Health insurance is considered an essential tool for individuals and families to protect their health and well-being, access preventive care, and manage medical care costs.
Women need regular checkups and screenings for conditions such as breast and cervical cancer, osteoporosis, and reproductive health issues. They experience health issues that require specialized care, such as reproductive health care, prenatal care, and menopausal management.
On this International Women’s Day, we tried to understand the basic parameters that women can look for while choosing a health insurance product.
Experts agree that health insurance provides financial security, access to preventive care and can help reduce health care disparities.
They say women need specific health care services throughout their lives, such as reproductive health services like PAP smears, mammograms, and other gynecological exams. These services can be expensive, and without insurance, many women may delay or skip needed care.
Read also: Consumption of financial services by women low despite high awareness, says study
Ajay Shah, Director & Head, Retail, Care Health Insurance, and Dr. Bhabatosh Mishra, Director, Underwriting & Claims, Niva Bupa Health Insurance share tips to consider while choosing a health insurance policy for women.
Ajay Shah, Director and Head, Retail, Care Health Insurance;
Evaluate High Sum Assured optionsWith the ever-increasing cost of medical treatment, it has become imperative for everyone to have a health insurance plan that provides adequate coverage in times of need. As women are becoming financially independent, it is even more important for them to take such wise decisions.
A comprehensive and adequate health cover will help protect them from many unforeseen diseases that may arise in the future. At times, the treatment and recovery process for conditions like Diabetes, Cancer, Hypertension, Asthma can be long-tailed, costly and mentally and physically exhausting.
Patients who do not have access to suitable health cover for such diseases may be forced to bear the entire cost of the treatment themselves. Hence, immense pressure is being put on them and their finances.
comprehensive coverageMedical insurance: Medical insurance provides a safety net for individuals by providing access to quality healthcare. It does so by reducing the financial burden that arises at the time of hospitalization due to a medical condition.
Comprehensive health insurance policies cover day care treatment, household expenses, ambulance charges, pre and post hospitalization expenses, etc. In addition, the most comprehensive health cover also includes maternity care which provides antenatal check-up, delivery and postnatal care. If you are planning to start a family soon, it is essential for you to verify whether your health insurance policy covers maternity care or not.
increase in sum assuredContrary to popular belief, not making a claim on your health insurance policy for a year can also be beneficial. Features like Cumulative Bonus and Cumulative Bonus Super can help you increase your Sum Assured up to 600% of the total coverage. This means, if your initial coverage was for Rs. 10 lakh, you can potentially increase it up to Rs. 70 lakhs within 7 years, irrespective of the fact whether you have claimed or not. This will ensure that you have adequate coverage for costly medical treatments in the future.
Auto Recharge of Sum InsuredDue to the busy and stressful lifestyle many women today are at increased risk of adverse health effects. To deal with such unforeseen situations, some health insurance policies now offer the facility of automatic recharge of the sum insured. This means that if you exhaust your coverage amount due to one claim or multiple claims in a policy year, your policy will automatically renew or recharge your Sum Insured, giving you the required amount in the same year. Can make additional claims, if any. This is a valuable benefit as it ensures that you have continuous coverage against unforeseen health emergencies, even if you have already made a claim.
Review policy documents and compare costs: Before buying a health insurance policy, it is essential to carefully review the exclusions and benefits included in the policy. It is important to ensure that the insurer has a wide network of healthcare providers that suit your specific needs, including availability of women specialist hospitals, women doctors and specialists. Also, it is advised to compare various health insurance policies for their premiums and choose the one that best suits your specific needs and budget.
Dr. Bhabatosh Mishra, director, underwriting and claims at Niva Bupa Health Insurance He said that like men, women should also buy health insurance. So they should consider the same factors as men when purchasing health insurance.
According to them, the only difference comes while evaluating some benefits like;
maternity benefit
While men can buy maternity for their family members as well, it needs to be checked whether the maternity benefit provides postnatal coverage along with vaccination coverage.
Women Specific Disease Coverage
The policy should provide coverage for diseases specific to women such as polycystic ovarian disease. In addition, it should provide cover for critical illness. CI cover is gender neutral. It covers cancer arising in males or females.
preventive or annual health checkup
It should be ensured that women specific tests like PAP smear, mammogram etc. are included as part of the policy.
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