Understanding cashless hospitalization

The most useful insurance plans in health care are cashless hospitalization plans. We decode their meaning and significance.

With living expenses going through the roof every single month, it is important for every family in India to budget for the future. It is not enough to rely merely on your income to see you through a rainy day. You must actively invest in such instruments that help pay all your expenses during times of financial uncertainty.

The single most important factor that drains your precious savings is the area of healthcare. Medical treatment, diagnosis and medicine costs are quite high in India. The costs are exponentially higher for prolonged treatment of critical illnesses. Even just one visit to the hospital can empty your savings created over months. Hence, many people resort to buying health insurance plans that protect them and their loved ones from the high costs of healthcare in the future.

What is a cashless hospitalization plan?

A growing area of interest in health care insurance is the cashless hospitalization insurance plan. The advantage of investing in it is that it helps you start treatment on yourself or a loved one without having to pay admittance or treatment costs.

This is how it works: If you have a cashless hospitalization plan and you need to get admitted to hospital, you can simply show your policy credentials to the hospital and get admitted at once. The hospital also starts treatment immediately. This saves precious time during critical health issues; there is no need to scramble to collect money for admittance. Meanwhile, you do not need to pay treatment costs or the room/bed charges. The hospital settles the bills with your insurance provider.

What you must know about cashless health plans

• They are applicable to both emergent and non-emergent cases. Some policy holders actually plan their surgeries well in advance for a convenient time, if they have cashless hospitalization to back them.
• They cannot be used in every hospital or treatment centre. The cashless plan can be used in network hospitals only (also known as ‘participating hospitals’). Your insurance provider will give you a list of network hospitals in your city or town, so you can avail of cashless hospitalisation only at any of the listed facilities.
• The policy holder(s) must only hire an ambulance and reach the closest network hospital in an emergency. This is beneficial for people who are new to a city and do not know any people who can help transport them or their loved ones in case of a medical emergency.
• Cashless hospitalization plans are available for individuals, families and even senior citizens. 

The importance of being earnest…about your future

What would you rather choose – an uncertain future or financial security for your family? The choice is obvious, and the answer lies in term insurance.

Of all the things in the world, what is most important to you?

• Financial security
• The health of my family
• Freedom from financial worry for my parents
• All of the above

If you choose Option #4, it means that you are sufficiently invested in your loved ones’ security to provide them with whatever they need to stay happy and healthy always. This includes investing in your children’s education, maintaining your parents’ home, setting up a savings account for your spouse, investing in property for your family…the list of things to do for your loved ones’ happiness is endless.

And yet, you may have missed out on the most important investment of all – taking a term insurance plan to look after your family in your absence.

Why taking term insurance helps

You can guarantee that all of your loved ones – parents, spouse, children, siblings – will realise their dreams while you are present with them, but what happens when you are not? Do you have a lot of money stashed away in savings that will pay all your loved ones’ expenses for years to come? Will your investments be enough to fund their every need? If not, it is time to take a term insurance plan.

A term insurance policy is one of the simplest life insurance products in India today. It has an affordable premium amount, a high sum assured and a term (tenure) of 10, 15, 20 or 30 years. Generally, term plans are beneficial for those who do not wish to spend a large amount of money on expensive policies, while also receiving sufficient life coverage. Also, you can easily buy a term policy online. Many premier insurance providers in India allow customers the chance to purchase a term plan online without a medical examination first.

Thus, though the term insurance plan does not have maturity benefits, its high sum assured is more than sufficiently prepared to deal with your loved ones’ many requirements in your absence. From paying for children’s education to their weddings, from financing parents’ or spouse’s medical emergencies to repaying unpaid debts, term insurance plans have a lot of important uses for your loved ones. Their primary function is to keep your family safely protected from any financial uncertainty in your absence.

What could be a better plan than that?

Did you just buy a car? Here’s what you do next

Your duty as a car owner is complete when you get your car documentation right and take motor insurance.

Most people who do not own cars can scarcely comprehend the psyche of those who do. The average car owner might seem obsessed or even borderline fanatical about his car, and with good reason, too! For a car owner, his car is not just his private vehicle that transports him around the city. It is also his sanctuary, companion and guide every time he takes the wheel. Naturally, he is a little protective about his dream machine!

But for most car owners, the idea of ‘car maintenance’ starts and ends with servicing the car regularly and driving safely. Other tasks like getting the PUC done and insurance premium payment flit in and out of their horizon occasionally. If you are a car owner who thinks like this, here’s what you need to do:

Take insurance first, do other things later

After you purchase your car and get the necessary documentation ratified, it’s time to move to the next step – taking car insurance. But many people try to skip this step, deeming insurance an unnecessary expense. However, taking car insurance is mandatory in India, so every car owner must have a motor insurance plan. Take an insurance plan before you throw a celebratory party for friends and family.

How to take insurance

You can easily take online insurance for your car. All major insurance companies in India offer car owners the option of purchasing and renewing car insurance online. It is fairly simple to take online insurance for your car. Just log on to the insurer’s website, fill in the car details and the plan you want in the application form provided, calculate your premium payable, make your final selection and pay for the plan online.

But why take insurance at all?

…Because you need to be protected from accidental injuries and potentially fatal wounds every time you take the wheel. Your car insurance pays the costs of treatment and hospitalisation in case of an accident.

…Because other drivers and pedestrians must also be protected, in case of an inadvertent accident caused by you. A comprehensive car insurance plan includes a Third Party Liability (TPL) component that helps take care of legal costs and liabilities in such a case.

…Because it gets your car serviced for free. Insurance providers have a network of service centres where you are liable to get a free annual service and any repair work done by lieu of being a policy holder. Without an insurance policy, you would have to shell out these costs from your own pocket.

Besides, taking car insurance gives you and your loved ones peace of mind every time you take the wheel. This is an important benefit that far outweighs the cost of insurance.