Lower Your Health Insurance Premium with our Proven Strategies!

This is a world of uncertainty, we are vulnerable to a lot of diseases. When we say uncertainty, we can take the current example of the Covid-19 Pandemic. Thank god, now the situation is under control & we’ve got the vaccination. Even we should be more thankful I am healthy to write & you are very healthy to read it. In such a worse situation, where health comes as our priority, we burden ourselves with a lot of financial commitments. Many poor, middle-class, and sometimes even upper-middle-class people lack high-quality healthcare, treatments for complex human sufferings. So, we should back up ourselves to protect ourselves & our families from this terrible situation. Hence, health insurance stands as a backup to your family’s health!

Why Do We Need Health Insurance?

In a world with the rising trend of –

Lifestyle disorders
The high amount of stress and
Inflating medical costs

So, getting your health insurance is imperative for your family too. With the cost of seeking premium healthcare rising steadily, people belonging to low and middle-income groups are finding it difficult to keep up with the expenses.

But, What should one do in this Scenario?

Opting for a health insurance policy, of course!

In India, there are about 34 insurance companies that offer health insurance policies. These plans offer effective financial backing to cover the expenses incurred in due course of seeking treatment for any illness or accident. But sometimes, the affordability of these covers can be a cause for concern.

You Should Cut-Down your Health Insurance Premium, How?

While many want to go for a health insurance policy to protect themselves and their families, amid rising inflation, they seek ways to save more on their premium costs. Here are a few smart ways you can cut down on premiums in your health insurance policy to make it more affordable:

Ways to Reduce Your Health Insurance Premium Cost

Let's Understand, What is Health Insurance Premium?

Investopedia defines Health Insurance premiums as an upfront payment made on behalf of an individual or family to keep their health insurance policy active. Premiums are typically paid monthly when purchased on the individual market, although individuals who receive insurance through their employer usually pay their portion of the premium through payroll deductions.

Buy Your Health Insurance Early

One factor that has the biggest bearing on your health insurance premium is your age. A lot of plans even offer you a discount on buying early.

For example, the Young Star plan from Star Health Insurance offers a lifelong 5% discount on an early purchase. Moreover, the premium of the health insurance policy is higher for those with pre-existing diseases. Since with age, your vulnerability and chances of having ailments like diabetes and hypertension increase, it is best to lock in a low premium rate for the health protection plan when you are healthy and in the prime of your life. So the first decision you must take to get a lower premium is to take it now.

One of the proven ways to reduce premium payments is to purchase a health insurance plan when you are young.

Most insurance providers consider factors like your age and medical history before they deem you eligible to avail of a cover. That is why, on the flip side, availing of a cover becomes more difficult as you get older.

With common age-related diseases like

Diabetes,
Heart-related conditions,
Blood pressure issues add to your medical history,

Insurance providers increase the premium payments for your insurance policy.

That is why, to avail of a policy with lower premium payments, it is best to purchase health insurance when you are at the prime of your health. That way, your premium will be much lower compared to what you will have to pay when you are older.

Choose Family Floater Health Insurance Plans

While health insurance needs differ for each individual, often, family floater plans are designed to fit the members of one family. As opposed to an individual cover that protects only a single person, a family-floater plan covers the medical expenses of the entire family. However, it is much lower compared to a situation where you buy an individual plan for each family member. The sum assured under the plan can be used by any family member who needs it due to a medical emergency.

Go For Multi-Year Health Insurance Plan

Many insurers these days offer two to three-year health policies where you get a discount on premium as opposed to going for a one-year policy, followed by renewal. Apart from the discount, you are also protected from the hike in premium that may come next year. It is always smart to go for a long-term plan if the option is available.

You can get up to a 10 percent discount by opting for a two-year health insurance policy and up to a 15 percent discount on a three-year policy. You stand to save a lot more on your premium. Most of the exclusive Health Insurance companies like Niva Bupa Health Insurance, Care Health Insurance, and Star Health Insurance provide the option of multiple-year premium payments with reduced rates.

To ensure that you maximize your benefits from these plans, compare the policies offered by various insurance providers to choose the one best suited to your requirements.

Opt for Top-Up Insurance Plans

Top-up health insurance plans are extremely useful when it comes to availing of high coverage without paying a huge premium for it. Top-up health insurance plans usually help to split your cover into two parts. This allows you to raise a higher claim that can exceed the pre-decided limit.

Let us look at an example to make things easier:

Say that you have a plan of Rs. 10 Lakh with a benchmark of Rs. 5 Lakh. You raise a claim of Rs. 7 Lakh against this plan. The insurance company will then pay for the additional Rs. 2 Lakh expense incurred for your treatment.

This way, you pay a lower premium for your health insurance plan and avail of the top-up plan if your treatment expense demands you to.

Use No Claim Bonus

NCB, or No Claim Bonus, is a great way to get a higher sum insured for a discounted amount. If you make no insurance claim during a policy term, you can avail of an additional sum insured as part of your policy for the next policy year without paying any extra premium. These days, most insurers offer NCB which can go almost as high as the sum insured you opted for your base policy.

For instance, if you purchase a policy with a Rs 10 lakh sum insured and don’t make claims for consecutive years, you may be able to get an additional sum insured of Rs 8-10 lakh over and above the base policy.

Buy the Health Insurance Policy for the Right Zone

In India, different cities are sorted into zones, based on that city’s medical expenses. So, the higher the medical expenses in a city, the higher its zone (A, B, or C), and the higher your premium will be. They are illustrated in the table below:

Thus, it is important that you buy a policy for the right zone that you live in.

For example, if you live in a Zone B or C city, don’t buy a policy for Zone A, as you will simply be paying more premium. So, choosing the right Zone for your policy will ensure that you are paying premiums more effectively.

Purchase a Policy for Your Parents Before They Reach 60!

With most health insurance plans, the premium payments towards it increase as the age of the insured individual crosses 60 years. That is why, if you are availing health insurance for your parents, it is best if you do it before they reach 60 years of age. That way, you can reduce your premium payment towards it.

With these 10 tips, you can reduce the premium paid towards your health insurance policy to quite an extent.

Finally, remember...

Even if you are looking to save on premium payments, it is important to note that you must not compromise on the coverage you avail yourself of from the plan.

This is because seeking premium medical care can cost you a substantial amount, which can be hard to pay out of your pocket. That is why opting for a cheaper plan with lesser benefits is probably not a good idea when it comes to availing of a health insurance plan!

There are many insurance consultants in the market to help you get the right health insurance. Here at Finvest India, our experts help you get the right Health Insurance plan with less & affordable insurance premiums. We analyze your complete requirement before suggesting you plan.