How to Deal with a Bad Health Insurance Plan?

A health insurance plan is considered a critical investment in today's day and age due to the high return it offers in the long run in the event of a medical emergency. Health insurance policies have evolved to provide various health insurance types with many customizations in various forms. From individual health insurance to family health insurance, along with several additional riders and add-ons, it has been made possible for customers to customize their health insurance policies very specifically to their needs and requirements.

While the market allows you to pick and choose each aspect of your health insurance, this influx of options in the market can also cause an information overload. You might find it difficult to select the best health insurance plan for you amid the sea of options. So, what happens if you get stuck with a lousy health insurance plan? In this article, we will take a look at what constitutes bad health insurance, how to avoid getting a bad health insurance plan, and how to deal with it.

What Makes Up a Bad Health Insurance Plan?

Many factors could objectively categorize your health insurance plan as 'bad health insurance'. Such factors include:

1. The Claim to Settlement Ratio:

If your insurance provider's claim to settlement ratio is low, it means that there is a higher chance of you not receiving your cover at the time of need. If one is not able to avail of their health insurance plan when required, then it would constitute being a bad health insurance plan.

2. Sub-Limits:

Another factor could be sub-limits, which limit the coverage your provider offers for different services. Generally, a good health insurance plan will not have too many sub-limits that function as hidden costs, while a bad health insurance plan will.

3. The Waiting Period:

In a medical emergency, time is the key essence.  Given that most hospitals are unlikely to begin treatment before receiving at least part payment of the medical fees, a bad health insurance plan would have long waiting periods for payments to clear for treatments of certain diseases.

How to Deal with a Bad Health Insurance Plan?

1. Adjust your Plan:

If you are wondering how to deal with a bad health insurance plan because you do not have adequate cover, you can increase your sum insured to the amount you require. One must note that this increase in the sum insured comes with additional premiums.

2. Port your Plan:

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has made a provision that allows customers to solve their problem of dealing with bad health insurance by porting their insurance to a different insurance provider under a different plan that is better tailored to their satisfaction.

3. Top-Up Plans:

Similar to increasing your sum insured to deal with bad health insurance, one can avail of top-up plans. This offers customers an additional cover over and above the original cover of their health insurance plan.

Conclusion:

A more accurate description of what constitutes bad health insurance would be a plan that is not best suited to your needs. While a health insurance plan might not be considered ‘bad’ in an objective setting, it is likely that in your scenario, it is a bad health insurance plan if it does not cater to your needs. One can employ a number of the aforementioned options to make up for their bad health insurance. However, if all else fails, you can always get a new health insurance plan entirely. You can choose to switch to a new insurance provider or opt for a different plan under the same provider that better suits your health and medical needs.