Top Up Health Insurance
Top up health Insurance means that type of insurance that offers coverage in case the sum insured of your current medical insurance policy gets exhausted at the time of hospitalization. Basically, this insurance policy provides additional coverage offered by health insurance companies at the time of medical emergency. This insurance policy is also known as an add on policy. This policy has lots of additional benefits at the lowest premium.
In case your current medical policy has a sum assured limit of 5 Lakh and you take a top up plan of Rs. 5 Lakh. At the time of hospitalization, your existing sum assured is exhausted then you can use your top up plan. So, if you have registered a claim of Rs. 9 Lakh then your basic sum assured of Rs. 5 Lakh will be used from policy primary policy and the remaining Rs.4 Lakh will be used from your top up health insurance plan. And if the claim you file is more than 10 Lakh then the remaining amount shall be paid from your own pocket.
If you are felling your existing health insurance policy coverage is not sufficient for medical emergencies, then you opt for top up health insurance. It offers an additional sum insured to help you at the time of financial emergencies and unforeseen medical emergencies. This insurance policy is the most affordable health plan.
The top up plan is not only for a particular event, not hospitalization you can use it any time during the year after your primary policy sum insured is exhausted.
What is covered in a Top-up Health Insurance Plan?
- In-patient Hospitalization: All medical expenses are covered by the insurance company at the time of hospitalization. If an insured person is hospitalized for more than 24 hours, the insurance company will pay the whole expenses of hospital bills.
- Pre-hospitalization Expenses: It means the expenses before you are admitted to the hospital are named as pre-hospitalization expenses. For example – X-ray, MRI, blood test, urine tests, OPD, etc. are covered.
- Post-hospitalization Expenses: It means all expenses of an individual after he or she is hospitalized are named as post-hospitalization Expenses. For example, medicines or any medical tests that are done after the discharge to check the improvement of a patient are covered in this policy, all the medicines & OPD visits.
Day care treatment: Day care treatments mean that treatments that do not require 24 hours of hospitalization.
Ambulance Charges: Company pays ambulance charges in case of an emergency. The expenses of the emergency ambulance charges are as per in your policy.
Recharge Benefit: In this, you get an additional sum insured without any extra premium.
What Does a Top-Up Health Insurance Plan Offer?
The top up health insurance plan offers coverage for hospitalization expenses. Benefits of buying top up health insurance – accident cover, hospital cash, critical illness, day care treatment, ambulance charges, etc. You can purchase top up health insurance with bank policy, corporate policy or basic policy. Basically, top-up health insurance is like an add on policy it adds additions sum insured. The only difference is the cost of deductibles that make these plans easy-on pocket. Means, the plans work once your deductible amount (i.e. old policy Sum Insured) is exhausted.
Features of Top up Health Insurance Plan
- Easily adaptable to a basic health insurance plan
- This health insurance has less premium amount
- If you have a family health insurance plan or individual health insurance plan or any other plan you can get top up health insurance plan easily
- No restrictions and limits are applicable at the of hospitalization this insurance full fill all expenses like fees charged by the medical practitioner, room rent, doctor fee, surgeries, etc.
- This includes the policyholder, spouse, dependent parents, and children up to a specified limit or depends on an insurance company your choice.
- There is a free-look period of 15 days from the date of policy purchase.
- The lifelong renewal option is provided
- Pre and post hospitalization expenses are covered in this policy
- Ambulance Charges in this insurance policy
- Accidental cover from the first day of the policy
- Top up health insurance plan provider covers all medical expenses at the time of hospitalization based on the premium paid.
- Tax Benefits on the insurance premium paid under section 80/D of the Income Tax
- Act
Why Top-up Plan is Important?
As the diseases and hospital costs are increasing. Top up plan is very cheaper and provides high sum insured. Buying Top up is better than increasing your sum insured in your current policy. Because if you increase your sum insured in the current policy you have to wait for 3 to 4 years to get the claim on pre existing diseases but in case of top up plan the waiting period of pre-existing diseases is 1 year.
Top 5 Benefits of Top Up Health Insurance
- Maternity Benefit
- Additional Sum Insured
- No Room / ICU Capping
- Pre & Post 60 and 90 Days
- No Medical Test
Can I Buy Top Up Policy with Bank Policy?
Yes, you can buy top up health insurance with bank policy. Do you know you cannot port your bank policy into private policy. You have to buy a new policy in case of the bank tie-up with health insurance company breaks or bank policy premium increases. In such a case you have two options, either to continue the policy with the same company with whatever premium they charge or buy a new policy. If you want to buy a new insurance policy with less premium you have followed a waiting period clause of 4 years for pre-existing disease and 2 year clause for a specific disease. Avoiding such situations, you can buy top up health insurance plans under which you can convert your top up policy to primary policy without any waiting period.
Can I Buy Top Up Policy with Corporate Policy?
Yes, you can buy top up health insurance with corporate policy. It is a policy that is designed for your company only. Once you change your company you will not get any benefit or with a limited sum insured you can face issues. So, in such a case along with corporate policy, you can buy a primary health policy or a Top up policy which will work as a backup policy. Because you can convert it to the primary policy after 5 years. In such a case you will be free from a waiting period of 4 years (pre-existing disease) and a waiting period of 2 years (specific disease).