How to cut down on your health insurance premium

In a world with the rising trend of lifestyle disorders, high amount of stress and inflating medical costs, having a health insurance is imperative for everyone. It is perhaps even more important in the post-pandemic world where the realisation of the uncertainty of life is a lot more profound than ever before. That is the reason that awareness about the importance of health insurance has been on a rise over the last few years. Moreover, there has also been a trend of increase in the number of policies bought as well as the amount of sum assured.

While many want to go for a health insurance policy to protect themselves and their families, amid rising inflation, they seek ways to save more on their premium cost. Here are a few smart ways you can cut down on premium in your health insurance policy to make it more affordable:

Buy Early: One factor that has the biggest bearing on your health insurance premium is your age. A lot of plans even offer you a discount on buying early. For example, Young Star plan from Star Health Insurance offers a lifelong 5% discount on early purchase. Moreover, the premium of the health insurance policy is higher for those with pre-existing diseases. Since with age, your vulnerability and chances of having ailments like diabetes and hypertension increases, it is best to lock in a low premium rate for the health protection plan when you are healthy and in prime of your life. So the first decision you must take to get a lower premium is to take it now.

Choose Family Floater plans: While health insurance needs differ for each individual, but often, family floater plans are designed to fit in the members of one family. As opposed to an individual cover that protects only a single person, a family-floater plan covers the medical expenses of the entire family. However, it is much lower compared to a situation where you buy an individual plan for each family member. The sum assured under the plan can be used by any family member who needs it due to a medical emergency.

Go For Multi-Year Plan: Many insurers these days offer two to three year health policies where you get a discount on premium as opposed to going for a one year policy, followed by a renewal. Apart from the discount, you are also protected from the hike in premium that may come next year. It is always smart to go for a long-term plan, if the option is available. You can get up to 10 per cent discount by opting for a two-year health insurance policy and up to 15 per cent discount on a three-year policy. You stand to save a lot more on your premium.

Use No Claim Bonus: NCB, or No Claim Bonus, is a great way to get a higher sum insured for a discounted amount. If you make no insurance claim during a policy term, you can avail an additional sum insured as part of your policy for the next policy year without paying any extra premium. These days, most insurers offer NCB which can go almost as high as the sum insured you opted for your base policy. For instance, if you purchase a policy with Rs 10 lakh sum insured and don’t make claims for consecutive years, you may be able to get an additional sum insured of Rs 8-10 lakh over and above the base policy. Of course, this varies from policy to policy, and it is advisable to check beforehand what kind of NCB benefits your policy offers.

Buy Online: Another underrated way to get more value for your money is to purchase your policy online. Online distribution model is usually more cost-effective than the offline channels. So, a part of this benefit is passed on to the policyholders, thus reducing their annual premium liability.

By following these tips, you can easily save more on your premium while ensuring a sufficient coverage for yourself and your family. Use them smartly and make most of your health insurance policy.

(By Amit Chhabra, Head-Health & Travel Insurance, Policybazaar.com)