Health Insurance Plans Covering Pre Existing Diseases from Day 1

Recent reports reveal that more than 101 million people in India suffer from diabetes1, especially people over the age of 45. About 42 million people2 have some kind of thyroid. Over 25% of people suffer from hypertension worldwide3. The list can go on. Diabetes, hypertension, and thyroid are some of the common diseases that affect millions of people across the globe.

While you might not be able to avoid them, as most of these diseases usually occur after a certain age, purchasing a health insurance plan at an early age can help you get aid for medical treatments related to such diseases. People purchasing health plans at a later age of life may have one or the other pre existing disease.

Generally, health insurance plans do not cover PEDs in insurance until the waiting period is over. PED waiting period may differ from one plan to another. However, the good news is that certain health insurance providers do offer pre existing disease health insurance. This means you need not wait until the waiting period to raise a claim for a pre-existing disease. Read on to learn more about pre-existing diseases and what they mean in health insurance and health insurance without waiting periods.

Table of Contents

What is Pre-existing Diseases (PED)?
What is the waiting period for health insurance?
Things to know about pre-existing disease insurance
Conclusion

What is Pre-existing Diseases (PED) in Health Insurance?

Pre-existing diseases, also known as PED, is a term usually mentioned in a health insurance plan. As the name suggests, the term PED refers to any disease or illness that the insurer had before or while purchasing a health insurance plan. Usually, a health insurance company has a clause of the waiting period until which you cannot raise a claim for a PED.

What is the waiting period for health insurance?

Pre-existing disease insurance requires the insured to pass the waiting period without raising a claim. The waiting period is the cooling time until a claim cannot be raised. There are different types of waiting periods depending on the health condition. One of these is the pre existing disease waiting period. It usually ranges from 1 to 4 years.

Since it depends on the insurer to decide the waiting period, some insurance companies offer plans that do not impose waiting periods at all. This means you have pre existing disease covered from day 1. For instance4, Aditya Birla, Star Health, Care Health Insurance, Niva Bupa, and Universal Sompo are some health insurance providers that offer zero waiting period health insurance plans. Before signing up for a plan, make sure to check the pre existing disease list and be sure if your health illness is covered in the plan or not.

Things to know about pre-existing disease insurance

If you have already been diagnosed with a health illness and you want to purchase a health insurance plan to cope with the coming medical expenses, you can get a health insurance plan that meets your needs. As discussed above, various health insurance companies do offer such plans, especially health insurance for senior citizens with pre existing disease.

Before you purchase a pre existing disease insurance, here are a few things that you must know:

1. A little costlier

A health plan that offers coverage from the first day will typically cost you more than a regular health insurance plan with 2 to 4 years of waiting. However, this may not be the case when you are opting for a group health insurance plan. Most group plans offer coverage for PEDs, from the beginning and are comparatively cheaper than regular plans.

2. Pre-existing disease list

If you find a health insurance plan that gets pre-existing diseases covered from day 1, make sure to thoroughly check the pre existing disease list. Depending on the insurance company you choose, the list may have different sets of PEDs. The plan may only be beneficial for you if your pre-existing diseases are covered in it.

3. The clause of co-pay

The co-payment clause refers to the percentage of claims that the insured agrees to pay. This is a percentage or a sum of the amount agreed and fixed between both the insured and the insurer. For instance, if the decided co-pay in a health plan is 10%. In case of an INR 1 lakh bill, INR 10,000 will be paid by the policyholder, and the remaining INR 90,000 will be paid by the insurer.

In order to skip the waiting period, you may have to agree to the co-pay clause. Make sure you completely understand the clause, and you are willing to pay it at the time of claim. Proceed only when you agree to it. Most of the senior citizen health plans may have a co-pay to reduce or remove the waiting period.

4. Pre-existing diseases

As per the above discussion, a pre existing disease is the one that is diagnosed in the insured before purchasing a health insurance policy. So, any disease diagnosed after the policy purchasing date, including the waiting period tenure, is not considered a pre-existing disease.

5. Need for honesty

While purchasing a health insurance plan, you are usually asked for details of your health conditions, including pre existing diseases. In case you have a pre-existing disease, say hypertension, you must not hide it. Hiding such details from your insurance provider may lead to legal obligations and termination of the health policy.

6. Benefits

A health insurance plan without waiting periods is of great benefit. In such a case, you do not have to worry about passing the waiting period. If you have a pre-existing disease and need immediate treatment, you can quickly raise a claim from day 1.

7. Accidental hospitalisation

When it comes to a health insurance plan with zero waiting period, you must know that accidental hospitalisation has no waiting period. Since accidents are unpredictable and can affect anyone at any time, health insurance providers have no waiting period for accidental covers.

Conclusion

Investing in a health insurance plan at an early age helps you easily cross the waiting period limit. In order to further make the process easier and helpful to people, many health insurance companies have come up with pre existing disease health insurance. In these health plans, there is no waiting period and so you can easily raise a claim even on day 1 of purchasing the policy.

If you haven’t yet started investing in a health insurance plan for yourself and your family, now is the right time. Get a plan that best suits your requirements and budget, and stay financially relaxed in times of need.