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Understand the Basic Coverage Benefits of a Health Insurance Policy Most health insurance policies in India cover the following types of treatments:

1. Re-imbursement for Hospitalization due to illness/disease/ surgery.
2. Reimbursement for Domiciliary Hospitalization expenses in lieu of Hospitalization.
3. Pre-hospitalization expenses that might be incurred before hospitalization will take place.
4. Post-hospitalization expenses after you’re release from the hospital.
5. Ambulance Charges

Understand the Restrictions and Conditions not Covered Most Health Insurance policies offered in India have the following restrictions:

1. Based upon the Insurance the following types of ailments might have a specific waiting period before being covered: cataract, hernia, piles, sinusitis, benign Prosthetic Hypertrophy, Hysterectomy for Menorrhegia or Fibromioma etc.
2. Most policies also have a 30-day waiting period. With the exception of accidents most treatments are not covered for the 1st 30 days after the policy has been in effect.
3. One of the most important exclusion is that any pre-existing conditions (that an individual already has prior to start of coverage) are not covered through the life of the policy. So if you already have any serious medical conditions buying a health insurance policy is a waste of money.
4. Out patient treatment like diagnostic tests, dental visits, vision and spectacles, etc. are also typically not covered.
5. Injuries resulting from war, invasion, etc are also not covered.
6. Pregnancy/child-birth and naturopathic/ayurvedic treatments are also not covered.

Other Policy Benefits that might be useful

1. Income Tax Benefit – An Income Tax exemption of up to Rs. 10,000/year is applicable for a family. In case any Senior Citizens are covered, the exemption is Rs. 15,000.
2. Cashless Benefit – For treatment at hospitals that are in the Insurance Provider’s network a pre-admission claim can filed with the Third-party administrator. Upon approval you can undergo treatment without having to make any out of pocket payments.
3. Family Floater – This type of policy covers everyone in your family for a single premium. A single member of the family can use the entire coverage amount. In addition you will not need to keep track of individual policy renewals.
4. Cumulative Bonus – Most insurance providers raise the coverage amount at no extra cost to you, if you have not made any claims in the past year. Some companies offer a renewal discount.

Shop around for Health Insurance Quotes Use the internet to get some Insurance quotes from various Health Insurance companies. Based upon your understanding of the coverage terms, benefits and restrictions get a price for a policy that best suits your needs. You will also need to decide how much Coverage you will need. Some useful sites for Health Insurance quotes for India are: Insurance Pandit GetMeInsure ApnaInsurance Also consider visiting the websites for various companies offering Health Insurance in India. Insurance companies offering online quotes are listed below: Star Health Insurance ICICI Lombard ICICI PruLife You might also be able to get lower quotes and more reliable policies from Nationalized Insurance Companies like:

• Oriental Insurance
• United India Insurance
• New India Assurance

Narrow down your selections to a couple of good schemes Talk to your friends and relatives to get recommendations for Health Insurance policies. Based upon your research and recommendations from your friends narrow down your choices to a couple of suitable policies. Contact an Insurance agent from these companies to get printed brochures, terms and conditions, accurate quotes, etc.

Buy your Health Insurance Policy Make sure you setup automatic payments so that you never lose coverage. Also store the policy in a safe place but give all your family members the policy ID cards.