Choose right Health Insurance – best coverage is important, not lowest premium

We normally look for lowest premium while buying insurance, especially online. Even if we buy offline, many do a lot of online research before buying. And usually, lowest premium is the criterion. We are used to searching for lowest price while buying anything, not just insurance.

Is this approach ok for buying Health Insurance? No. Not really.

What is important in health insurance is adequate coverage. You should be covered for as many conditions as possible and the definitions of illness should be as liberal as possible. Only then the probability of getting claim paid increases when you are hospitalised and desperately need it.

It is possible to offer lowest premium with many exclusions and stricter conditions. But this reduces the chance of getting claim as some exclusion kicks in or some definition is not met. You really can’t blame insurer then, as that’s what you bought.

But, even after paying higher premium, how do you know that the exclusions are not too many and the definitions are not very strict? Here you need expert advice. May be a health insurance expert or a doctor. Claim settlement ratio of insurer can also be an indication. But some effort is required here for a better understanding. Ignorance is not bliss here, it can be a disaster at the worst time of your life, i.e. when you are hospitalised and when you come to know that you are not eligible to get the health insurance claim.

So, which one would you prefer? Lowest premium with less probability of getting the claim or not so low premium with higher probability of getting the claim? Of course, if you can get lowest premium with high probability of claim, that’s the best. But best of both worlds is unlikely to happen. You can’t ask for 1st class after buying a 3rd class ticket in train. Right?