We all know the importance of having health insurance coverage to stay protected against the heavy expenses of medical emergencies. The modern health insurance policy is extremely wholesome in its design. Leading insurers offer coverage not only for hospitalisation costs but also for day care procedures, AYUSH, and pre-and post-hospitalisation expenses.
Now, you might have come across certain people who have coverage from more than a single health insurance policy. You may wonder whether having multiple policies holds any benefits. For instance, if your employer has you covered under group health insurance at work, do you still need to take out your own individual policy?
To be completely honest, you may benefit from having more than one policy to cover you. Let’s take a look at some of the main benefits of being covered by more than one health insurance policy.
- Enjoy coverage from different insurance providers
If you are unsure about choosing between two health insurance providers, you may consider taking coverage from each of them for a year or so and comparing the benefits. This way, you will be able to adequately examine which insurance company provides better quality in terms of customer service, value-added benefits, and so on.
- Cost-effective way to increase coverage
We do know that increasing your sum insured will also lead to an increase in the premium that you pay. Sometimes, it may fall cheaper to widen your coverage by buying two health insurance policies with lower cover limits and affordable premiums rather than taking one policy with a high cover limit and a high premium. However, do keep in mind that having two health insurance policies does not guarantee that you will get a 100% reimbursement. You might still face deductibles and co-pay on each of your claims as per each individual insurer’s terms.
- Helps stay protected against claims getting denied
If you have two health insurance policies, you can try to raise a claim with the second insurer if the first one is unable to process your claim for some reason. For instance, maybe you need to raise a claim for a particular health issue not covered under one health insurance policy. You can always opt to buy a second policy that does offer coverage for that issue without forgoing the policy you already have from the first insurer.
- Ensures continuity of coverage
This benefit is applicable in three major scenarios. First, if you already have health insurance coverage through your employer, you might want to take a private policy too just to keep yourself continuously covered. If you change jobs, your employer’s health insurance protection will lapse but your private health insurance policy will continue to safeguard you. Second, if you have two private health insurance policies and one health insurance policy lapses, you still stay covered under the other one until you renew the first. Thirdly, if your two policies are an individual health insurance plan and a family floater health insurance plan and the family floater claim limit has been exhausted, you can still continue to enjoy protection on your individual health insurance policy.
Do keep in mind that when buying a second health insurance policy, you need to inform the insurance provider that you are already covered under another health insurance plan. You also need to inform both insurance companies if you make claims for a single hospitalisation with both of them. For further details on making claims with two health insurance policies, do speak to your insurance provider(s).
We hope that this article has helped you learn a bit more about having multiple health insurance policies. These days, you can easily buy health insurance online from the comfort of your home or office. So, make sure to always keep your coverage renewed to stay protected. Take care and good luck!