Health Top-up Plan: Cost Effective Way to Increase your Cover

Posted by sanjay on September 19th, 2016

Healthcare costs are largely unpredictable and can be exorbitant at times so even after owning a health insurance policy people may find themselves in a fix. Treatment of certain diseases and conditions can cost a significant sum and people are shocked to find that their basic health insurance cover is not just good enough.

Enhancing your basic health care cover is clearly an obvious way to deal with such a situation; however this may not be practical and affordable for most individuals. The premium burden will rise notably and be out of reach for the common man.

To rescue people from this dilemma health insurance plan companies have tailored top up plans. Such plans aim to help a common man to cost effectively deal with undesirable and tormenting healthcare costs. These health top up plans are different from basic health care plans sold by insurance companies. It is most effective when you buy it along with a basic health plan.

How does a Health Top up Plan work?

A health top up plan is different from a basic plan in the sense that it has a very high deductible. The deductible amount can range from INR 1 lakh to INR 5 lakh. A top up plan with a deductible of INR 5 lakhs would reimburse you for hospitalization costs only if the treatment cost exceeds 5 lakhs. The sum assured in a top up plan tells you the maximum amount the policy will reimburse.

These top up plans are particularly very effective in situations where you have to shell out a huge sum for treatment costs and the sum assured offered by your basic plan is just not enough. Assume

a situation where the hospitalization cost run upto INR 15 lakhs and your basic coverage will reimburse you for just INR 5 lakhs. A top up plan which has a deductible of INR 5 lakhs and a sum assured of 10 lakhs will pay all your treatment costs that exceed the deductible amount. So with a top up plan you ensure that you do not run any liability even if treatment costs run high. The best part is that the premium you have to pay for such a top up plan is much less than what you would need to pay had you bought a basic plan that covered you upto INR 15 lakhs.

One important thing worth knowing about top up plans is that these become effective only when the treatment costs during a single hospitalization exceeds the deductible amount. Say, if you undergo two medical treatments costing you INR 3 lakhs and INR 5 lakhs each, you would not be eligible for reimbursement under a top up plan for either of these treatments.

The most efficient way to take advantage of a top up plan is to buy it as a family floater plan and buy basic health coverage individually for each family

[Source: http://bestheathinsurance.blogspot.in/2015/03/health-top-up-plan-cost-effective-way.html]