Health care expenses are increasing at a breakneck speed in India. People with various ailments shell out a huge amount of money every year for several different diagnostic tests and lengthy treatments. More often than not, illnesses occur accidentally and hardly give people any scope to arrange for the required money. With soaring medical costs, even ordinary ailments can burn a huge hole in the pocket of common people in India. Skyrocketing medical expenses coupled with unhealthy lifestyles make the scenario even worse. Of late, an increasing number of people in India require immediate medical attention. And the possibility of a life-threatening illness well and truly calls for an urgent need of financial protection in time of medical emergency. Health insurance is that financial protection you can avail to counter rapidly rising medical expenses. By buying the best health insurance policies in India, you can keep yourself and your family members financially protected from any unexpected health hazards.

In India, there are chiefly 4 types of health insurance plans available at present. You need to compare and choose the best health insurance policies in India as per your requirement and budget.

Individual Health Insurance Policy

As the name suggests, individual health insurance policies are designed to meet the medical expenses of an individual. For an example, if you opt for this type of health policy with sum assured amount of Rs. 5 Lakh, you can claim up to Rs.5 Lakh if you fall sick and the disease is covered under your health policy.

Family Floater Health Insurance Policies

This type of health insurance plan is meant to cover an entire family. The sum assured amount can be shared among all family members under the policy. For an example, If you opt for a family floater health insurance policy with sum assured amount of Rs. 5 Lakh to keep your family of 4 members protected, all four members are entitled to make claims till the exhaustion of the total sum assured. If you make a claim of Rs. 1 Lakh, the other 3 members are still eligible to claim the rest of Rs. 4 Lakh to cover their hospitalization charges.

Senior Citizen Health Insurance Policy

These types of health insurance policy take care of the medical needs of senior citizens. In early days, health insurance companies in India didn't have any health policy in store for the people in advanced age. However, many health insurance companies in India nowadays have come up with beneficial and cost-effective health policies to safeguard senior citizens.

Critical Illness Policy

This type of health insurance policy offer monetary protection against expenses for treatment of some specific life-threatening critical ailments like cancer, massive heart attack and the likes. Policyholders are usually provided with one-time lump sum payouts once they are diagnosed with any of the critical illness mentioned in the policy. Critical illness plans are available both as standalone health policies and as an add-on to a standard health plan. One can compare the merit of both types of plans and choose the more advantageous one.

In India, people those who want to avail high quality treatment without having to make a dent in their savings seek medical insurance coverage. The cover offered by a health plan is not only limited to an individual as there are also many family floater plans available in India. Most people in India are entitled to purchase health insurance online except those who health insurance companies consider with too high risk. However, there are certain age limits to enter into health insurance coverage and for health insurance renewal.

Proposers' entry age

Typically, children are covered in medical insurance plans bought by their parents after 3 months or from 91 days until years. However, children are considered as dependents till 25 years in India.

Maximum age for health insurance renewal

Top health insurance companies in India offer lifetime renewal option to their policyholders. However, after a certain age most health insurance providers ask for a medical check-up in order to renew health policy.

The coverage on offer varies from one health insurer to another. You can compare different health insurance policies offered by different insurers in terms of coverage options. A comprehensive health insurance policy normally covers the following medical expenses;

• All expenses during hospitalization (minimum 24 hours)
• Donors' expenses in case of organ transplant of insured
• Ambulance charges
• Daycare procedures
• Pre/Post-hospitalization costs
• Domiciliary hospitalization
• Health check-up expense
• Daily cash during hospitalization
• Maternity/newborn expenses (conditions applicable)
• Pre-existing diseases (conditions applicable)

If you want to widen the coverage of your existing health insurance policy, you can opt for add-on covers or top-up health insurance plans. You need to pay additional premium to enhance the existing coverage of the health policy provided by your health insurer. These add on covers offer benefits like newborn vaccination cover or critical illness cover etc. Top-up health insurance plans also come handy when the coverage of the base health insurance policy gets exhausted.

