2019 had been an eventful year for the health insurance sector. The industry witnessed several changes during this time. Are you someone planning to gift yourself and your loved ones the protective shield of medical insurance? If yes, you should know the rules that changed in 2019. The following are some helpful insights into the matter.
The Indian Scenario
According to Financial Express, India falls in the group of the least insured countries in the world. The newspaper reports that just 20% of the Indian population holds insurance protection. Business today calculates the penetration of insurance coverage in the country as 3.7 when compared with its GDP. It is less than the average in the world; 6.31%. Statistics show that health insurance is the sector that experiences maximum growth in the market; 35% annually. General insurance follows at 18% and life insurance at 12%.
Health insurance, according to experts, is the first thing one should have. And it should start from the month you begin earning on your own.
Given below are the changes you should be aware of when exploring health insurance plans:
1. You can pay your premiums in instalments
This is perhaps a historic move from the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority of India. It asked insurance companies to let users pay their medical insurance premiums in instalments. You can pay your premium monthly, quarterly or half-yearly. But the free-look period is quite lower for both the options than their annual variant.
2. The authority asked insurers to tweak their policies in favour of customers
IRDAI has asked insurance agencies to declare the pre-existing diseases that won’t be covered for a stipulated time period after policy start date. Today, consumers have the right to declare the diseases contracted after three months of policy start date. Diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's or HIV/AIDS cannot be rejected outright.
3. Customers have the right to choose a third-party administrator
IRDAI now allows customers to choose a third-party administrator for their insurance requirements. It ensures that consumers can avail the best health insurance plan in the market. You can go for a TPA either at the time of buying coverage or while its renewal.
IRDAI has come up with the draft plan for standard insurance coverage. The scheme offers from INR50,000 to INR10,00,000. The minimum age to avail the protection is 18 years. The higher age is considered to be 65 years. The exciting thing is that the scheme offers the ability to renew for a lifetime. There exists no exit age-limit for a policy-holder. You are also eligible for the protection even when undergoing treatments in alternative therapies.
Finally, IRDAI has reduced the waiting period to file a claim. The waiting period is a time when you can’t file a claim for a particular disease. From now on, no insurer is allowed to specify a specific waiting period before filing a claim. The general standard is 30 days.
There is no excuse to ignore your own health and that of your loved ones. Even the best medical insurance available today is more affordable at present.