Health insurance has become a necessity in these times as the cost of treatment of illnesses at hospitals has skyrocketed. Though people who are young and healthy think of health insurance as wastage of money, one never knows when a critical illness, accident or medical emergency may suddenly arise. And just because one is healthy at present is no guarantee of no illness in future also. This is why more and more people have started to buy health insurance policies apart from insuring their lives. There is another policy by insurance companies that is gaining currency and is called Mediclaim. Let us find out if there are any differences between Mediclaim and health insurance.
• First of all, health insurance is not a kind of insurance where you can expect any benefits if do not fall ill and do not make claim during the policy period. It is like having a financial protection in case you fall ill as your medical expenses are covered by the policy up to the amount that is specified in the policy. Mediclaim is a type of health insurance policy that differs on a number of respects.
• Mediclaim especially mentions the critical illnesses that you are protected from and provides all expenses for hospitalization and drug expenses for the illness if you happen to contract any of them. Health insurance policy on the other hand, is more for post hospitalization expenditure and the loss of income that may arise out of illness.
• While Mediclaim policies are for a period of one year and one has to get the policy renewed for another year, general health insurance policies are for 3-5 years. There are also differences in the rate of premiums of both the policies. The premiums of Mediclaim are higher than that of general health insurance policies.
• Another difference pertains to claims made under these policies. While you can make several claims under Mediclaim until you have exhausted the sum assured, in the case of a general health insurance policy, the policy is closed once you make a claim and the entire amount that is assured to you has been paid out.
• Mediclaim policies have a wider coverage than health insurance policies and have more types of illnesses and ailments listed in the policy that you are protected against. Service providers allow for cashless hospitalization where you do not need to pay a dime whereas there is no such provision in case of health insurance policies and you may have to wait for disbursal of the claim you make.