What Percentage of Your Salary Should Be Invested in Health Insurance?

Investment planning helps you drive your financial goals. But not all financial goals can be attained with the right investment avenues but instead, you need to prepare for pitfalls and setbacks. They can be in the form of unexpected expenditures that are simply unavoidable, for instance a medical exigency. These expenses cannot be put-off, and having your hands deeply invested in meeting financial goals leave no room for such expenses. For that reason, health insurance is something that forms an integral part of your investment plan. As critical it is to choose the right investment avenue, it is essential to plan for such health contingencies too. With the right health insurance cover, not only treatment costs can be mitigated, but also the mental stress associated with it. While medical science has increased the life expectancy but changing lifestyle has resulted in more and more people to rely on medical assistance for various ailments. Coupled with it, the soaring medical inflation makes it difficult to manage such expenses from your hard-earned savings. The main purpose of a health insurance cover is to provide a backup in times of emergencies and avoid any liquidation of your investments. So, answering the question, how much part of your income should you invest in a health policy, isn’t straightforward. However, leading financial experts recommend investing about two percent to five percent of your monthly income towards health insurance coverage. For instance, if you monthly income is about ₹80,000 per month, the health insurance premiums must ideally be in the range of ₹1,600 to ₹5,000. But this figure is not set in stone. It can vary based on your estimate of future health insurance coverage. If you are someone who has started just out, a basic health insurance plan like the Arogya Sanjeevani policy can be handy. Since this policy offers a comprehensive coverage for different ailments at an affordable premium, it can come useful, especially for new buyers. The amount of coverage depends on various factors like age, pre-existing conditions, medical history, etc. In addition to that, the stage of your life, city of residence, nature of job and more are some factors to keep in mind. Also, premium is not the sole factor based on which your decision must rest. There are many factors as listed above that determine how much health insurance cover you shall require. The planning for such policy must be done estimating the future cost of treatment and not at present levels. This helps to future-proof your health insurance coverage. For any comparison among policies, a health insurance premium calculator can help to determine what shall suit you the best based on your coverage requirement. A few other ways that can help you save on premium are to assess your requirement at the start. This gives a clear picture of what your health insurance must cover and accordingly help to look for a policy that offers such protection. Next, you need to make a budget based on the above parameters so that your health insurance does not seem like a burden, but in fact play the supporting role in your investment journey. This can be facilitated by comparing the various policies available online as well as offline. These are some nifty ways to avail a health insurance policy within a good budget. The primary purpose of a health insurance policy is to support you in times of financial needs during medical emergencies and avoid any deviation from your financial goals.   * Standard T&C Apply Insurance is the subject matter of solicitation. For more details on benefits, exclusions, limitations, terms and conditions, please read sales brochure/policy wording carefully before concluding a sale.