Affordable Health Insurance is a reality 27^th November 2019

There is a famous saying "health is wealth," and it is indeed true in today's context. With people getting busy with their hectic life, there is a growing trend of unhealthy eating habits and sedentary lifestyle. In the pursuit of money, health has been left far behind. Now, one cannot give up on his/her career, but they certainly can opt for a health insurance policy that offers protection against unexpected medical emergencies. Health insurance is ignored by people for many reasons, and this has led to India's problem of "under-insurance." Herein, people opt for an inadequate amount or rather do not opt for any health insurance thinking that no ailment can affect them. Another reason given by people is that the premium for health insurance is very high, and they cannot afford it. 

Affordable Health Insurance – is it a reality?

The excuse that health insurance is expensive is not true. Affordable health insurance is a reality and has benefitted many families for the past few years. With the rapid integration of technology in the insurance sector, many insurance companies are now offering their services online. You can easily purchase or renew health insurance online  in a few clicks. As most companies have taken their operations online, the cost of availing and renewing health insurance has gone down substantially.

If you are still unsure about the affordability of health insurance plans, here are some tips to help you select an affordable health insurance policy for yourself as well as your family:

Understand your requirements:  First of all, you need to understand yours and your family's health insurance requirements. Consider factors like the number of members, their age, existing conditions, family health history etc. This will help you understand the extent of coverage that you require. 

• Start early: Health insurance premium against a new policy for a young person of 25 years will be much lower than for a mature person of around 50 years of age. This is due to the risk involved for the insurer. So, you must subscribe to a. personal accident insurance online as soon as you start work, to enjoy the lowest premiums. Then gradually, keep on enhancing the coverage of your policy as your income rises. 
• Do some research: Several online insurance marketplaces have come-up, which allows you to compare policies from different insurers easily. As these marketplaces eliminate the agent from the transaction, the cost of the policy goes down substantially. By comparing the coverage of different policies, you can reduce your premium payments significantly. 
• Opt for a floater policy:  You can opt for a floater policy wherein one policy covers your entire family, including dependants. Instead of paying separate premiums, you only need to pay a single premium and will get insurance coverage for the whole family.
• Tax Benefits: You can claim an income tax deduction of up to Rs. 25,000 for the health insurance premiums paid in a financial year for yourself and your family. If you pay a health insurance premium of your parents, you can claim an additional tax deduction. Thereby, you can save substantially on your income tax liabilities. 
• Online renewal: When you renew health insurance online, through the insurance company's website or any online marketplace, you can enjoy lower premiums. As the companies do not need to pay any commissions, you can save a significant amount of money by opting to renew health insurance online.

The benefits offered by a health insurance plan are too good to be ignored just because you think health insurance is unaffordable. Do some research, and you will see that health insurance is indeed affordable and is rather a necessity for your family.