How much Health Insurance one should have?

Start early
One must buy health insurance at an early stage because the premiums are lower when you are young and the rate of increase in health insurance premium is directly proportional to your age. Health insurers assume that at an early age the chances of making a claim are lower, as against the person who takes health insurance at a later age say 40 years and is more prone to suffer from diseases. Moreover if claims are not made in any particular year, it is likely that the insurer might increase the cover provided or/and reduce the cost of premium.

The importance of Health Insurance can’t be ignored in today’s world of expensive medical care & looking at its benefits at a younger age, one must insure himself/herself against any medical injury/illness early in life.

How much of cover is needed
The requirement for Health Insurance varies from individual to individual. It depends upon the factors such as your age, current annual income & expenses, marital status, family background etc.

Age: During the early years of your life you might require a simple health policy to cover the expenses that would be incurred if you fall ill or meet with an accident. The possibility of occurrence of critical diseases is low at this age therefore a higher cover is not required. As you grow old you should keep increasing your sum assured/cover.

In case of higher age when you could be more prone to some of the critical diseases, you can get the Critical Care Rider added to your health policy- because this is the time when you need to guard yourself from a major financial setback. Make sure that your family is not burdened with any kind of financial consequences due to major illnesses.

Marital Status: If you are married it’s a good idea to ensure that your spouse is also covered against any medical emergency. Go for a Family Floater Plan wherein you and your spouse will be covered under one policy (one premium). In case your wife is salaried, you must make sure that she is covered under employee insurance also if it is available as the Group Insurance covers for Maternity expenses. After the birth of your child you can get your child also included in the Family Floater Plan.

Family Background: If you have a family history of some diseases like Diabetes, take a shield of Critical Care plan which will cover you against all these major illnesses that you might be prone to.

Income & expenses: Go for a higher health insurance cover if you think that the cost of your family’s medical treatment would be higher (higher room fare etc). Therefore a lot depends upon how much is your family’s current expenses & income. If you wish to take a high quality room during hospitalization then you must opt for a higher sum assured health cover.