9 reasons why health insurance is important to buy

9 Reasons Why Health Insurance is Important to buy
Reviewed by: Livlong
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Why We Need Health Insurance?

Health should come first for everyone. From following a balanced diet to exercising, we must make conscious choices to protect our well-being. But health complications remain a threat in the current state of pollution, preservatives-loaded food products, and sedentary lifestyles. A health complication can disrupt your financial well-being with unexpected expenses. In such cases, having a financial cushion proves helpful. A health insurance policy serves as this cushion. Read on to understand why health insurance is important. 

Why Do You Need Health Insurance?

The fundamental benefit of buying a health insurance plan is getting financial assistance during medical emergencies. But that is not all. If you are wondering, why do we need health insurance, consider the below-mentioned points. 
  • Rising medical inflation
The healthcare industry incurs significant investment in research and development to find treatments and cures for newfound diseases. It also uses high-end equipment and technology to treat complex ailments. As a result, medical care costs are on the rise. Moreover, medical experts also determine a series of procedures to diagnose medical conditions before providing treatment. These factors add to the ever-inflating costs. A health insurance plan enables you to get medical treatment despite these inflating costs. 
  • Cost-effectiveness
Getting a mediclaim policy also proves cost-effective. Health insurance saves you from incurring hefty medical costs, especially when you are diagnosed with a severe medical condition that can drain your savings. Moreover, you can freely choose the required coverage based on your needs. As such, you can choose an affordable health insurance policy to suit your requirements. For instance, you can choose a plan with lower premiums and high deductibles, especially if you are young and do not have any existing health issues. 
  • Fighting lifestyle diseases
Today, we lead sedentary lifestyles that have accelerated health complications and chronic illnesses like diabetes, blood pressure, and heart problems. These conditions were earlier considered age-related factors, but today, age is not a barrier, and anyone of any age can contract such life-threatening ailments. This is another reason why health insurance is required. The insurance plan helps you bear the costs of various health ailments resulting from modern and fast-paced lifestyle trends.    
  • Preservation of savings
It takes years to build savings. However, a health complication can drain your savings in just a few days. If you are diagnosed with a life-threatening condition, you may have to spend significant amounts of money on hospitalisation costs, surgery charges, diagnostic tests and treatments, etc. These factors can substantially impact your financial health, especially if you are older with limited income sources. However, a mediclaim policy covers medical expenses while allowing you to preserve your savings. 
  • Tax benefit 
Health insurance plans are eligible for tax exemption under section 80D of the Income Tax Act 1961. Hence, your payment made towards health insurance premiums qualify for tax deductions of up to ₹25,000. You can use this benefit to claim tax rebates for yourself, your spouse, your children, and/or your parents. The deduction amount extends to ₹50,000 if you invest in health insurance for your parents aged above 60 years. Thus, paying insurance premiums with a concession on the tax liability is another critical reason why we need health insurance. 
  • Family health protection 
Health insurance companies offer a variety of plans, one of which allows you to cover all your family members under a single mediclaim policy. Such policies are known as family floater plans, wherein you have to pay a single premium amount and get medical insurance for all your family members. You can utilise the sum insured limit in these policies to cover immediate family members requiring medical treatment. You can also file multiple claims per year up to the sum insured limit. The insurer typically determines the premiums based on the average age of the insured parties. 

  • Cashless claims and reimbursement
Insurers offer a facility known as cashless claims wherein you can seek treatment at any hospital within their network without making any upfront payments. You simply need to inform the insurer about the network hospital where you intend to seek treatment. The insurer contacts the hospitals and takes care of the expenses up to the sum insured. However, if your preferred hospital is not within the insurer's network, you can file a reimbursement claim after seeking treatment in your desired hospital.
  • Early buying advantage
Age is a significant factor that influences your insurance premiums. As young people are typically healthy, they are less likely to fall ill. This is why insurers charge relatively lower premiums when you buy health plans at a younger age. Also, since you are less prone to file insurance claims when you are young, insurers may enhance your sum insured by 50% (for five consecutive claim-free years) without increasing the premium amount. The added sums insured prove helpful when you need medical treatment when you are older.
  • Vast coverage
A medical diagnosis means you have to brace for a wide range of expenses at various stages in the treatment course. Some prominent costs include fees for doctor's consultations, diagnostic tests, medicines, ambulance charges, pre and post-hospitalisation expenses, etc. Managing these expenses is why health insurance is essential. The insurance plan covers the costs, while you can concentrate on getting the best treatment. Moreover, your regular health insurance plan enables you to seek treatment for all kinds of physical and mental health conditions.

Why is a Health Plan better than Health Insurance?

Traditional Health Insurance generally covers Hospitalization expenses when admitted for over 24 hours. LivLong Health Plan on the contrary covers not just hospitalization expenses (powered by IRDAI approved Insurer) but also expenses around Doctor consultations, lab tests, pharmacy, and more, providing much higher value for money.

 

Final note

The above aspects shed light on why we need health insurance. Your health insurance policy proves a godsend in many ways. It allows you to seek treatment at your preferred healthcare facility and covers you against a wide range of ailments. Additionally, it prevents you from draining your savings built painstakingly over the years. Thus, you must not undermine health insurance's importance and invest in an excellent mediclaim policy to safeguard yourself against sudden medical emergencies and the expenses associated with them.

LivLong - About the Author

Livlong 365 is a trusted digital healthcare platform committed to making quality health and wellness services accessible, affordable, and user-friendly for every Indian. Through our informative and educational blogs, we aim to empower individuals with accurate health knowledge, preventive care tips, and expert-backed insights to help them lead healthier, more informed lives.

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