How to buy medical insurance

Are you a hypochondriac who keeps a secret stash away every month for medical expenses that even your spouse doesn't know about? Well, you don't need to do all that.

While it is good to do some contingency planning about your health, you can also check out all the medical insurance policies that are available in the market.

The four nationalised general insurance companies "" Oriental Insurance, National Insurance, New India Assurance and United India "" have a wide range of policies you can choose from.

Also, there are private players like Royal Sundaram, Bajaj Allianz, Cholamandalam, ICICI Lombard and Tata AIG that offer a variety of products.

Apart from HIV/AIDS, all diseases are covered through one policy or the other.

The first thing that you should check out while buying a mediclaim, apart from whether you can afford the premium, or tax savings, is how many hospitals are covered under the mediclaim policy and whether these hospitals are in close proximity to your home.

The second important thing is the kind of claims in case of emergency or accident and third if the hospital that you go to in case of emergency (apart from the pre-approved ones) will be covered in your medical insurance or not.

The most common practice these days is the cashless card which mostly all nationalised general insurance companies and some private companies like Bajaj Allianz and Cholamandalam offer.

In this case one is issued a card and the medical expenses are reimbursed using them.

Companies like New India Assurance works on this model. It also works through a third-party administrator (TPA) and has a tie-up with Vipul Medcorp.

In this case it is the job of the third party to get your settlement done which in turn is funded by the insurance company.

"Normally such claims cover almost 100 per cent of the expenses," says Vijay Jyoti, development officer, New India Assurance Company.

And if you have a family history of cancer, Tata AIG's Heath First is worth checking out. For the company gives a lump sum benefit payout as soon as one is diagnosed with one of the five critical illnesses covered by the company.

This is irrespective of whether you start your treatment immediately or not. Only the daily hospitalisation allowance of Rs 2,500 are reimbursed "" of course on hospitalisation.

And for diseases like cancer which can recur, the possibility of double indemnity is very much there in case of Tata AIG.

Nationalised insurance companies' policies come in handy in the case of long illnesses. For there are products which pay expenses 30 days prior to hospitalisation/surgery and up to 60 days once you are discharged.

However, certain diseases like cataract, piles, hernia and uterine fybroids will attract no claim in the first year of buying the policy.

For mothers-to-be there are no stand-alone policies for maternity benefits but they can be part of the group policy which helps the insurance company spread the load.

Another group policy is Critical Illness of Tata AIG which is experimenting with Citibank and plans to broadbase.

Also, with advanced treatments like laproscopic, endoscopic and laser surgeries coming up, a lot of insurance companies have started providing day care benefits which does not require a 24-hour hospitalisation.

"This used to be must till some time back. Bajaj Allianz and New India have this," says Shashikant Bahl, advisor, Bajaj Allianz.

Tata AIG also has a policy for minor injuries like slipping in the bathroom or getting partially burnt while cooking.

And you need not worry if you are growing old and fear no company will insure you.

"Till the age of 50 we ask for no medical certificate. Beyond that the policy seeker needs to see our panel of doctors and if they give him a good health certificate he can remain insured till the age of 80-85," says Jyoti, cautioning that the insured should not let his existing policy lapse.

However, you need to watch out on your blood sugar levels for half the illnesses like cataract, renal failure, heartstroke etc are linked to diabetes.

So eat healthy, keep fit and let your insurance agent take care of the rest.