3 Important Add-Ons To Consider When Buying A Health Insurance Plan

The only way to secure yourself against heavy medical expenses during an illness is by having a proper health insurance plan in place. Now, the base health insurance plan that you buy might often prove to be insufficient as there are many medical expenses that may not get covered. In order to secure yourself even better, you need to supplement your health insurance plan with add-ons. 

What are add-ons in health insurance?

Add-ons are extra benefits that you can opt in for when you buy health insurance. These extra benefits help in supplementing the coverage offered by the insurer in their base health insurance plan. Add-ons are also often called riders. 

What add-ons should I buy with my health insurance plan?

Now, the exact add-ons that you should opt for really depend on your unique needs. However, there are certain add-ons that can benefit almost everyone. Here, we take a look at 3 such add-ons that might prove useful for you. 

1. Personal accident cover

Accidents can happen to any of us no matter how careful we try to be. The personal accident add-on covers you against accidental death and injuries. The exact extent of coverage can vary between insurers. You may also opt to buy a standalone personal accident insurance plan. Remember that if anything unfortunate happens to you, your family members may have to incur heavy bills due to debt and other daily expenses. Having the backing of this add-on can, thus, bring great peace of mind. 

2. Daily hospital cash

This add-on provides the insured individual with a fixed sum of cash per day of hospitalisation. The amount of cash you will get paid will be outlined in your plan. The amount gets paid out as long as you get hospitalised for the minimum timeframe defined by the insurer (usually around 24 hours). For instance, if your daily hospital cash is Rs 2000 per day, you will get paid this amount for each day of hospitalisation up to the number of days specified in your health insurance policy. This amount can be used for a variety of expenses that arise during hospitalisation such as the transportation costs incurred by family members, extra meals that are not covered, and other expenses that may not be covered by your health insurance. 

3. Critical illness add-on

A critical illness add-on is a rider that is exclusively designed to cover critical illnesses. If you have this rider, you get paid a lump sum benefit if you are diagnosed with a critical illness. You can use this lump sum benefit as you deem fit. Critical illnesses insurance that generally get covered include cancer, kidney failure requiring dialysis, end stage lung failure, permanent limb paralysis, major organ transplant, and end stage liver failure among other conditions. The number of conditions covered can vary between health insurance plans. This add-on is immensely helpful as you can use the payout for any expense that comes your way during your illness. You can use it to keep your home running, afford any gaps in your health insurance, and so on. 

We hope that this article has helped improve your understanding of add-ons in health insurance. Do make sure to explore all options of suitable add-ons when researching health insurance plans for yourself. Take care.