How Can You Upgrade From a 3 Lakh Health Insurance Plan Easily?
A health insurance policy gives financial support in a medical emergency. The policy you bought a few years ago may no longer meet your current needs. A ₹3 lakh policy may have been adequate when you bought it. As hospitalisation costs go up, your family circumstances may change and you may find yourself in need of more extensive cover. You may want to increase your sum insured.
You don't necessarily have to go out and buy a completely new policy when you're looking to upgrade your existing one. It may be possible under your insurer's rules to simply increase your sum insured at renewal, switch to a policy with more cover or indeed buy a super top up to add to your existing policy.
Looking for the best health insurance policy in India? Here's how to choose a ₹3 lakh health insurance plan without missing key policy terms.
Why consider upgrading to a ₹ 3 lakh health insurance plan?
Your age, medical history, family size, where you live, and financial situation will determine the right level of health insurance cover. A cover of ₹3 lakh may be sufficient to cover some of your hospitalisation costs but a major medical event could easily be in excess of that.
Here are some reasons to look at your current coverage.
1. Rising Hospitalisation Costs
Hospital room charges, diagnostic tests, surgery, drugs and specialist out-patient consultations all add up quickly. The overall cost of treatment varies by hospital, the patient's condition, the city, and the treatment required.
If your policy covers up to ₹3 lakh, you must pay any amount above out of pocket.
2. Changing Family Responsibilities
Your circumstances may change after marriage, the birth of a child or the addition of other dependants. If your current policy no longer suits your responsibilities, review the sum insured to ensure you have adequate cover for future medical expenses.
For a family floater policy, the sum insured is normally shared among family members. If you make several claims in one policy year the amount available for future claims will be reduced.
3. Greater Financial Protection
An unexpected hospitalisation can put a real strain on your savings and your monthly budget. A higher sum insured will obviously help to cover a greater proportion of your eligible medical expenses (subject to the policy exclusions, sub-limits, co-payments and other conditions of course).
The goal is to choose a level of cover that balances your potential out-of-pocket healthcare costs with the premium.
How to Upgrade From a ₹3 Lakh Health Insurance Plan
If your current health insurance no longer suits your needs, you have several options.
1. Increase the Sum Insured at Renewal
The easiest route may be to simply ask for a higher sum insured under your existing policy.
Contact your insurer or insurance adviser before the renewal date to see whether your policy allows you to increase the sum insured from ₹3 lakh to a higher amount, e.g., ₹5 lakh, ₹10 lakh, etc.
If your existing policy provides adequate cover and the insurer will allow a straightforward increase, that may be the way to go.
2. Upgrade to a Policy With a Higher Sum Insured
If your insurer don't have a suitable upgrade then compare other policies with higher cover.
You could choose a plan with a sum insured of ₹5 lakh, ₹10 lakh, or higher, depending on your requirements and budget. Just don't pick a policy purely on the basis of the sum insured.
Compare the benefits that are most important to you (hospitalisation expenses, pre and post hospitalisation cover, day care, rehabilitation benefits and cover for eligible modern treatments).
Also check the exclusions, waiting periods, room rent limits, co-payments and the hospital network. A policy with a higher sum insured could end up more expensive if it has onerous conditions.
If you're considering porting your policy to another insurer, start the process well before renewal and follow their prescribed procedure. Portability is subject to the relevant rules and to insurer acceptance. Don't cancel your existing policy until you have confirmation of the replacement cover.
3. Consider a Super Top-Up Plan
A super top up plan can provide protection beyond your prescribed deductible. It can be useful if you want to top up your existing ₹3 lakh health insurance policy without replacing it right away.
For instance, let's say you have a base policy of ₹3 lakh, and then you take out a super top-up with a ₹7 lakh deductible and a sum insured of ₹10 lakh.
The base policy will cover eligible expenses up to its available limit. The super top-up will cover eligible expenses above its deductible (subject to its terms and conditions). A super top-up will generally look at eligible expenses across the whole of the policy year (unlike a standard top-up which will normally apply the deductible on a per claim basis).
However, the example doesn't mean that every expense above the ₹7 lakh threshold will be paid. You'll need to check the deductible structure, the list of eligible expenses, the exclusions, the waiting periods and the coordination between the policies.
A super top-up can be a cost-effective way to increase your overall cover, but you need to understand how the base policy and the additional policy work together.
4. Review Individual and Family Floater Options
If you currently have individual cover, consider whether a family floater would better suit your household. If you already have a family floater then consider whether the shared sum insured is sufficient for all the members of the family.
A family floater is of course very convenient in that you've got a pool of cover for all the members of the family. The downside is that one member's major claim can eat into the cover available to the rest.
Individual policies may be worth considering if family members have very different healthcare needs, ages, or medical histories.
The right choice depends on your individual circumstances, not a single rule. You need to look at the total premium, the benefits, the medical underwriting and the cover available before you make any change.
When is the best time to upgrade your health insurance?
Renewal is a good time to review your cover, as you can talk to your insurer about any changes you'd like to make before the next policy period starts.
However it's better to get your requirements right well in advance rather than leave it until the very last few days. The insurer may need time to assess the request, arrange medical tests, or process a portability application.
Consider reviewing your coverage when:
- Your income or financial obligations change.
- You get married or you have a child.
- Your current sum insured no longer meets your needs.
- You've discovered some important limitations in your current policy.
- You'd like to add a super top-up plan or compare some of the other policies.
Don't wait until you need treatment to upgrade. Insurance applications involve underwriting, and a new or improved policy may not cover an existing condition.
Conclusion
Upgrading from a ₹3 lakh policy can help if your medical needs are changing or you expect your treatment costs to rise. You may be able to increase your sum insured, switch to a different policy or add a super top-up to your existing cover.