There is no health plan that covers anything under the sun. All health policies come with a fixed set of exclusions set by the companies. Typically, the following are the exclusions of a regular comprehensive health insurance plan;

• The policy coverage becomes effective usually after 30 days from inception.
• Most companies impose a 2-4 years waiting period for pre-existing conditions and other specified diseases
• Some health insurance companies don't cover expenses pertaining to maternity and new-born babies
• All health insurance companies operating in India don't cover ailments and injuries as a consequence of war, Nuclear risks, terrorism, civil unrest, attempts to suicide and the likes
• Health insurance plans usually don't cover HIV, STDs and related illnesses
• Most health insurance companies don't cover unconventional and non-allopathic treatments
• Medical policies in India don't provide coverage for cosmetic or plastic surgeries or procedures for sex change and hormonal replacements
• Most health insurance companies don't include optical and dental procedures and treatments for psychiatric and genetic disorders.
• If Treatment takes place outside India, health insurance companies in India don't cover its expenses
• If the treatment is carried out by medical professionals who are not unqualified

You should always check the exclusions to assess how adequate is the coverage of your chosen health policy. You can also compare the set of exclusions of your plan with exclusions of other plans to find a plan with least number of exclusions.

There is no dearth of quality health insurers in India. However, all health policy providers are not equal in terms of reputation, claim settlement, customer service and other aspects. Here is a list of top 5 standout health insurers in India that surpass all other health insurance companies in India. You can compare these esteem health insurers in all aspects and make the deal with the best of them.

Max Bupa Health Insurance Company

Max Bupa Health Insurance Company is a top notch provider of an array of health insurance plans. The company offers unique benefits in their health policy package such as lifelong renewal option and coverage for room rent without sub-limits. Max Bupa is highly sought after health insurance company in India and the reputed insurer has also won quite a few awards. The Heartbeat policy is the most highly acclaimed health policy on offer at Max Bupa.

Apollo Munich Health Insurance Company

The Apollo Munich Health Insurance Company came into existence after the merger between Munich Health and The Apollo Hospitals Group. What sets this health insurance company apart from other providers is all its health policies come with comprehensive coverage. When it comes to cashless treatment facility, this health insurer carries out a bespoke service by authorizing most of the cashless claims within a few hours. No wonder, the company boasts more than 80% renewal rate as it keeps its policyholders satisfied.

Star Health Insurance Company

This health insurance provider is the first in the list of standalone health insurance companies in India. The network of this company is enormous as it has more than 7,000 network hospitals across India. Moreover, the company boasts an in-house claim settlement team. The rate of cashless claims approved by this provider is as high as 90% as a result of the direct claim settlement process. The Company also won the award for Health Insurance Company of the Year 2015. This leading health insurance provider is also known for its customer oriented activities.

ICICI Lombard Health Insurance Company

ICICI Lombard Health Insurance Company is also a renowned name in India's health insurance space. This provider's range of network hospital is also massive as it facilitates cashless treatment benefits in more than 3200 hospitals in India. The speed at which they resolve claims is also impressive. The company approves reimbursement claims in just 14 days. ICICI Lombard is popular for its package of comprehensive health insurance policies that offer protection even in overseas countries.

Religare Health Insurance Company

When it comes to comprehensive network of hospitals all over India, Religare is not far behind the big shots in health insurance market. The company offers cashless treatment facility in over 4100 hospitals across India. Another USP of this health insurance provider is they settle claims directly. This helps the company maintain customer satisfaction and retain its customers as well. Being one of the top health insurance providers, its package of health policies come with riders to provide additional coverage.

Selecting the right health insurance company is far from being easy in India as all health insurance providers offer seemingly identical plans and there is not much of difference in the premiums of health policies as well. However, there are some crucial factors that make a few companies standout. Here are some of the factors that you should keep into account and you should compare health insurance companies on the basis of these crucial factors to make an informed choice of the right health insurance provider out of a plethora of companies.

