4 ways to enhance health insurance coverage


1. Approach your existing Insurer: This should be the first step especially for the one who’s been diagnosed with some illness or has already taken some claim. Your existing insurer has your complete track record with them and you’ve been paying them the premium for so long, so it is comparatively easy for the existing insurer to enhance the claim. Some percentage of existing cover gets easily enhanced without any medical tests, but company may ask for medical tests if you want to enhance beyond a specific limit. This limit varies with insurers.

2. Port out policy to some other insurer: These days you can port/shift your policy out to some other insurer. In porting out, the benefits accumulated in the existing policy like No claim bonus, waiving of waiting periods etc. will also be transferred to the new company.

To port out your policy you have to apply to the new insurer at least 45-60 days in advance. Do keep in mind that this is equivalent to applying for a fresh policy though with no waiting periods. The acceptance of your proposal is totally new insurer prerogative. It may accept your policy with some conditions.

Porting out is recommended only when there are some visible benefits in the new policy or if you are not satisfied with the existing insurer services.

You may go with higher sum assured then your existing one. These days you will find policies offering coverage up to Rs 50 lakh

3. Buying Policy with high no claim bonus:

First time buyer or those who want to port out existing policy, may go with a policy which offers high no claim bonus. This feature indirectly keeps on increasing total coverage.

4. Top up your existing cover:

This is the most viable and economical option for enhancing one’s health insurance cover. Top up policies can be bought up independently or along with your existing cover. Top up cover gets activated after a particular amount which is called deductible. Deductible is something which you have to pay out of your pocket or from existing insurance cover and the balance claim amount will be taken care by the Top up plans.

Say for e.g. you have a health insurance policy of Rs 3 lakh and you enhance this cover with a top up policy of Rs 10 lakh with a deductible of Rs 3 lakh. Now if there’s any claim of Rs 5 lakh, then Rs 3 lakh will be paid through base policy and rest will be taken care by Top up plans.

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