With the healthcare costs skyrocketing health insurance has become an essential product for everyone today. But deciding on which product to buy and from which company is very difficult. One should properly research the various products available and compare them basis the various benefits provided and the premium before deciding on buying any plan.An adequate health insurance coverage is the basic fundamental requirement. Don’t fall for cheaper plans which will also offer you a lesser sum insured as it might not be sufficient when it comes to getting a treatment done in your choice of hospital, rising medical inflation and rising health care costs.

Look for these important factors before you finalize a health insurance plan for self:
1) Limits on Room Rent: Look for insurance plans which either do not have any room rent restrictions or offer single rooms as options. Most of the plans have a restriction on Room Rent as a percent of sum insured, and in vase you avail a room higher the entire bill gets reduced in proportion to the extra rent availed leading to huge out of pocket expense
2)No Claim Bonus: No claim bonus is extra diminished that is added as a reward for every claim free year at same premium. Different insurers increase the same by different percent of the sum insured every year till a maximum limit. So it is important to check how much is the NCB offered. Also the NCB may decrease in same proportion of increase in vase of claims or may remain unaffected. Please check all these before deciding the plan.
3)Sum insured Restoration: Many insurers offer complete restoration of the sum insured once in a year in case same is exhausted during the policy year at no extra cost. This is usually available for all claims other than for 1st disease for which same has been used. Choose a plan which offers this benefit.
4)Co-Payment : Look out for Copayment clause in the plans. Copayment means that for every claim you will have to bear a part of the expense out of your pocket. For example if your policy has a 10 percent copay clause and hospital bill is 10,000 nsirancr company will pay 9000 and the remaining 1000 will have to be paid by you. So choose a plan with no co-payment clause.
5)Sublimits: Some insurance plans have limits built in for certain disease and procedures. Thanks way the insurance company is liable to pay less than the total sum insured for these. Common example is a sublimity on cataract claims. Look out for sublimity and buy plans without any sublimity.
6)Waiting periods: Last but not the least look out for the waiting period clauses. There are usually the standard 30 day waiting period by all insurers. Then there are the specific disease waiting period ranging from 1 year to 3 years and last the waiting period for pre existing diseases which range from 1 year to 4 years. Look for policies with minimum waiting periods.

Happy buying!!!!