How To Avoid Common Health Insurance Distress

How To Avoid Common Health Insurance Distress: A Health Insurance cover is meant to cover your medical treatment at the best of hospitals and keep you stress-free from the financial strain aspect. However, one may encounter some distress due to health insurance issues and such situations are difficult.

Let�s check out how you can avoid health insurance distress.

Not Getting Cashless Claim

People opt for a Health Insurance policy expecting they won�t be required to pay money under medical emergency. This being true to some extent, there are certain caveats attached to the cashless facility one should be aware of. You are allowed to claim cashless hospitalisation benefit if you get the treatment in the network hospital, which is mentioned in the policy document list.

Also, there are situations when the insurer may not be able to identify the insured on time, and the hospital may ask the insured to settle the bill from his/her own pocket. In this case, an exorbitant hospital bill can cause considerable stress.

To avoid such situation s, you must check whether the hospital is listed in the policy document for a cashless facility or not. It is always advisable to get a pre-approval from the insurance company to avoid any authorisation delay. Even after taking all precautions you are unable to avail a cashless facility shouldn�t be a big worry.

You can always get the money reimbursed by completing the procedure prescribed by the insurance company. Normally the money is reimbursed in 15 to 30 days of filing the request.

Premium Increase

The premium may increase due to change in the age slab or due to changes in the cost structure of the insurance company. After continuing the health policy for a long period if the insurance support arises but the premium has increased manifold, the cause of distress could considerably go up.

Normally, the insurance regulator restricts the insurance companies from spiking the insurance premium exorbitantly. However, even a moderate increase could be a burden on the insured person. In such a scenario, you can use the porting option and switch the policy to another insurance company which offers similar cover and charge a  lower premium. Normally, all the benefits such as no claim bonus and passed time to get cover for pre-existing diseases continue with the switched policy.

Also, Read Top 10 Factors Affecting Life Insurance Premium Costs

Change In Terms And Condition

Sometimes health insurance companies change the terms and conditions in their policy document. It may include or exclude particular disease from the list or add or remove a hospital from the network list.

If you find it difficult to accept the change in the terms and condition, then you can switch the insurance company by using the porting option. Sometimes, insurance companies include the cover disease s which were not allowed earlier, but at the same time increase the premium to that extent. In such a situation you must compare the policy once again with others available in the market and decide based on available merits and demerits.

Cover Not Allowed Due To Pre-existing Clause

Pre-existing ailments are not covered for a specified number of years. If the insured person forgets this clause, then they may need to pay all the treatment cost for such pre-existing diseases from their own pocket.

It is important that you clearly mention the pre-existing ailments at the time of purchasing the health policy. If you are buying health policy after an age of 45 years, then it is better to attach the health screening report with the application to avoid dispute in claim settlement in the future.

Paying From Pocket Despite Health Insurance Cover

Exclusion list may vary from one insurance company to another. If you have switched the insurance policy from one company to another through porting option, then your exclusion list may change as well. Suppose, your earlier insurance company may have allowed treatment of dental problem after a waiting period of 2 years, but after porting, the new insurance company may not allow dental treatment at all.

You must check the exclusion list before porting the policy and always check the exclusion list of the existing policy before you renew it.

Hence, performing due diligence before buying a health policy can help in reducing the chances of distress to minimal.

Maret 30, 2018

5 Ways to Avoid Life Insurance Claim Rejection

5 Ways to Avoid Life Insurance Claim Rejection: More often than not, getting claims honoured by life insurance companies is an uphill battle. There are so many clauses, conditions and exceptions in insurance policies today that people are expected to fall ill by contracting a specific disease under specific conditions at a specific time in the day and inform the insurer at a specific time through a specific channel, and only if you�re under a specific insurance plan. Failure to meet any of these conditions would result in no insurance benefit being paid out, and the company is legally allowed to tell your dependants to take a hike.

