We are now a year into the Covid-19 pandemic, and it has given us a big insight on why health insurance is a must-have product. Health issues can be unexpected and create a huge financial strain for individuals and families. It is of utmost importance to get a health insurance plan that is mindful of budgets, while also being customisable and considerate of the various needs people will have at different stages of life.
That health insurance is a critical product to have is an indisputable fact, especially these days. But how much health insurance should one get? After all, needs vary, and might change too over the course of a lifetime. To what extent should one be covered? The answer will depend on each individual’s personal factors, such as age, family status, and existing health conditions. Getting the best insurance plan for one’s personal requirements is a critical decision. Ideally, the plan should be feature-rich, affordable, comprehensive, and mindful of customers’ changing needs.
Getting the Right Health Insurance Plan
There is no dearth of insurance products in the market, however I believe that ManipalCigna Lifetime Health plan is the answer to a lot of the current concerns that consumers have. It has been developed with recent uncertainties in mind, taking into consideration increasing incidences of healthcare problems, and also the rising costs.
It’s one of the few plans available in the market today with multiple Sum Insured options ranging from INR 50 lakh to INR 3 crore with a reasonable premium. It also provides comprehensive Domestic and Global coverage for Indian citizens residing in India, to cover treatments however big or small, at home or abroad.
The plan offers certain key features that many consumers will find useful:
Two Variants:
The plan has two variants. The Lifetime Health India Plan provides hospitalisation and related expenses coverage in India. The Lifetime Health Global Plan blends the domestic coverage with global coverage (outside India, within the opted Area of cover), for hospitalisation and related expenses for up to 27 major illnesses.
While both the India and the Global plan are comprehensive in coverage, they share key differences, such as:
The Lifetime Health India Plan is a comprehensive solution for coverage in India whereas Global plan apart from the covarages in India also has coverages outside India like medical evacuation, medical repatriation, repatriation of mortal remains, and global travel vaccine, among others for 27 Major illnesses.
Comprehensive Coverage:
The plan offers a highly comprehensive coverage and highlights the next phase in ManipalCigna’s journey to serve their customers’ needs. The sum insured for domestic and global coverage is separate. For inpatient hospitalisation needs in India, the sum insured up to INR 2 crores covers any room category except suite or higher, whereas sum insured up to INR 3 crores covers any room category, including suite. Under the global coverage, there is no room rent capping for hospitalisation outside India. The plan also provides Unlimited Restoration of Sum Insured for unrelated illnesses for coverages in India, so that customers may never run out of cover.
Assured Support
There is a waiver of premium for one policy year, in case there is an occurrence of any of the covered contingencies. Customers can even enjoy first-of-its-kind continuity benefits on the entire chosen Sum Insured under portability for those with an existing sum insured of INR 10 lakh and above. In this product an adult annual health checkup is also available from the first policy year onwards.
Relationships That the Plan Covers
Individual and floater plans are available for this product. Individual plans cover the self, spouse, children, parents, siblings, parent in laws, grandparents and grandchildren, son in-law and daughter in-law, uncle, aunt, nephew and niece. The floater plans cover the self, spouse, and children up to age 25, parents, and in-laws. It covers a maximum of 2 adults and 3 children under one policy.
Sensitive to Customer Budgets
There are several excellent discounts available to customers of the Lifetime Health Plans, including 5% loyalty discount on applicable renewal premium from 4th to 7th policy year, and 10% loyalty discount on the applicable premium from 8th policy year onwards, every year till lifetime of the insured. A family discounts of 15% (covering 2 or more family members under a single policy), and 3% discount on renewal of premium made on NACH or standing instructions. These discounts keep in mind the financial concerns of the customers during these uncertain times, and ensure that there needn’t be any monetary worries for healthcare.
Personalised Plans
It’s very easy for you to personalise the plan according to your needs, basis changing life stages and priorities. Along with the optional packages like Health+, Women+ and Global+ there is also a critical illness rider.
The Health+ package includes air ambulance cover, expenses towards medical devices and non-medical items, domestic second opinion, bariatric surgery cover, convalescence benefit, major illness Hospi cash, chemotherapy and radiotherapy cash, accidental Hospicash, domestic concierge services, and tele-consultations.
By Women+, female customers can benefit from coverages for screening of breast cancer, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, and osteoporosis, on an annual basis. It also covers the charges of a cervical cancer vaccine up to INR 2,500, and also covers up to 15 out-patient gynecological consultations, and up to 5 out-patient psychiatric/psychological consultations.
Finally, under the Global+ package, customers can avail Global Hospi Cash, Global Convalescence Benefit, and Global Outpatient Expenses for outpatient expenses availed outside India (in the opted Area of Cover). The package also covers Global Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy cash, Global second opinion, and a travel expenses benefit, which provides a cash benefit up to INR 5 lakh in case the insured person travels outside India for treatment of major illnesses.
If a customer opts for the critical illness rider, ManipalCigna will pay a lump sum amount equal to the opted sum insured in case of first diagnosis of the covered Critical Illness.
Additionally, the plan takes an all-round approach to healthcare and covers inpatient hospitalisation for AYUSH, donor expenses, robotic and cyberknife surgery, modern and advanced treatment, HIV/AIDS and STD cover, mental health care, and restoration of sum insured, as part of its in-built features.
Quality Access
With this plan, any customer could rest easy knowing that they have lifetime access to quality healthcare in India and abroad. In today’s uncertain times, this assurance means a lot to customers. There is a sense of fear and insecurity for many people due to Covid-19 and the general atmosphere around the world, so having a reliable health insurance plan is a huge confidence-booster.
Eligibility
This plan is definitely a valuable product for customers, regardless of their healthcare priorities and specific needs. The product has the benefit of high coverage and optional packages that can be customised. Because it covers the needs that people might have at different stages of life, it is natural to wonder about who is eligible for such a broad, feature-rich product.
There is a minimum age at entry of 91 days (for children) and 18 years (for adults). The maximum age at entry is 25 (for children under a floater) and 65 (for adults).
For the Lifetime Health Global plan, the customer should be based in (be a resident of) India at the time of purchase, renewals, and claims. A resident in this context is defined as a person who lives in India for a period of 182/365 days. A foreign national or expat is not eligible for the Global Plan.
Final Thoughts
Choosing the right health insurance plan is a critical decision. It is necessary to pick an insurance that offers multiple built-in benefits and keeps the needs of the customers front-and-centre. ManipalCigna Lifetime Health is a rare product that is able to bring in a wide range of features for customers with various needs and healthcare priorities, and is currently a strong contender for anyone looking to buy a comprehensive healthcare financing solution
Image Credit: outlookindia.com
