Our lives these days are stressful, and that makes us prone to falling sick frequently. If the ailment is diagnosed and treated quickly, that's fine; but what happens when the disease you are identified with has a prolonged diagnosis. Do you think the plain health insurance from your employer is sufficient to cover all your expenses?
Super Top up health insurance solves the problem up to an extent. They provide an extended coverage over and above what your existing health insurance plan would provide. The Super Top-up health insurance policy will also pay your medical bills that exceeds the threshold limit which is pre-defined. This pre-defined limit is nothing but the Deductible.
Let us delve deep and know more why super top up health insurance plans are the need of the day.
1. The flexibility of reimbursements
For instance, you have a health insurance policy provided by your employer. This policy entitles you to have an entitlement of a treatment worth 3 lakh per year.
However, what if you get hospitalized twice in a year? Well, needless to say that your medical bills would rise straight to 5 lakh. Since the health insurance policy provides only 3 lakh entitlement you would have to accommodate the balance 2 lakh from your own pocket.
The solution lies in super top up health insurance plans which cover multiple occurrences of health issues in a year and consider the total amount of claims made.
Let us understand with an example.
Example- Let’s say you have a health insurance policy of 3 lakh and a super top up plan with a cover of 10 lakh sum assured (total coverage 13 lakh). The threshold limit (deductible) of the super top up plan is 3 lakh.
Scenario 1- You have one claim of 3 lakh in a year which the health insurance paid.
Scenario 2- There is one claim of 6 lakh in a year. 3 lakh are paid by health insurance and remaining 3 lakh can be deducted by the super top up plan.
Scenario 3- You filed two claims in a year. One for 3 lakh and the second claim for 4 lakh. First one is covered by your health insurance plan and the second claim is taken care of by your super top up plan.
Scenario 4- Say for instance, you get hospitalized twice in a year. The hospital slaps a bill of 5 lakh during the 1st hospitalization and 6 lakh during the 2nd hospitalization... Now, your health insurance will pay off 3 lakh for settling the bill of 1st hospitalization. The balance amount of 2 lakh would be then paid by your Super top-up health insurance plan. Since the health insurance policy entitlement is now exhausted, the second bill of 6 lakhs is completely fulfilled by the super top up plan.
So if your total bills submitted over a year falls in the threshold coverage promised, all the payments would be made.
2. Low premium costs
While your typical health insurance policy may require you to pay a huge premium amount, the same does not hold true for a Super top up plan. All these plans come with a deductible limit, and hence higher the value, lower would be the premium to be paid.
So in case, your health insurance policy is incapable of paying all your health expenses, the super top up plan does so without much additional cost. Not only that, you can opt for a super top up plan even if you do not have a prior health insurance policy.
3. Option to choose a plan from another provider
If you have a health insurance policy from an insurance company, buying a super top up plan from the same policy is not mandatory. You can always compare and purchase a super top up plan most suitable as per your need.
Doing that gives you the best deal without worrying about any hidden costs. The super top up policies are also made available in individual and floater plans. You just have to figure out which one suits your medical conditions best and choose accordingly.
4. Choice for elderly members of the family
Having an elderly member in your family who is prone to frequent hospitalisations can be a problem with traditional health insurance plan.
In that case, you can always opt for a super top up plan and enjoy the benefits of extended and yearly hospitalisation coverage. Not only that, in case of any emergency, you do not have to worry whether the expenses would be taken care or not.
5. Tax benefits- It is easy to assume that in the case of super top-up you would not get tax benefits, but that is not true. The super top-up plan entitles you for tax benefits under section 80 C making it a cheaper, convenient and beneficial alternative to a normal health insurance policy.
The purpose of having a super top up plan basically, is to safeguard yourself in case your prior health insurance policy does not provide you optimum coverage. This makes it a clear choice for individuals who want to be prepared for any kind of medical exigency in advance.
Learn More: Importance of Medical Insurance for Your Family
To sum it up we can say that a super top up plan does the following for you.
- Provides you extended coverage.
- Tax benefits under Sec80C.
- Works even if there is no health insurance policy available.
- Is extremely well suited for people prone to frequent illness.
To avoid any uncertainty, it is best to opt for a health insurance plan which keeps you prepared for any untoward incident.
Opt for a super top-up plan if you want to live your life carefree without thinking about what may happen next. It is definitely a tool that would enhance your base health insurance policy by offering an increased health insurance cover at a reasonable rate! However, be sure of comparing the available super top up plans online before finally making your choice. This will give you a plan which is not only cheaper but also provides better benefits in comparison to others.
Read More: Why Medical Insurance for Your Parents is Crucial?