Most often, insurers rely on legal loopholes and clauses in their policy documents to avoid making payments of sums assured, but a surprisingly large number of times, the fault and blame belong to the customers themselves.

Here are seven things you as a customer can do to ensure that you always get paid what�s due to you by your life insurance provider.

1. Don�t conceal information.

   Literally, any bit of information you don�t (or forget to) tell the life insurance company which can have an impact on your health, or result in any medical condition that requires hospitalization or the payment of death benefit is considered as �concealment of information�. Any disease or ailment requiring you to make a life insurance claim will be tracked back and traced to anything in your application form that indicates that this disease or ailment was a possibility. Any pre-existing disease or condition or smoking/drinking habits or anything that can be linked as being a cause to your hospitalization or death will be investigated and, if you haven�t told the company about it, sum assured and other benefits will not be given to you or your dependents. Your premiums are decided on this information, so be clear and open while furnishing it. If there is nothing that you�ve concealed, there�s nothing that can be held against you and the insurer will have to pay your sum assured.

2. Pay your premiums on time.

   Insurers will only settle claims on active insurance policies. There is an astonishing number of people who do not understand that delaying premium payments result in lapsed policies. Once your policy lapses, you are no longer covered and all your premiums paid that far will be rendered useless. The premiums will neither be returned to you nor will they have any legal validity to ensure that you or your dependents get your sum assured or death benefit from the company. In some cases, delaying your payments could also lead to penalty charges and reinstatement charges. Also, if you have a clean track history of making premium payments, the insurer will have one less point to haggle over when it comes time for a settlement.

3. Update nominee information.

   Your named nominee is the person who will receive any and all benefits that come out of your insurance policy when the time comes. If you�re single, naming your parents as nominees would be the sensible way to go. Once you�re married, name your spouse and children. Whatever your present relationship status is, always keep a nominee named so that some benefit will go to some dependent of yours somewhere. Nominees are generally those whose livelihoods are directly dependant on you being alive and well.

4. Don�t delay in filing insurance claims.

   It may be the last thing on your mind in a medical emergency, but a quick call to your insurance company could spell the difference between having or losing insurance cover. It�s a good idea to give a trusted friend, colleague or relative your emergency insurance information to call and intimate the insurance company in case you are unable to do so yourself. Basically, the life insurance company needs to be kept posted about the events for which they will be held financially liable later. The sooner you intimate the company about whatever has happened that requires medical attention, the easier your claim processing will be. Insurers also consider delays in intimation of hospitalization as indicators of potential fraud. Timely intimation can also keep you clear of this accusation.

5. Fill out your insurance application form yourself.

   Do not trust that well dressed, constantly smiling, and question-avoiding insurance agent with the responsibility of filling out your forms. Insurers decide your premium payment amount, overall coverage, and even some exclusions based on what�s filled out in your forms. Merely telling the insurance agent everything about your medical history will not qualify him to understand and explain on the form the more difficult intricacies of your medical history. You will need to take the time out of your day and get your records in order and truthfully fill out all the details in the forms by yourself. No one knows you better than you, and you need to make sure the insurance provider knows, too. Withholding tobacco and alcohol consumption habits will be a problem if the reason you�re hospitalized can be traced back to alcohol or tobacco consumption. Agents fill forms fast to meet sales targets, and couldn�t care less what becomes of you in the future. Is that a person you want to trust with potentially huge amounts of money that could become due to your dependants in their most dire times of need?

Keep yourself informed and abreast of all developments with your insurer. Keep yourself informed about the details in your policy document. Stay diligent and well informed about the conditions under which you will be eligible for a claim. Life insurance is not just a tax saving tool, it�s a serious financial product which, if used correctly, can be a saving grace for your family and dependants.

