Health Insurance Policy

Health Insurance

The term ' Health Insurance' relates to a type of insurance that essentially covers your medical expenses. A health insurance policy like other policy is a contract between and insurer and an individual/ group in which the insurer agrees to provide specified health insurance covers at a particular "Premium" subject to terms and conditions specified in the policy.

• What a Health Insurance policy would normally cover

A Health Insurance Policy would normally cover expenses reasonably and necessarily incurred under the following heads in respect of each insured person subject to overall ceiling of sum insured.

1. Room, Boarding expenses
2. Nursing expenses
3. Fees of surgeon, anesthetist, physician, consultants, specialists
4. Anesthesia, blood, oxygen, operation theater charges, surgical appliances, medicines, drugs, diagnostic materials, X-ray, Dialysis, Chemotherapy, Radio therapy, Cost of pace maker, Artificial limbs, cost or organs and similar expenses.

• Sum Insured

The Sum Insured offered may be on an individual basis on floater basis for the family as a whole.

• Cumulative Bonus (CB)

Health Insurance policies may offer Cumulative Bonus wherein for every claim free year, the Sum Insured is increased by a certain percentage at the time of renewal subject to a maximum percentage. In case of a claim, CB will be reduced by 10% at the next renewal.

• Cost of Health Check-up

Health policies may also contain a provision for reimbursement of cost of health check up. Read your policy carefully to understand what is allowed.

• Minimum period of stay in Hospital 

In order to become eligible to make a claim under the policy, minimum stay in the Hospital is necessary for a certain number of hours. Usually this is 24 hours. This time limit may not apply for treatment of accident injuries and for certain specified treatments. Read the policy provision to understand the details.

• Pre and Post hospitalization expenses

Expenses incurred during a certain number of days prior to hospitalization and post hospitalization expense for a specified period from the date of discharge may be considered as part of the claim provided the expenses relate to the disease /sickness.

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Health Insurance Quotes

With the Start of the new year, Millions will have access to health coverage for the first time or have improved coverage because of the health care law. There are steps you can take now to ensure you have access to coverage beginning January 1.

Coverage begins on January 1 for anyone who signed up by December 24. Don't worry, if you did not sign up by then, there is still time for you to apply through  March 31,2014. But if you did sign up and your insurance card has not yet arrived your coverage may already be effective. If you need to see a doctor or get a prescription filled before you get your insurance card, call your insurer to confirm that your coverage is in fact effective. You also can ask them to help you confirm your enrollment with your doctor or pharmacy so they can bill your insurer correctly and you can get the services and prescription you need.

You can call your insurer directly. If you do not have an insurance card, you can find this number on the insurer's website. Some insurer will let you go online and print a temporary insurance card.

All consumers must pay their premium after enrolling in a plan in the Marketplace. however, each insurance company sets their own payment deadline. Some insurers may accept your first payment after your coverage has become effective and pay for care you receive after January 1,2014. Contact your insurer to find out when and how you need to make your payment and what flexibility they are able to give you.

There are four steps to be sure your enrollment and coverage are complete :

1. Pay your premium to your health insurance plan by the due date.
2. Carefully review your member card or other Materials your plan sends you.
3. Review your plan's provider directory and determine who will provide your care.
4. Contact your plan with any questions or if you don't get a member card and enrollment materials. 

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Term Definition in Life Insurance

Definition of Terms

Beneficiary :- The person or entity receiving the death benefit at the death of this insured.

Cash Value :- The amount of total premiums paid for a policy minus the costs for insurance in whole, universal and variable universal-life policies. The cash value grows tax-free in an insurance policy.

Death Benefit:- The total cash payment made to the beneficiary upon the death of the insured.

Insured :-  The person on whose life the insurance has been purchased. If the insured dies, a death benefit will be paid to the named beneficiary.

Owner :- The person or entity who owns the insurance policy. The owner may or may not be the insured. The owner can designate the beneficiary, and is responsible for paying premiums. 

Premium :-  The amount billed to the owner of an insurance policy by the insurance company. In term and whole-life, the full premium must be paid to keep the insurance. In universal and variable universal-life, the amount billed may or may not be a mandatory payment to keep the insurance.  

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Compare Insurance Quotes

Need to make a decision on which insurance you would like to purchase?

Have two quotes and you need to work out which one is better option?

Many not-for-profit organisations compare quotes by looking at the bottom line price and picking the cheap one, which does not always work when comparing 'apples and pears'. To assist you in making an informed decision between insurance quotes we have developed a series of points to check:

Compare the number of days you have been quoted for: Often insurance run their policies to one point in the year - for example an insurer may commence all policies on 1st April. If you apply for a quote on 1st May you will be quoted for 11 months, whereas if you apply on 1st March you will be quoted for 13 months. Divide the total premium by the number of days quoted, then multiply by 365 to compare annual premiums.

