Health Insurance Premium Calculators: All You Need To Know

Illnesses and diseases are rising alarmingly. Nowadays, the majority of individuals suffer from common ailments like diabetes, hypertension, heart-related problems, etc. These and other illnesses require frequent medical attention. Medicine, on the other hand, is progressing quite tremendously. Now you can find cures and treatments for illnesses which never existing before. Medical procedures have become less invasive and cutting edge. However, medical costs have risen tremendously. In recent times, a basic instance of hospitalisation tends to cost tens of thousands. Imagine if you suffer from a serious contingency. The costs would be prohibitive.

To tackle the rising medical costs as well as the rising need for medical attention, health insurance plans become a must. These plans cover the medical bills which you incur if you are hospitalised and need treatments. Since health insurance plans cover medical treatments, your finances are protected.

When buying health insurance plans, it is always recommended that you opt for an optimal sum insured. If the coverage is small, the plan would not be able to cover all your medical expenses. This would defeat the whole purpose of buying health insurance. An optimal sum insured is, therefore, necessary especially when medical costs are high. What about the medical insurance premium though? Would you be able to afford it at the high sum insured levels?

Table of Content

What is a health insurance premium?
How is health insurance premium calculated?
Other factors affecting health insurance premium calculations
What is a health insurance premium calculator?
How does the mediclaim premium calculator work?
How you can save money by using health insurance premium calculator?
Benefits of health insurance premium calculator
How to reduce health insurance premiums?
Tax benefits of health insurance plans
Calculating health insurance premiums through Turtlemint

What is a health insurance premium?

The health insurance premium is the amount that you need to pay to avail health insurance coverage. The insurance company issues you a policy and promises to cover your medical risks. You are required to pay a consideration for this promise undertaken by the insurance company. This consideration is the medical insurance premium. Based on the agreement of the insurance company to cover your medical risks and the consideration that you pay for the agreement, a health insurance policy becomes a legal contract.

How is health insurance premium calculated?

There are different factors which determine the medical insurance premium that you have to pay. These factors include the following –

Following are the features of cashless health insurance:

Your age –

The older you are the higher would be the chances of facing a medical contingency. Premiums are, therefore, higher at higher age and vice-versa

Your medical condition –

If you suffer from existing medical ailments, they would affect the health insurance premium rates. If you have chronic ailments, the premiums would be increased to balance the high risk which the insurance company is taking

A number of members being covered –

If you are opting for a family floater health insurance plan and covering your family members, the premiums would be high. The more members are covered under the plan the higher would be the premium which you would have to pay

Age of covered members –

The age of the members who are covered under the plan would affect the premium rates. The older members are the higher would be their respective premiums. This would, therefore, increase the total premium payable under the policy

Gender –

Females are considered to be healthier than males. That is why health insurance premiums for females are lower than for males

Coverage features offered –

If the health insurance plan offers a range of coverage benefits, it would be expensive. The more the coverage benefits in a plan, the higher would be the premium rate

Riders selected –

There are additional coverage benefits offered with health insurance plans. These benefits enhance the cover and come at an additional premium. So, if you choose the available riders, the policy premium would increase

Discounts available –

There is a range of premium discounts which can be availed under health insurance plans. Thus, the available discounts help in bringing down the premium rate.

Other factors affecting health insurance premium calculations

Besides the above-mentioned primary factors which help in calculating the medical insurance premium, there are other factors too. These factors determine the premiums that the company charges. These include the following –

1. The expenses incurred by the insurance company –

The insurance companies incur expenses on marketing and distributing their insurance policies. These expenses are, in turn, recovered from the customers in the form of expenses which are added when calculating the premium rate. The higher the expenses incurred by the insurer the higher would be the premiums

2. Underwriting practices of the insurer –

Once you apply for a health insurance plan, the insurance company’s underwriting team assesses the risk in your proposal. If the underwriter finds a higher amount of risk, the premium can be increased

3. Claim experience of the insurer –

If, in any financial year, the insurance company incurs very high claims which exceed its premium collections, the company suffers a loss. To make up for this loss, the premiums might be increased

4. Returns earned from the company’s investments –

The premium which the insurance company collects is invested in various fixed-income investment avenues. These avenues yield returns which increase the value of the insurer’s assets. This would lead the insurer to fix lower premiums

Now that you know the factors which determine your health insurance premium, can you ascertain its affordability?

Actually, you can. There are health insurance premium calculators which help you calculate the premiums payable for a health insurance policy before you actually buy it. Let’s understand what these calculators are and how they work –

What is a health insurance premium calculator?

A health insurance premium calculator is an online calculator which is designed to calculate health insurance premiums. You would have to enter your coverage details into the health insurance calculator and the calculator would give you the medical insurance premium which you would have to pay. Thus, the calculator helps you assess your health insurance premium and judge its affordability.

How does the mediclaim premium calculator work?

To use the health insurance premium calculator, you would have to enter the following details which affect premium calculations –

Your age
The type of policy which you want to buy – individual or family floater
The number and age of the members who are being covered under the plan (if you opt for a family floater policy)
The sum insured that you want
The policy tenure
Whether you have any pre-existing illnesses or not
Gender
Area of residence

Based on these factors, the medical insurance premium would be calculated.