Maret 30, 2018

Top 10 Factors Affecting Life Insurance Premium Costs

Top 10 Factors Affecting Life Insurance Premium Costs: A great way to help and protect your loved ones, is with Life Insurance which can be a huge investment as well. A lower premium paid can yield to a good amount of savings over a period of few years. Life insurance premiums are based on a number of factors, and it can be quite tedious for a few people to understand why and what the charges are, and why they pay a rate that may not be the same as another. There are some factors that many insurance companies consider when pricing their policies, there factor may not be within your control. But the life choices you make, can also lead to the factors that can affect your Life Insurance premium.

The factors that affect your premium towards Life Insurance are:

1. Age: This is an obvious and not surprising factor that affects your Life Insurance premium, the age of the policyholder. If you�re young the rates will be lower in comparison to someone older. The possibility of a young individual contracting a life threatening disease or to pass away in their youth is very unlikely. The insurance companies believe that you�ll make many premium payments before they have to write a cheque for your family.
2. Gender: Insurance companies aren�t against gender equality, but they believe there is a different life expectancy for different genders. As per the studies and statistical findings, women are believed to live 5 years more than men at the minimum. Therefore affecting the premium they pay, making them pay the premium for a larger period of time but at lower rate which is a plus point for the women.
3. Smoking: Smoking puts the policyholders at higher risk of all ailments, so if you�re a smoker that that�s as good as raising a red flag to the insurance companies. Most smokers pay a premium twice as much as non - smoker does, thus affecting the premium to a huge extent.
4. Medical history: There�s isn�t much one can do with the gene pool they come from. If a policyholder has a medical history of serious illnesses like cancer, heart diseases, or any other, then that makes them susceptible to get these from a hereditary perspective. Which increases the individual�s premium by a larger margin than if their gene pool wasn�t.
5. Health records: You as the policyholder will also need to provide your own health records. These records will ensure that you don�t have any chronic diseases or potential health issues and keep your premium also in check instead of making a difference to it.
6. Drinking: Drinking of alcohol is injurious to health in more ways than one. If you as the policyholder are a heavy consumer of alcohol this can affect your premium at higher insurance rates. Insurance companies ensure to ask the applicant if they are smokers or drinkers.
7. The Policy: The policy itself also affects the premium you pay, the longer the tenure of the policy the larger the amount of the benefit at the time of death, since you�re paying it for that period of time. Short term policies are more expensive that long term.
8. Profession: Your profession also plays an important role in the premium you end up paying, any policyholder working in the mining industry, oil and gas, fisheries or any other dangerous profession increases the premium amounts you pay for the policy you decide to take.
9. Lifestyles choices: Many insurers have a higher premium for people who love to takes risks for the thrill of it. Like speeding cars, climbing treacherous mountains or other high risk activities. Thereby increasing your premium to substantially more than other.
10. Obesity: Obesity is another factor that affects your premium as a policyholder, being obese can lead to a number of health problems like Osteoarthritis, High Blood Pressure, Cancer, Stroke, Coronary Heart Disease, causing overall health problems in the future and also increases your rates.

How these factors affect your rates of premium is dependent on the insurance company and the way they treat these factors and the combination of them. For example: having a history of cancer in your family and still being a smoker can affect your rate in more than one way or being obese and having a history of heart disease also affects your rates of premium. Every insurance policy is based on each individual and premiums are calculated on the insurance company's rules of rating.

Maret 30, 2018

Best Life Insurance Policies in 2018

SBI Life eShield:

SBI Life eShield is a non-linked online insurance plan which provides higher returns on premiums. It�s designed basically to safeguard your family in your absence and secure them financially. The plan does not offer survival benefits at the time of maturity. Without involving paperwork and agent meeting, you can apply for the plan with just a click.

