The right time to buy a health insurance plan is NOW. The earlier you buy it, the healthier you are and the maximum benefit you will get when you actually need it. But if you haven’t bought it earlier, then there is no need to keep pondering on the same. Simply wake up and smell the coffee. Health insurance is not a luxury anymore. It has become a necessity. So, it’s time to finally activate your health insurance plan!
The demand for health insurance demands had gone up in the post-covid world with higher awareness and rise in hospital bills. In fact, demand for comprehensive health insurance plans has also gone up from the pre-pandemic stage and one of the key contributors to this is the high healthcare costs.
Despite the apparent awareness, according to government statistics, more than 70% (Source: Economic Times, Jan 2022) of the overall healthcare costs is paid out of pocket. So, while COVID has increased the awareness about health insurance and motivated many to buy a plan, many are still hung in the middle. This raises a question – What is the delay all about?
Benjamin Franklin said, ‘Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today’. While many of you might have heard this quote, how many of you actually emulate it?
A health insurance plan has become a necessity, especially in today’s age when the multiple waves of the pandemic are wreaking havoc on life and health. The relevance of having a health insurance policy has increased manifold in the post-COVID world.
Even if you take the pandemic out of the equation, you cannot ignore the burgeoning healthcare costs and the rapid increase in the incidence of illnesses. Diabetes, hypertension, asthma, or even dreaded cancer has become a common occurrence. While you can’t prevent these illnesses, you can definitely make provisions for covering their expenses. How? Through a health insurance policy, how else!
A health insurance policy covers your medical costs when you are hospitalised. You get coverage for –
- Inpatient treatments
- Room rent
- Pre and post hospitalisation costs
- Ambulance costs
- Cost of surgery
- Daycare treatments
- Domiciliary expenses
- Organ donor treatments, etc.
The list goes on….
So, with a health insurance policy, you can rest assured that your medical emergencies would not damage your financial health. The policy would cover your bills and help you avail of quality healthcare treatments.
Add to the coverage is the tax advantage. The premiums that you pay for a health insurance plan qualify as a tax deduction under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act, 1961. You can claim a deduction of up to INR 25,000 if you are insuring yourself and/or your family members. Add another INR 25,000 to the deduction limit if you are a senior citizen. Furthermore, if you also insure your senior citizen parents, you get an additional deduction limit of INR 50,000 for claiming a deduction on the premium paid for their policy. So, do the maths. The maximum deduction that you can claim is INR 1 lakh which converts to a tax saving of INR 30,000 if you fall in the highest tax bracket of 30%.
Coverage, financial security and tax advantage, what more can you ask for?
Still, wondering about buying health insurance?
Stop wondering and become active. Buy a health insurance policy today. You never know what tomorrow holds – another wave of the pandemic or any other illness that might need medical attention!
Why leave your finances to chance when you can secure them with health insurance?
