Scenarios to Consider Top-Up Health Insurance Plans

As humans, we all wish to live long with good health. For this to happen it depends on the way we live or simply said our lifestyle can define our overall health. There is an abundance of information about how to stay healthy.

A simple formula to live healthily is eating healthy, have a proper exercise to the body on daily basis or at least regularly, have sufficient rest. Sleep is something like a natural gift to us which allows our body to recharge.

This is to say that most of our health can be in our control if we can balance our naturally occurring biological cycles in our bodies. But once if these cycles are disturbed we tend to get different kinds of ailments which can build up slowly within our body to cause severe health damage over a period. Lifestyle health issues like diabetes and hypertension are examples of such. They can further bring in more complex health problems like cardiac issues, strokes, etc. in some people.         

Some health issues may require longer stay at the hospital. One such incidence may lead to the financial downside of life, particularly if a person is from an average or low-income group. Health insurance is something that comes to rescue when you are in financial need due to any unforeseen medical emergencies.

When it comes to health insurance, most people are not fully aware of how health insurance works. If you are planning to take health insurance, it is important to have a sufficient amount as the sum insured to meet the inflating medical costs by keeping few years ahead form the date you are taking the health insurance. In health insurance, there are plans like base plans and top-up plans. Base plans help to cover hospitalization bills whereas top-up health insurance plans help to boost that coverage if the sum insured amount from the base plan gets exhausted. Let’s look at some scenarios to consider top-up plans.       

If Your Base Plan Is Not Sufficient

Top-up health insurance plans benefit if base coverage from your regular health insurance is not sufficient to pay your medical bills, particularly if the sum insured amount is low. For example, if your base plan is for 2 lakhs cover, you can plan to purchase a top-up plan to cover more.

At the time of hospitalization, once the medical bills cross the limit of the base plan then your top-up plan comes into action. For example, if 2 lakhs is your base plan and medical bills are for 3 lakhs then 2 lakhs is covered by your base plan, and the remaining 1 lakh is covered by your top-up plan. While purchasing a top-up plan you can choose 2 lakhs as a deductible amount which is the same as the limit of your base plan.

To Cover More If Bills Cross Your Affordability

Another scenario is if you can pay some amount for hospital bills out of your pocket and want to cover for bills if they exceed your affordability. For example, if your financial position allows you to pay for medical bills around 2 lakhs and want to cover more if your bills cross 2 lakhs, then you can go for a top-up plan with more cover. At the time of hospitalization, if your medical bills cross 2 lakhs then you can claim for remaining bills after you pay 2 lakhs from your pocket.  

To Have an Extra Cover Over the Health Insurance Provided By Your Employer

Some companies provide health insurance to their employees. If you have health insurance provided by your employer to cover your medical expenses but if it is not sufficient to cover some expensive treatments, then having a top-up health insurance plan can help to pay for medical bills if the limit is provided in employee health insurance plan is exhausted.  

At the time of purchasing the health insurance, you have to choose the deductible amount based on the limit allowed in the plan provided by your employer.  

Helpful For Senior Citizens To Cover High Medical Costs

In the case of senior citizens, the possibility of illnesses and frequent hospitalization is high. If you have a base plan that covers for your parents but you think if that is not sufficient to cover medical bills depending on the overall health of the insured persons, in such situations it can be helpful to have a top-up plan to have some additional coverage.

Generally, for senior citizens, the premium for health insurance would be high compared to similar plans for young people. So in the case of senior citizens if you already have a base plan to cover some amount and want to have more coverage then having a top-up plan would help. Moreover, they cost low when compared to normal plans.

Conclusion

With inflating medical costs in mind it can be helpful if we have a health insurance plan to meet the medical bills. Health insurance can be worth in tuff times of hospitalization due to critical health issues either by any accidental issues or severe health problems.

But it is important to consider the amount of cover you need as an important aspect while purchasing a health insurance plan. Generally, health insurance premiums depend on various aspects and generally be high as the age of the insured person increases. But if you want to have more coverage at affordable cost, having a base plan for basic coverage and an additional top-up plan can be a good idea to have more cover to meet expensive hospital bills.