Features of SBI Life eShield:

Cover options under the eShield plan	� Level Cover � Level Cover with Accidental Benefit � Increasing Cover � Increasing Cover with Accidental Benefit
Maximum age at entry	� 65 years for both Level Cover and Level Cover with Accidental Death Benefit � 60 years for Increasing Cover and Increasing Cover with Accidental Death Benefit
Minimum age at entry	18 years
Minimum sum assured	Rs.20,00,000
Maximum sum assured	No limit (subject to underwriting)
Minimum policy term	� 5 years (For Level Cover & Level Cover with Accident Benefit) � 10 years (For Increasing Cover & Increasing Cover with Accident Benefit)
Premium payment mode	Yearly
Premium term	Same as policy term
Minimum premium amount	Rs.3,500
Maximum premium amount	No limit

HDFC Life Click 2 Protect Plus:

Click 2 Protect Plus is a term insurance plan launched by HDFC life that assures an extensive protection to your loved ones against life�s uncertainties. Even their timely necessities will be taken care of with a monthly income under the Income and Income Plus Option.

Features of HDFC Life Click 2 Protect Plus:

Cover options under Click 2 Protect Plus	Life option: It offers a lump sum at death of the policyholder . Extra life option ( Accidental Death Benefit): It provides an extra sum assured in addition to the lump sum offered on death . Income Option: Provides 10% of sum assured on death and the remaining is paid out on a monthly basis for 15 years . Income Plus Option: The option provides 100% of sum assured on death and also an arrears on 100% of sum assured which is paid on a monthly basis .
Minimum age at entry	18 years
Maximum age at entry	65 years
Minimum sum assured	Rs.25 lakhs
Maximum sum assured	No limit (subject to underwriting)
Premium payment mode	Yearly, half-yearly, quarterly, or monthly
Premium paying term	Regular, limited, or single

Aviva i-Life:

Aviva i-Life is a term insurance plan that offers a comprehensive financial protection to your family in case of your death. The plan which comes at a nominal cost acts as an additional backup when your loved ones are faced with unfortunate incidents. Aviva i-Life is a protection plan and hence it doesn�t offer maturity benefits. Refer to the below table for features of Aviva i-Life.

Features of Aviva i-Life:

Minimum entry age	18 years
Maximum entry age	55 years
Maturity age	70 years
Minimum policy term	10 years
Maximum policy term	35 years
Premium payment frequency	Yearly and half-yearly
Premium payment term	Equals the policy term
Riders	None
Tax	Tax benefits under Section 80C will be applicable

Future Generali Care Plus:

Emotional losses are irreparable, yet we can secure the lives of our beloved ones and provide them a smooth living even in our absence. Care Plus is a simple life insurance plan that offers a high life cover at an easily affordable price, which will ensure a complete financial protection of your family even when you are not around. Care Plus comes in two types�Classical Option and Premier Option.

Features of Future Generali Care Plus (Classic Option):

Minimum entry age	18 years
Maximum entry age	60 years
Minimum sum assured	Rs.10,00,000
Maximum sum assured	Rs.24,99,999
Minimum policy term	5 years
Maximum policy term	30 years
Maximum coverage age	65 years
Minimum premium	Rs.2,500 per annum
Premium modes	Yearly, half-yearly, quarterly, and monthly

Features of Future Generali Care Plus (Premier Option):

Minimum entry age	18 years
Maximum entry age	60 years
Minimum sum assured	Rs.25,00,000
Maximum sum assured	No limit
Minimum policy term	5 years
Maximum policy term	30 years
Maximum coverage age	65 years
Minimum premium	Rs.5,000 per annum
Premium modes	Yearly, half-yearly, quarterly, and monthly

Birla Sun Life BSLI Protect@Ease Plan:

BSLI Protect@Ease Plan is a term insurance plan that guarantees an end-to-end financial protection to your family in the event of your death. The plan has been tailored to meet each and every requirement of a family, and hence it comes with flexible coverage options. BSLI Protect@Ease plan also rewards the policyholders for maintaining healthy life habits. Tax benefits as per the Income Tax Act are applicable.