Check how much you have been quoted for :-  Compare the liability limits or sums insured between policies and decide which option is more appropriate.

Compare the excess on each policy:- Some policies have large excesses which bring premium down but can leave the organisation exposed in the event of more than one claim. Check the excess on each quote and calculate which one would be more appropriate for your organisation.

Check the type of cover you are being quoted for:- Different insurance provides quote different policies and provide different cover definitions. It is important to be aware of the policy definitions to ensure you obtain appropriate cover.

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Life Insurance : The Different types of Policies

Life Insurance Overview

A life insurance policy provides a cash payment when a person dies. This payment is known as the death benefit. Many people buy life insurance to protect the people who are dependent on them. Others buy life insurance as a way to leave a cash gift to their spouse, children, grandchildren and charities at their death. If you have made the decision to buy a policy, you may wonder which type of policy to choose since there are several different types of policies.

The Policy is written on the life of a person, known as the insured. The owner makes payments, known as Premiums, to the insurance company for the policy. In return, the insurance company agrees to pay the death benefit to the beneficiary if the insured dies within the Stated term.

Term

Term insurance is the most basic type of life insurance. The policy is written for the term of the policy, usually from the one to 30 years. If the insured dies within the stated term, the insurance company pays the death benefit to the beneficiary. When the term ends, the insurance ends. The premiums for term insurance are usually the lowest among the different types of life insurance, but will increase with the age of the insured. There is no cash value in a term life policy. This means there is no money for loans or to pay for the insurance if you can not pay the premiums.

Many employers offer a type of term insurance known as "group" term to their workers. Group policies cost less, and many companies pay the premiums. Generally, the policy is only good for as long as the worker stays with the company. Term insurance is suggested for those who only need the death benefit for a certain period of time.

Whole-Life

A whole-life policy pays a death benefit no matter when the insured dies. In most cases, the policy will guarantee the death benefit. The premiums are usually much higher than a term policy and the full premium  must  be paid each year. Whole-life policies have cash value. The difference between the premium and the actual cost of the insurance is put into a special account, known as the cash-value account. This cash-value account may be used to help the insured pay the "fixed" premium payments in later years. The policy owner may borrow against the cash value or receive the cash value if the policy is canceled. There may be charges associated with borrowing against the cash value or canceling the policy before the death of the insured. The insurance company may charge interest if the policy is canceled. At death, the beneficiary only receives the death benefit, not the death benefit and the cash value.

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List of insurance companies in India

This list of Indian insurance companies is based on the list of insurance companies registered and approved with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority.

General insurance companies

Public Sector

• Oriental Insurance comp. Ltd.
• United India Insurance Comp. Ltd.
• New India Assurance comp. Ltd.
• National Insurance comp. ltd.
• The Motor Assurance India comp. Ltd.

Private Sector

• Bajaj Allianz General Insurance
• Bharti AXA General Insurance
• Future Generali India Insurance
• HDFC ERGO General Insurance
• ICICI Lombard
• IFFCO Tokio
• Liberty Videocon General Insurance Co Ltd
• L&T General Insurance
• Magma HDI General Insurance Co Ltd
• Raheja QBE General Insurance
• Reliance General Insurance
• Royal Sundaram
• Shriram General Insurance
• Tata AIG General
• Universal Sompo General Insurance
• Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company Limited
• Apollo Munich Health Insurance

Standalone health insurance companies

Private Sector

• Apollo Munich Health Insurance
• Max Bupa Health Insurance
• Religare Health Insurance Company Ltd
• Star Health and Allied Insurance company Ltd
• Cigna

Life insurance companies

Public Sector

• Life Insurance Corporation of India

Private Sector

• AEGON Religare Life Insurance
• Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance Co. Ltd
• Aviva India
• Shriram Life Insurance
• Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance
• Bharti AXA Life Insurance Co Ltd
• Birla Sun Life Insurance
• Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance
• Star Union Dai-ichi Life Insurance
• DHFL Pramerica Life Insurance
• Future Generali Life Insurance Co Ltd
• HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company Limited
• ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Limited
• IDBI Federal Life Insurance
• IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company
• ING Life Insurance
• Kotak Life Insurance
• Max Life Insurance
• PNB MetLife India Life Insurance
• Reliance Life Insurance Company Limited
• Sahara Life Insurance
• SBILife Insurance Ltd.
• TATA AIA Life Insurance

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