Health insurance: Top-5 new features you should know

Health insurance is one area in India that is constantly transforming and becoming more customer friendly over the last few years. There are many insurance companies that provide a variety of plans at competitive premiums. Here are five new-age features of health insurance plans in India.

1) Free medical check-up

The medical check-up is a win-win situation for both the policyholder and the insurer. Many insurance companies provide a free annual health check-up. Such features were earlier associated with a group insurance plan.

2) Coverage for alternative treatment

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) has already issued guidelines that clearly stated the health insurance plans can provide coverage against alternative treatments like Unani, Siddha, and Ayurveda. So, the coverage is not restricted to allopathic medicine alone. While comparing features of health insurance in India, you can keep this option in mind.

3) In-house treatment coverage

Newer medical plans are offering the coverage of domiciliary treatment. So, when you compare the features of health insurance in the country, you must look for this benefit.

Domicilliary treatment refers to a condition when the patient cannot be shifted to a hospital or no beds are available at the hospital to shift the patient and the treatment has to be done at home.

4) Maternity expenses

Until a few years ago, getting coverage for maternity expenses meant paying a high premium. But new-age health insurance plans include all kinds of maternity expenses, including C-section deliveries, labour pain, etc. Some insurance plans also cover the new-born baby for a specific period.

5) E-KYC

Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, social distancing has become a norm. As healthcare experts are advising minimal human interactions, digital assistance and e-KYC (e-Know Your Customer) is an excellent feature. This option allows you to buy or renew a policy or file a complaint, request a claim from the comfort of your home.

Bottom line

Apart from the above-mentioned features, you can also look for other features like coverage against day care treatment, pre and post-hospitalisation coverage, air-ambulance cover, waiver of premium, restoration of sum insured, etc.