Financial stability of the company

Your first and foremost concern is to find out financially how strong these companies are. You want your claim to be paid without any delay and so you should choose a health insurance company that has enough financial strength to pay all claims and other risks. You can compare all insurers to trace out the most stable insurer financially.

Reputation of the company

There is some health insurers in India with history of consistent performance that has made them reputed. If you check out these providers you will see that these companies excel in some aspects or the other; be it claim settlement or operations.

Claims settlement rate of the company

Quite similar to previous factor, your chosen health insurance company should have a satisfactory record of claim settlement ratio. By choosing such a company you can rest assured that your investments are in safe hands and you will get your claims approved and paid within a short period of time. You can compare the performance of the companies in settling claims to pick the best insurer in terms of claim settlement record.

Customer service

You should also factor in the performance of the company in terms of its customer service while selecting the best health insurer in India. Companies that offer value-added services such as claim process assistance, policy renewal reminder to make things convenient for its customers are the ones you need to consider.

Aside from the regular coverage provided by health insurance policies, health insurers also offer several different types of benefits to make their health policies more comprehensive. You can compare benefits on offer by different health plans to pick the most beneficial health policy. Here are some of the added benefits that come along with the normal coverage;

• No-Claim Bonuses
• Loyalty discounts
• Family discounts
• Cashless treatment facility
• Sum assured restoration
• Co-payments/Deductibles
• Free medical check-up
• Daily cash during hospitalization
• Maternity/newborn expenses (conditions applicable)
• Pre-existing diseases (conditions applicable)

Along with these additional benefits, health insurers also provide their policyholders with some vital value-added services as well. Here are few of them;

• Round-the-clock customer support
• Online health insurance renewal and application facility
• Lifetime health insurance renewal online
• Policy renewal reminder
• Quick claim settlement

Buying a health insurance plan is not a 2 minutes task. You need to understand the limitations of health policies and look for ways to make the most of the benefits on offer. It is always to take time to compare all available plans on the basis of features and benefits.

Lifetime Renewability

The first and foremost factor you have to consider while buying health insurance policies is the longevity of coverage. You should look to avail a health plan that offers protection throughout your life as you would want your health policy to work during your advanced years. So, you should opt for a health plan that you can renew lifelong.

Waiting Period applicable for pre-existing diseases

Pre-existing ailments are defined as conditions or illnesses that a person suffers from prior to buying health insurance policy. Typically, health plans don't cover these pre-existing diseases from day one of the policy period. You can compare health policies in terms of waiting period which usually ranges between 2-4 years. When you select a health policy you need to check the waiting period and pick the plan that takes less time to cover pre-existing diseases.

Co-pay option

Co-pay is another important clause that you have to manage well. Essentially it is a fixed amount that you choose at the time of buying health insurance and you have to pay as a part of the total hospital bill in time of a claim. Your health insurer will pay the rest of the hospital bill. For an example, if you go for 10% co-pay, it means for an Rs 1,000 claim, you have to pay Rs 10 for every Rs. 100 claim while your insurer will pay the rest Rs. 90. If you don't want to spend money during a claim you can refrain from choosing co-pay option.

Rent of the hospital room

You need to choose a room for hospitalization. In order to get the best treatment you would invariably want a private room with advanced facilities. But the room rent limit of your health policy might restrict you from availing the best room in the hospital. So, your chosen health cover should come with higher limit on room rent per day. You can compare all available plans to find a policy with no limit on rent of the room.

In order to trace out the best health insurance policy online you can compare health insurance plans in India on the basis of various parameters. For an example, you can compare health insurance plans in terms of the premiums to find out the most affordable health plan available in India. To locate health plans with best coverage you can also compare health insurance policies on the basis of the available sum assured amount.

With the widespread internet usage all over India, now you can compare health insurance online without having to pay visit to all brick and mortar outlets of health insurers in India.

