Buying a policy at the right time is the key between big savings and huge losses

While in today’s unpredictable times, many have realised the relevance of having a good Mediclaim or health insurance policy, what people still fail to understand is that the decision made at the right time can save them for any hassle that may arise due to delay. As you grow older, your policy premium increases, and that’s the reason it is always a wise decision to take the policy early on in life. Remember, problems never come knocking! The ailment you might require the policy for, can erupt any time without giving any prior notice. And it would be unfortunate in that case that the disease for which one gets hospitalised may come under the waiting period, making them more expensive, and hard to crack.

Decoding the waiting period

All the policies have a waiting period of 2-3 years for listed ailments as per terms of the policy. The waiting period means that any disease which falls in the listed ailments that occurs between those periods will not be admissible for the claim, and can result in rejection of the claim by the insurance company. All the Mediclaim policies mostly have 2 waiting periods: 30 days and 2 years. In 30 days, no disease would be covered except ailments like Dengue, Malaria or any accidental claims. The list of the ailment which are not covered for 2 years ranges from cataract, hernia, neuro disorders, joint replacements, surgery for prostate and many more ailments.

Relevance of waiting period   

Waiting period is kept by all insurance companies because the policy offered can’t be used for any pre-existing disease/condition diagnosed at the time of buying the policy, of which the company would not like to bear the expenses.

Delay, no more   

And thus, any delay in finalising the policy can deny you the rightful claim as any admission for the disease within the listed diseases even a day before the 24 months can result in denial of the claim.

Causes of delay

While procrastination is the most common cause of delay in buying a Mediclaim policy, there are other reasons as well:

Comparison mode: Basing the buying decision on ‘the best bet at best price’.

Collective decision: Basing the decision not on your own needs, but on ‘word of mouth’.

Corporate call: Basing the decision on existing ‘on-the-job corporate policy’.

Calling it age: Basing the decision on ‘I am young; I have time’.

Delay might mean denial   

The biggest learning from the pandemic has been the fact that any disease or ailment has no age. The world saw many youngsters succumbing to various Covid-related disease. It also brought to the fore the fact that buying a policy once you are detected of any ailment can be a task. You may have to either pay a higher premium once the disease is detected, or worse, you may even be denied a policy. Thus, buying a policy when you are healthy is the best thing to do rather than being sorry for the rest of your life.