filter options that provide the most bang for the buck.

Maternity Cover

Maternity covers are a work in progress. The options are fewer in number but are better compared to a few years ago. Because of the higher likelihood of occurrence, maternity expenses are generally not covered in health insurance as insurance aims to mitigate unknown risks.

The policies that include them do so at a significant waiting period or as an expensive rider or both. Tata AIG-Medicare Premier includes maternity cover of Rs. 60,000 in the base policy and with a four-year waiting period. The policy itself costs Rs. 12,000 for a Rs. 10 lakh cover for a 25-year-old female.