• If you opt for online health insurance quotes comparison. You can select the most cost-effective insurer and save money in the process. By choosing to compare health policy quotes online you can save time and effort.
• If you compare health insurance policies online and select one you can pay for reduced premiums as there would be no agent with his share of commission that would otherwise increase the premiums of health plans.

GIBL.IN not only offers free health insurance quotes to let you compare premiums and detailed information about various health insurance policies but also provide a number of value-added services such as free policy renewal reminder, online chat support, online glossary and free insurance consultation. Buying a health insurance policy is effortless when you resort to India's premiere online insurance marketplace, GIBL.IN.

Be well aware of your budget

Although, a comprehensive health insurance plan with a host of features is on your wishlist, you should consider your budget for premium you have to pay. Again, you need to choose features discreetly so that the plan remains comprehensive and the premium remains affordable as well.

Understand your requirements

Proper understanding of what you actually seek from your health insurance policy is of utmost importance. There is a myriad of health policies offering a plethora of coverage, however, you need to ascertain what you need and find a health cover that has everything you need in store. You should steer clear of expensive health plans with features you hardly require.

Enhance coverage for Critical Illness

While picking the best health insurance policy, you should focus on enhancing coverage for critical illnesses such as stroke, cancer as the cost of treatment of these life-threatening ailments is very high.

Terms and conditions a must-read

Do not forget or skip this part of your health policy document even if you find it boring. You should always go through the terms and conditions minutely to find out the exclusions and to be well informed about the definitions of certain insurance terms. After reading the fine prints of your policy you will have clear idea of what's on offer and what's not.

The health insurance premium depends on many crucial factors. Here are some of the most vital factors that influence the premiums of a health policy.

Age of the applicants

One of the most influential factors in determining health insurance premiums is the age of the insured person. People with advanced age impose high risk to health insurers in India. Hence, premiums for health policy are likely to be higher in case of elderly people.

Pre-existing ailments of applicants

All applicants need to submit documents referring to their own health conditions. Many people who apply for health policy already have some ailments or medical conditions. A health insurer in India either rejects their application or charge high premiums.

Family medical history of applicants

If the family members of the applicant have history of certain ailments like heart diseases the insurer will trigger higher premiums for that applicant.

BMI of applicants

Applicants with higher BMI usually pay higher premiums. Again, the reason is high risk associated with the applicants as they are more prone to serious ailments like cardiac problems, diabetes. Thus higher BMI trigger increased premium rates.

Habit of applicants

All health insurers in India charge higher premium for their health policies if applicants have unhealthy habit like chewing tobacco or smoking. Since these applicants are at high health risks they have to pay high premiums.

The premiums of health insurance covers depend on a lot of factors. If you take those factors into account you can be able to reduce the health policy premium considerably. Here are some steps to minimize the premiums of medical covers available in India.

Buy health insurance at a young age

If you buy health insurance online at an early age, you have to pay less as many a health insurer rises the premiums of their health covers as the age of the applicant increases. The reason being, with increasing age the health risk also increases and with increased health risk increases the health policy premium.

Opt for a health cover with two-year tenure

Your health insurance premiums will definitely reduce if you opt for a policy with two years of tenure. Some of the best health insurers in India like Apollo Munich, Star Health offer two-year health covers. Apart from the reduction on premiums these new health insurance plans also offer many other benefits.

Look for no claim bonuses on policy renewal

This is a good ploy to bring down health insurance renewal premiums. You are eligible for NCB if you don't lodge any claim in a policy year and this NCB helps reduce the premiums in the subsequent year. So, you need to ensure beforehand that your insurer offers NCB on its health insurance policies. Apart from minimizing premiums NCB can also be used to enhance the existing coverage of your health policy.