Features of BSLI Protect@Ease Plan:

Minimum entry age	18 years
Maximum entry age	65 years
Plan options	� Level Term Insurance � Increasing Term Insurance
Minimum policy term	5 years
Maximum policy term	40 years
Premium paying term	� Single payment � Limited Payment � Regular Payment
Premium payment mode	Yearly or monthly
Minimum Sum Assured	Rs.30,00,000
Maximum Sum Assured	No limit (subject to underwriting)
Riders available	� BSLI Accidental Death & Disability Rider � BSLI Hospital Care Rider

LIC�s Jeevan Pragati Plan:

Jeevan Pragati is a non-linked life insurance plan offered by LIC, which is a combination of life cover and savings. The plan qualifies for an automatic increase in risk cover in every 5 years during the term. Policyholders can also avail loan facility under LIC�s Jeevan Pragati Plan.

Features of LIC�s Jeevan Pragati Plan:

Minimum entry age	12 years
Maximum entry age	45 years
Policy term	12 to 20 years
Minimum basic sum assured	Rs.1,50,000
Maximum basic sum assured	No limit
Maximum age at maturity	65 years
Premium payment modes	Yearly, half-yearly, quarterly, and monthly

Max Life Online Term Plan Plus Basic Life Cover:

The Max Life term plan comes with a protection solution that secures the future of your family even in your absence. The plan offers extensive coverage with add-ons such as benefit rider, premium waiver options, etc. It�s purely a life insurance cover which offers death benefits and no maturity benefits.

Features of Max Life Online Term Plan Plus Basic Life Cover:

Minimum entry age	18 years
Maximum entry age	60 years
Policy term	10 years to 40 years
Minimum sum assured	Rs.25 lakhs
Maximum sum assured	100 Crores
Premium payment term	Equal to policy term
Premium payment mode	Yearly, half-yearly, quarterly, and monthly

ICICI Prudential iProtect Smart:

ICICI Prudential iProtect Smart is an enhanced life protection plan that takes care of the financial worries of your family in case of your death. It also covers against terminal illness and disability and comes with special benefits for women. You can choose the level of protection under iProtect Smart at the time of entry.

Features of ICICI Prudential iProtect Smart:

Minimum entry age	18 years
Maximum entry age	65 years
Minimum age at maturity	23 years
Maximum age at maturity	75 years
Benefit options	Life, Life Plus, Life & Health, and all in one
Premium payment term	Single, regular, or limited
Minimum premium	Rs.2,400 per annum
Accidental death benefit	Subject to sum assured chosen by the policyholder
Minimum critical illness benefit	Rs.1,00,000
Minimum sum assured	Equals to minimum premium amount
Maximum sum assured	No limit
Mode of premium payment	Single, yearly, half-yearly, and monthly

Bharti Axa Life Elite Secure:

It�s an affordable plan that provides an extensive financial support to the dependents of the insured, in case an unfortunate incident takes place. The plan offers competitive premium rates and comes with an option to cover your life till 75 years of age. Tax benefits under Section 80C and 10(10D) are applicable.

Features of Bharti Axa Life Elite Secure:

Minimum entry age	18 years
Maximum entry age	� 75 years for the policy term of 10, 15, 20, and 25 years. � 65 years for a term period of 5 years
Minimum sum assured	Rs.25,00,000
Premium payment term	Equals policy term
Premium payment modes	Yearly, half-yearly, quarterly, and monthly

PNB MetLife Mera Term Plan:

Mera Term Plan, as the name suggests, is a tailor made life insurance cover that offers a comprehensive protection to your family in your absence. The payouts are available as a lump sum plus regular monthly income, lump sum plus increasing monthly income, and lump sum plus regular monthly income till your child attains 21 years of age.

Features of PNB MetLife Mera Term Plan:

Minimum entry age	18 years
Maximum entry age	65 years
Minimum sum assured	Rs.10,00,000
Age at maturity	75 years
Policy term	10 years to 40 years
Premium payment term	Equals the policy term

Maret 30, 2018