When Should You Begin Investing in Health Insurance?

Many people think that they need health insurance only when they start ageing or when they shall become prone to falling sick and dependent more on medicines. One of the biggest misconceptions of health insurance is that people think that they do not need health insurance if they are young and healthy. But this bubble needs to burst sooner than later. People as young as 18 years of age can buy health insurance in India . And people below the age of 18 years can be covered under the health insurance policy of their parents. It is well-known that Health insurance as important for children as it is for adults. The key factors that determine the health insurance premium are:

• Sum Insured
• Age of the insured
• Number of the members to be insured
• Pre-existing disease(s)
• Add-on covers (optional)
• Co-payment & deductible

As the premium amount of the health insurance policy depends on the age of the insured person, starting early with an investment in health insurance is very beneficial. Advantages of buying health insurance plan at a young age Following are some of the advantages of purchasing a health insurance plan early:

• Low Premium: Yes, you read that right. If you buy a health insurance policy early in life, the premium rate that the insurance companies charge you is significantly less. It is because you are healthy and thus, your claim frequency is likely to be comparatively lesser than the people who are more aged.
• Extensive coverage: If you are young and fit, a health insurance policy will provide you with extensive coverage with low premium costs. You can also opt for some of the required add-on covers which can further enhance the coverage of your health insurance policy.
• More options to choose from: Being young gives you an opportunity to compare health insurance  plans before settling on one. The rejection of your proposal form is not likely as you are healthy and young. But, as you age, you might not be covered for certain illnesses and you may be left with very few options of health insurance providers to choose from.
• No medical tests required: Many insurance providers ask you to undergo a few medical tests & health check-ups if you are old & are willing to buy a health insurance policy. The results of these medical tests are analyzed by the underwriters of the insurance company. Based on their analysis, it is decided whether the health insurance policy has to be issued or not. On the other hand, if you are young, health insurance companies will not ask you to undergo any medical tests and will issue a health insurance policy to you readily.
• No waiting period: With the increase in age, most of the people face one or more health-related issues. So, if you purchase a policy while having a pre-existing disease, the coverage for the same will not start immediately after the commencement of your health insurance policy. There is a certain waiting period for the different pre-existing illnesses before the coverage for the same begins. Thus, by investing early in health insurance, the waiting period for certain diseases could lapse by the time you might actually require medical attention for the same.
• Lifelong renewal option: With lifelong renewal option, you can secure your finances during all your future trips to the hospital. All you need to do is renew your health insurance policy before the date of expiry of your policy. In fact, even if you forget to renew health insurance before the expiry date, you get a grace period of 7 - 30 days to renew your policy. You can reinstate the benefits of your existing policy if you renew it in the grace period.
• Extension to cover entire family: Initially you can start with Bajaj Allianz's Individual health insurance plan, which provides coverage for people who are above the age of 18 years. This health insurance plan offers the following features and benefits:
  • Covers pre and post hospitalization expenses
  • Cashless health insurance facility at 6500+ network hospitals
  • Free health checkup
  • Facility for extended family coverage (You can extend the coverage of this policy to cover your parents, parents-in-law, grandparents, grandchildren, as well as dependent siblings)
  • Policy term for 1, 2 and 3 years
  • Covers ambulance charges
  • Health insurance tax benefits under Section 80D
• Earn the benefit of cumulative bonus : At Bajaj Allianz, we offer our customers the benefit of cumulative bonus, which is an opportunity to earn a higher SI (Sum Insured) without any increase in the premium amount for every claim free year. If you are young, it is very less likely that you file claims frequently. Thus, if you buy a health insurance policy at a young age, you can earn the cumulative bonus for every claim free year.

The right time to start investing in a health insurance policy is as early as possible. Once you are 18 years old, you should start looking out for various health insurance options. And by the time you are 30, you should definitely have a health insurance policy with some cumulative bonus. Visit our website to buy and get the complete details of the various health insurance products offered by Bajaj Allianz.