Opt for a health cover with co-payment option

By choosing to go for co-payment option you can also minimize the premiums of your health insurance policy. At the time of a claim you need to pay the amount chosen by you and your health insurer will pay the rest. Most health insurance companies in India offer co-pay option in the range of 10-25%. If you are fit and healthy you can surely go for it.

Enhance coverage with top up health insurance plans

If your existing mediclaim coverage does not fulfill your needs, purchase top up health insurance plans that best fit your needs. Such a plan gets activated when you have exhausted your basic coverage. It not only cuts premium amount, but also ensures that you have sufficient health insurance coverage.

Manage sub-limits of your health cover well

If your chosen health policy comes with sub-limits on various aspects of coverage, you can manage them wisely to reduce premiums. You can opt out sub-limits for critical ailments as the cost of treatment for life-threatening diseases like cancer, heart-attack is higher. Instead, you can opt for sub-limits for less severe medical issues knee replacement, hernia operation. If you suffer from these ordinary ailments you can pay from your own pocket once the expenses go past sub-limit. This can have your premiums reduced significantly.

Instead of jumping at a particular health cover in haste, you should take time to compare health insurance covers in terms of coverage and premiums. While comparing health plans you can sort the cost-effective policies out from a myriad of health insurance plans.

If you decide to purchase health insurance online you can save on premiums as well. By buying a health insurance policy in the conventional manner you have to pay more as distribution and processing charges get added with the premiums costs.

An increasing number of people are seeking health insurance online these days. Since the process of finding the best health insurance policy online comes with benefits like convenience, speed and a wealth of information at one place, the trend is here to stay and not a mere fad. Gone are the days when you have to spend days if not weeks for gathering information about each health insurance company. At GIBL.IN you can effortlessly gain detailed information about all health insurance policy providers operating in India are it health insurance companies' background and performance or their product offerings. Buying the best health insurance policy online is the way to go as it provides health cover seekers with the following benefits;

Say goodbye to lengthy traditional process

If you decide to avail health insurance online you don't have to pay visits to offices of each and every health insurer which might take weeks. Moreover, there is no long and boring document verification process if you go online. A comprehensive health policy for yourself and your family is just a few clicks away and you can carry out the entire process of comparing and securing the best health insurance policy online right from your residence or office and at anytime you want.

Enjoy continuous coverage throughout the year

The beauty of an online car insurance plan is it ensures that you stay covered all the time. Since health insurance renewal online is possible at anytime of the day, you can renew your health cover online even at midnight to enjoy uninterrupted coverage. Once the procedure for health insurance renewal online is over the soft copy of your new health policy will be emailed to you and you can also get the print-out of hard copy.

Abundance of health insurer available online

There is a plethora of health insurance providers with online presence nowadays to facilitate you with online health insurance renewal and purchase. At GIBL.IN you can make detailed comparison of health policies at ease and buy the best health insurance policy online.

If you have a valid health insurance policy you are entitled to register a claim in time of a medical emergency covered by your health plan. However, there are two different health insurance claim types and it depends on your policy terms which type of claim you can lodge. The following are the two types of claims you can register through your health policy;

• Cashless claim
• Reimbursement claim

Cashless Claims:

By making this type of health insurance claim successfully, you don't have to pay for medical treatments in advance. However, you have to select a medical facility in the network of your health insurer to avail the facility of cashless medical treatment. All of the medical expenses will be borne by your health insurer. You just have to get the cashless claim approved by the TPA and submit the health card provided by your insurer in your chosen network hospital as a proof of your health policy. You might also have to produce any of your identification proof such as voter card or pan card to ensure that you are the insured person. The claim process also differs in different types of hospitalization. There are chiefly two types of hospitalization; one is when the hospitalization is planned in advance and the other is when the hospitalization takes place on emergency basis;

• Planned hospitalization
• Emergency hospitalization

Planned hospitalization

Where you plan for hospitalization in advance you need to inform the TPA and get the claim approved in advance by filling and submitting forms. You can get pre-authorization forms from any hospital in the network of your health insurer.

