Health insurance plans come with a variety of features. Every policy has unique yet varying features from its counterparts. Typical health insurance policies cover hospitalization expenses but there are quite a few plans that provide added features. Some examples are ambulance cover, daycare benefits, hospital cash allowance, and more.
But did you know you can reload the sum assured of your medical insurance plan? Surprised? Well, let us look at what is meant by reload of sum assured.
Reload of sum assured is a feature of your policy where the sum insured is reinstated once it is exhausted. Some insurance companies offer a 100% reload option. But you need to remember that reload benefits are only available after the first claim. Once you make a claim, the insurer can reload the sum insured even if it is not completely exhausted.
What are the different forms of reloading benefits?
Reload benefits are of three types – restoration, recharge, and refill. The restoration feature is only available on exhausting your entire sum assured and is similar to the reload option. For the recharge feature, there is no requirement for your policy cover to get exhausted. It can be topped up as per your requirement. Lastly, the refill option is when your entire sum assured is exhausted in a single policy year. In some cases, there’s a requirement for the sum assured to be claimed in a single application.
Let us understand the reload feature with an example.
Mr. Rao has purchased health insurance plans for the family with a sum assured of ₹18 lakhs. Now if any beneficiaries of the policy require medical treatment, the policy can provide coverage up to ₹18 lakhs. After crossing this amount, Mr. Rao has the option to reload the sum assured so that any other case of medical emergency can be insured using the health insurance policy.
What are the considerations when purchasing a policy with a reload feature?
The reload feature differs from each insurance company. You need to research and compare the myriad options before purchasing one if it checks all the right boxes for you. But there are a few consideration that you must look for when buying one –
#1 Is coverage available for the same ailments?
When buying a policy with the reload option, coverage for ailments is essential to note. Whether the policy covers repeated occurrence of the same ailment should be looked into. For example, the policy was first used for the treatment of a paralytic attack, does it cover the same illness on a repeated occurrence. It is essential to know this as it may change your purchase decision.
#2 Does the entire sum assured needs to be exhausted in a single claim?
When buying a policy, check whether your entire sum assured needs to be exhausted in a single claim amount. You need to enquire exactly when the reload benefit is available.
#3 Is there a requirement of a higher sum assured to avail of this feature?
In some cases, this feature is available only for policies above a certain threshold. Thus, enquiring and ensuring adequate information will help you avoid unwanted surprises at the claim.
To conclude, there are various features that are available with health insurance policies. It is for you to decide what fits perfectly for you. While it isn’t a cakewalk zeroing down, a health insurance premium calculator is a nifty tool that can aid you in this process. It helps in comparing the various policy features and evaluating the benefits while weighing in the premium for them.
