Top Benefits of Individual Health Insurance

To understand better, let us look at each of the individual health coverage benefits in detail below. 

Financial Protection with Individual Health Insurance

When medical emergencies arise, they do not come with a fair warning but require extensive financial backing to cover the medical expenses of the required treatment. Individual health coverage offers policyholders a sum insured amount to cover these expenses easily without draining their financial resources.

 Comprehensive Coverage of Individual Health Insurance

One of the most significant benefits of individual health insurance is comprehensive coverage of medical expenses. Depending on the type of health insurance plan you choose for individual health coverage, the inclusions in the policy commonly include - 

• In-patient treatments 

• Pre and post-hospitalisation expenses

• Ambulance charges

• Daycare procedures 

• Room rent charges 

• Pre-existing diseases (varies from policy to policy)

• Special medical treatments (varies from policy to policy)

• Diagnostic tests charges

• Doctor consultation fees, etc. 

Customisation Flexibility of Individual Health Insurance

For added convenience and to maximise health insurance coverage, you can customise your individual health coverage with a wide range of add-ons. These add-ons can be combined based on your specific coverage requirements with the base policy for an additional fee towards the premium amount. 

Some of the add-ons you can choose from include - 

• Consumable cover

• Vision correction cover

• Second opinion cover

• Vaccination cover 

• Air ambulance cover 

• Convalescence cover 

• Hospital cash cover

• Double cover for additional financial support 

• Change in modern treatment limit cover 

• Guaranteed cumulative bonus cover

• Change in pre-post-hospitalisation limit cover, etc.

Tax Benefits of Individual Health Insurance

In addition to the financial benefits of individual health insurance plans, you can also receive significant tax benefits towards the premium payments. 

According to Section 80D of the Income Tax Act, you can benefit from a tax deduction of up to ₹1 lakh, with a limit of up to ₹25,000 for individuals below the age of 60 years, ₹50,000 for parents who are senior citizens above the age of 60 years.

Moreover, you can receive an additional ₹5,000 tax relief towards expenses incurred due to preventive health check-ups. 

No Claim Bonus

Many health insurance plans for individuals offer cumulative bonuses called No Claim Bonus for the policyholders. Under this inclusion, individuals who do not file any claim in one policy year benefit from discounted premiums for the same plan at the time of renewal. 

For every claim-free year, the renewal discount can increase, reducing the premium value for individual health coverage. Moreover, with this bonus, individuals practise healthy living to avoid making claims and reduce their risk of urgent medical treatments. 

Cashless Hospitalisation

For maximum claim convenience, you can avail of cashless claims with individual health insurance coverage at either a network hospital authorised by your insurer or any hospital of your choice in India.

With this convenience, the stress of immediate payment towards medical treatment and hospitalisation expenses will be dissolved as the insurer will pay the hospital on your behalf once your treatment is completed. 

Common Inclusions and Exclusions of Medical Insurance Coverage for Individuals

How to Choose the Best Healthcare Plans for Individuals?

1. Premiums - When purchasing any type of insurance policy, cost is the primary factor to consider. The premium amount can vary depending on the insurer. However, based on your individual coverage needs and budget, assess which policy aligns with your requirements and budget. 

2. Specific Inclusions and Exclusions - As a customer, you also have the right to verify the exact constraints or restrictions in your health insurance policy. You must check for the inclusions and exclusions available with different plans to shortlist the best healthcare plans for individuals based on your requirements. 

3. Coverage for Pre-Existing Conditions - When purchasing individual health insurance coverage, check the coverage for pre-existing conditions if you have one. This will help you finalise a plan that provides maximum coverage for your medical needs without the risk of unexpected claim rejections later on.

4. Claim Convenience - Assess the different insurers available to you based on the claim convenience they offer in terms of procedures to follow for online and offline claims, claim settlement formalities, waiting periods, customer support for claims, etc. This will allow you added convenience in times of emergencies.

5. Reviews and Claim Settlement Ratio - Check online customer reviews and testimonials and assess the claim settlement ratio of various insurers to determine which one promises the best individual health coverage as per your needs. 

6. Policy Purchase and Renewal Support - With digitisation taking over the world, look for individual health insurance plans that offer online convenience for policy purchase and renewals. This helps save a lot of time and effort and allows easier comparisons between different plans before final purchase. 

Other Types of Health Insurance Plans

An individual health insurance plan is best suited for people looking for a financial safety net to protect themselves from medical expenses during emergencies. However, there are various other plans that offer comprehensive coverage for individuals and families.

Let us take a look at them below. 

Conclusion

Managing the financial and mental burden of medical emergencies can be daunting. However, with an individual health insurance plan, you can bid goodbye to the financial stress and handle medical emergencies with peace of mind.

With the various benefits of individual health insurance plans, you must invest in one at the earliest to enjoy additional perks of discounted premiums due to age, location, etc. For families, you can also compare Family Floater vs Individual Health Policy benefits to choose and safeguard yourself and your family with the right health insurance. 

Reliance General Insurance offers a wide range of comprehensive health insurance plans, such as the Health Infinity Insurance plan, to cater to the specific needs of individuals and families. You can further customise your chosen plan with various add-ons to increase the base policy coverage for additional coverage requirements and convenience. 

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What factors determine the individual health insurance premium value?

   Some factors that impact the premium amount for your individual health coverage include your age, your medical history, your family's medical history, pre-existing illnesses, lifestyle, habits​, location of residence and the list of add-ons combined with the base policy.

2. Why should I choose family health insurance over individual health insurance for each family member?

   If you are looking to get health insurance for your entire family, you can either choose individual medical coverage for each member or get them all insured under one plan called family health insurance.
   
   The benefits of a family health insurance policy include the following -
   

• Increased affordability when compared to individual plans for every member

• Individual sum insured for each family member under one plan

• Easier management 

• Convenient renewals

3. How to assess the ideal coverage for my individual health insurance plan? 

   To assess the ideal coverage for an individual health insurance plan, you must understand your coverage needs and budget, consider your lifestyle habits and medical history, check the kind of additional benefits you require, and evaluate the deductible and copayment you can afford.