How you can save money by using health insurance premium calculator?

Besides telling you the premium payable, the mediclaim policy premium calculator also allows you to save money. Here’s how you can save money by using a health insurance calculator –

You can calculate the medical insurance premium of different plans. Thereafter, you can compare the premium rates vis-à-vis the coverage benefits offered. After you compare, you can buy the best plan which offers the most inclusive coverage benefits at the lowest premium rates. As you find a plan with the lowest premium rate, you can save money
The mediclaim premium calculator shows you the premium break-up of the basic coverage and any optional riders that you have selected. When you know the premium break-up, you can opt-out of riders which you do not need with your health insurance plan. As you opt-out of riders, the additional premiums payable for the same would be saved
The health insurance premium calculator also shows you the discounts available under different policies. You can compare the discount rates and choose the policy with the maximum discounts to save on the premium cost

Benefits of health insurance premium calculator

It is a good practice to use the mediclaim policy premium calculator to calculate the premiums because the calculator gives you the following benefits –.

The health insurance premium calculator is dynamic. You can change the details were entered into the calculator and the premium rates would change. The health insurance calculator, therefore, allows you to try different combinations of the sum insured and policy tenure options to arrive at the most affordable medical insurance premium
You can ascertain the premium cost of your health insurance policy before you actually buy the policy. When you know the expected health insurance premium, you can make provisions in your annual budget for the same. Paying the premium for the policy would, then, become easier
The health insurance premium calculator helps you to judge the affordability of your health insurance policy
If you use the mediclaim policy premium calculator of an insurance technology firm, like Turtlemint, you can compare the premium rates of different policies. You can then compare the available health insurance policies and choose the policy with the best premium rates.

Given these benefits, using a health insurance premium calculator is a must before you buy health insurance.

How to reduce health insurance premiums?

Though the health insurance premium calculator shows you the premiums that you want to pay, there are ways to reduce your medical insurance premium. These ways are as follows –

Try and buy the policy at a younger age
Choose a policy which has the coverage benefits that you need. The higher the cover features the higher would be the premium. So, choose only those coverage benefits which are required and cut down on unnecessary premiums
Choose only those riders which you need
Go for long term policy tenure. When you choose a term of two or three consecutive years, the insurance company offers a premium discount which lowers your premium
Some policies offer premium discounts if no claims are made in a policy year. If you have such a policy which offers the no claim discount, utilise it
You can avail a premium discount if you add family members to the plan’s coverage
Compare and buy so that you get the plan which offers good coverage benefits at lowest premium rates
Lead a healthy lifestyle as your health would affect your premiums

Tax benefits of health insurance plans

The premium that you pay for a health insurance policy qualifies as a deductible expense under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act. You can claim the premium as a deduction from your taxable income and lower your tax liability.

The deduction which is allowed is as follows –

If you are below 60 years of age and you buy a health plan for yourself, spouse and/or children – up to INR 25,000
If you are 60 years and above and you buy a health plan for yourself, spouse and/or children – up to INR 50,000
If you are below 60 years of age and you buy a health plan for yourself, spouse and/or children + a health insurance plan for your dependent parents – up to INR 25,000 + up to INR 25,000 for parents’ policy
If you are below 60 years of age and you buy a health plan for yourself, spouse and/or children + a health insurance plan for your dependent senior citizen parents – up to INR 25,000 + up to INR 50,000 for parents’ policy
If you are 60 years and above and you buy a health plan for yourself, spouse and/or children + a health insurance plan for your dependent senior citizen parents – up to INR 50,000 + up to INR 50,000 for parents’ policy

So, you can claim up to INR 1 lakh as a deduction by paying medical insurance premiums for yourself, your family and your dependent parents.

Calculating health insurance premiums through Turtlemint

Turtlemint is an online website which allows you to calculate your medical insurance premiums, compare the available policies and buy the best plan. At Turtlemint you can ensure that you get the best coverage benefits at the best premium rates. Turtlemint offers you the following facilities –

Calculation of your health insurance premiums
Facility to compare the health insurance policies of leading health insurance companies with respect to their coverage benefits and premiums
Personalised assistance to buy the best policy
A one-stop platform to compare and buy the best health insurance plan
Assistance at the time of claims

You can, therefore, calculate your premiums on Turtlemint’s health insurance premium calculator. To do so, the process is as follows –

Visit www.turtlemint.com and choose ‘Health’
Choose any one option from the following –
- Buy new policy
- Top-up existing policy
- Change insurer
Provide your details which include the following –
- Gender
- Members to be covered
- Age of the members
- Whether or not you are planning to have a child
- Whether or not you have pre-existing illnesses
- Area PIN code
- Income level
- Your contact details
Once all the information is provided, you can check the different health insurance policies, their coverage benefits and respective premiums
You can then compare the premium rates and buy the best policy directly from Turtlemint’s website.

A health insurance policy is a must in today’s age when medical costs are rising unchecked. So, invest in a good health insurance policy for yourself and your family. However, before you invest, don’t forget to use the health insurance premium calculator to calculate your premiums and ascertain their affordability. Only if the premiums are affordable, buy the plan and enjoy lifelong coverage.