Is your health insurance sufficient?

NEW DELHI: When Anuj, 39, a software professional, took a health insurance for his family, he thought it would be sufficient for the three members at home. It seemed perfect, with `2 lakh cashless cover provided by his employers.The real shock came when he was diagnosed with lung cancer. The health insurance had no medical cover for critical illnesses.  The incidental expenses were too much to be covered by his health insurance. Also, switching to a freelancer job due to his health condition took away the cover provided by his employer, when he needed it the most. He had no option but to bank on his future savings and investments for balancing his budget.

Most of us construe that buying a health insurance and having cashless cover is enough to deal with medical emergencies. Planning for your health and medical emergencies go beyond that, you must keep certain things in mind before paying a hefty premium for health insurance.

A separate policy
It is always advisable to have a separate health insurance apart from the cover provided by your employer. An individual plan ensures you are sufficiently insured even when you are in and out of jobs, and in case your office policy is not enough.

Critical illness
Check if your health insurance provide for critical illnesses. If it is not covered by your plan, then either upgrade it or buy a separate plan for critical illnesses, which covers ailments like cancer or other life-threatening diseases. Standalone cancer plans are typically fixed benefit plans. These aim to provide a fixed payout in case the insured is diagnosed with cancer and also cover stroke, heart attack and kidney ailments, among others.

Preventive healthcare
Prevention is better than cure. You must have additional funds for preventive healthcare. Go for periodical health check-ups. Your Health Plan must be updated according to your age, which ensures early detection of any disease, including signs of lifestyle diseases.