Emergency hospitalization

In case, the hospitalization is needed on an emergency basis you first have to produce the health card issued by your insurer to get the coverage. You will also have to fill pre-authorization forms and submit to the hospital. After checking with the TPA, the hospital will either approve or deny the cashless claim. If your claim for cashless medical treatment gets rejected you can still get the medical costs reimbursed.

Reimbursement Claims

Apart from making claims for availing medical treatments for free, you can also pay the medical costs up front and make a reimbursement claim later. If your health cover encompasses the treatment and the associated costs in its coverage you are eligible to get the entire expenses reimbursed by your health insurer. To make a successful reimbursement claim you have to produce the following necessary documents'

• Duly filled claim form issued by your medical insurer
• Various proofs of medical expenses such as receipts, bills, prescriptions
• Any other proof that supports claim process and required by your insurer

Be it a cashless or reimbursement claim, you need to maintain and furnish all necessary documents and proofs relevant to the treatment. Your insurer will pay for only those expenses that your health insurance policy covers. Any expense which is not under the coverage of your mediclaim policy will have to be borne by you.

Being a medical insurance policyholder, you shouldn't stick to your very first mediclaim insurer forever. With each passing year, new players are making their appearances in the niche of health insurance in India and in order to stay alive and surpass other health insurers they are offering lucrative deals. You will miss out on such attractive deals if you don't keep a track of the new mediclaim plans on offer. Hence, you should remain open to available medical policies and once you come across a good mediclaim plan you should grab it by switching from your existing insurer. In India's health insurance space, portability is now approved by IRDAI which means even after switching from one insurer to another you will not miss out on any of your accumulated benefits such as NCB and the likes.

When do policyholders opt for portability?

There are various reasons that force an insured person to go for portability. Sometimes, the policyholders are not satisfied with their current insurers' service and decide to make a move and sometimes people shift from one city to another or change their jobs. As mentioned earlier, the reason behind your switch might be caused by a very good deal which is too hot to resist. The concept of portability comes with lot of beneficial features for policyholders.

• You are entitled to port your health plan to another health insurer in India for free
• Both family floater medical insurance and individual mediclaim policies are eligible for portability
• If a policyholder gains credit pertaining to waiting period for pre-existing conditions from his previous insurer, they will continue to enjoy the benefit with their new insurer as well.
• Both new and old insurer needs to carry out the portability process as per the deadline and terms and conditions set by IRDA.

Although, health insurance portability is highly beneficial from policyholders' perspective, there are some conditions associated with this scheme. Both new and old insurer need to abide by these set of conditions to port one's mediclaim plan. Here are some of the most vital guidelines;

• Porting of mediclaim insurance can be done only at the time of health insurance renewal and not in the middle of a policy year
• Policyholders need to apply 45 days prior to the date of their health insurance renewal. Both their new and old insurer should be aware of the decision of porting medical plan.
• The new insurer is supposed to determine terms and conditions of the mediclaim cover except for the credit accumulated by the insured for waiting period
• Insured people are free to choose between an individual and a family floater medical insurance plan for their new policy after the porting
• The new insurer holds the right to reject the request for portability in the ground of discontinuity of premium payment
• If the portability is under process, an additional 30 days period is offered for renewing health insurance policies

IRDA regulates health insurance portability and all health insurance companies operating in India need to go by its guidelines.

Comparing online health insurance quotes to buy the best health insurance online has become the norm in India. GIBL.IN is well aware of this upsurge trend and facilitates policy seekers with detailed information about each health insurer in India on one platform so that they can make an easy and fast comparison of all available mediclaim plans.

• The scope of comparing all available health insurance plans in India.
• An easy way of learning about eligibility requirements for different health policies
• Availability of countless health insurance reviews on several different health insurers and health policies offered by them
• Effortless yet informed selection of the best health insurance online
• Assistance with claim settlement and paperwork is available
• Dedicated customer care service to provide expert guidance