It is often said that “Health is Wealth”. A hectic life, increase in pollution levels, contaminated food, etc., our health faces serious concerns in today’s age. Though life expectancy has increased the amount of diseases affecting the younger generation has also been increased. The medical costs associated with treatment of such diseases are an all-time high. Bearing such heavy expenses is difficult for a common man. Here is where health insurance proves beneficial. It pays for the medical costs which are incurred on treating any ailment and thus protects our finances. So, a health insurance policy is needed. But, when should you buy?
The answer is – as early as possible. Even when you are young and are free from medical ailments, having a health insurance from a young age is beneficial. Let us see how:
Benefits of investing early with Health Insurance:
- Employer cover is just not sufficient
Though your employer might have provided with a group health insurance cover, is it sufficient? Given the fact that medical inflation is high, your employer-sponsored health cover is not sufficient to meet your hospitalization expenses. Moreover, during job change or loss of employment you may be left uninsured. Hence, it is advisable to buy an independent health insurance policy to be financially secured.
- Rise of lifestyle and critical illnesses
A sedentary lifestyle, higher consumption of junk food, increased pollution levels, etc. has led to an increase in the number of diseases like hypertension, diabetes, obesity, lung disorder, etc. Moreover, these diseases strike from a very young age. Critical Illnesses like cancer, heart attacks, stroke, etc. have also become common phenomena. Both lifestyle and critical illnesses necessitate medical attention which results in huge costs. Thus, it is very essential to get yourself insured on time.
- Completing waiting period before you actually need it
Health insurance policies usually have waiting period of 2-4 years for pre-existing illnesses and even for some named diseases like cataract, hernia, etc. During such waiting period, you cannot get coverage for illnesses you suffer from when buying the policy. If you buy a health insurance policy at a young age, the waiting period would be exhausted by the time you develop a need to cover any of your pre-existing illness or specific diseases and require such coverage.
- Accumulating NCB in initial years
Many insurance companies provide ‘No Claim Bonus’, if no claims are made in the previous year. When you are young, you do not require medical assistance and so do not make any claim. You can, thus, accumulate the NCB of your plan till the time you actually make a claim. Since most NCBs increase the Sum Assured, you can enjoy a higher coverage at the same premium in later years when you make the claim.
- Coverage
It is safer to buy health insurance policy early in your life to enjoy a wider scope of coverage. Since your health risk would be lower in younger ages, the insurance company would allow you a more comprehensive coverage than when you buy in older ages.
- No need of pre-entrance medical check-ups
Insurance companies require you to undertake a medical check-up past a certain age (45 years usually) due to increased health risks. When you buy young you don’t have to undergo for these pre-entrance check-ups. Moreover, if, on such a check-up, your health risk is found to be high, the policy might have coverage restrictions and increased premiums (known as premium loading). To avoid such restrictions and to pay lower premiums, buying young is always recommended.
- Lesser chance of rejection
Your health insurance policy is issued after medical underwriting. Medical underwriting means assessing your health risk. When you are young and have good health, the underwriting would be favorable and you can get the policy easily. However, when you age and develop some medical complications along the way, your medical underwriting would not be so favorable. If you have severe health complications, the insurer might reject your policy altogether. Thus, buying the health plan at a younger age lowers the probability of rejection.
Click here to watch video on why you must buy a health insurance policy at a young age:
Conclusion
A health insurance policy is an essential requirement to tackle those burdensome medical costs. If buying young has so many benefits, why delay. Buy a health plan early and enjoy its many benefits. So, hurry up and grab your policy now!
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