How to save more on health insurance premium

How many times have we heard in recent times, especially during the Covid period that due to the sudden illness, one of our known people, relatives, friends, colleagues have fallen bad financially due to the incurred medical expenses. In many cases, they had health insurance, but it turned out to be insufficient due to the prolonged illness. And if one were to consider the recent statistics, higher incidence of critical illnesses like heart related diseases or cancer, are having a devastating impact on their family finances.

It seems now-a-days, no amount of health insurance cover serves the ever-rising treatment and hospital costs. And on top of it, as the life expectancies get better, the longevity of the populace also is increasing, making the requirement of the proper health insurance coverage for even longer tenure for everyone. But with age, the premiums for health insurance shoot up and this is starkly evident when we look at the post-pandemic rates. Here are a few tips which could help plan better coverage at reduced prices for those opting for cover.

Of course, though the premium shouldn’t define or decide the choice of health insurance, it turns out to be an important factor to be considered. First one should look at the ideal cover of that’s needed.

Similarly, the present health condition determines whether an insurance company accepts the risk, if so at a standard or rate-up (higher) premium. There again, there’re plans which come with options to cover the pre-existing illnesses, at a price. The stage of life i.e., for a newly married couple may opt for pregnancy related cover which comes at a higher price to the standard plan and in some plans, are covered with a waiting period which could be comparatively cheaper. These considerations must be imbibed while deciding.

Though lifestyle conditions mayn’t always directly impact in the premium unless it has already led to disorders in health, the insured may keep this in mind that such prolonged situations could turn detrimental and hence make provisions through better coverage. An enhanced cover could be obtained by opting for special coverage of critical conditions. Some of these mayn’t be covered in the standard plan and hence a pick-and-choose customization would help. And when at younger age, the premiums are low and if one is already covered under the group plan or a corporate cover may enhance their coverage by adding a top-up plan to their existing plan.

(The author is a co-founder of “Wealocity”, a wealth management firm and could be reached at knk@wealocity.com)