Are you worried that your health insurance premiums are still unclaimed?

Niveditha V
Aug 22, 2022
4 min read

Updated: Aug 29, 2022

Are you that person who spends hours researching the best health insurance plans and subscribing to them only to feel later that you have not used up your insurance and your money has gone into the drain?

Thank God you didn’t use that money because that means you are Healthy.

The entitled attitude

It’s no wonder that people usually realize the value of happiness after a brief period of worry. The same goes for our health. Our ungrateful mindset works that way. We evolve through difficult situations. We don’t appreciate our body’s full potential and then curse it when it upsets us.

We often feel too entitled to think that nothing happens to us. So, we think if nothing happens to us, why waste all that money? Instead, we could buy something or go somewhere or just save that money to maybe waste later. Another assumption is that even if we do fall sick, it will only be some minor illness that can be cured out of pocket. I am a positive thinker and an optimist, so I know what you are thinking but life doesn’t work that way. Most of us don’t know that it’s a necessity now.

Just remember that a medical emergency can happen at any time, irrespective of your health condition. It could be an accident or it could be diseases like Blood pressure, diabetes, or heart problems that have been rising due to our poor lifestyle choices. It can happen to anyone. It doesn’t matter if you have the fittest of genes or personal bodyguards to protect you.

My father told me a story of a boxer who works with him. He was an extremely fit person. He had just married and was about to have a baby. But, one day he had a severe cardiac arrest and almost died. Thankfully, he had group health insurance offered by his company. But, what about those without corporate coverage? What about retirement or aging parents? Are they all actively getting health insurance?

The answer is No. In the fiscal year 2016, out-of-pocket payments accounted for about 64% of overall healthcare spending in the country.

Minor hiccups in your health are like a yellow card in a football game. Life gives you those warning cards, gives you second chances or third or fourth or more, but it’s only for you to make those necessary tweaks in your lifestyle and to make sure you don’t get a red card. Sometimes, acknowledging the truth that we’re all vulnerable and being cautionary will relieve you of greater troubles in the future.

Ignorance and lack of knowledge

When I spoke with an elderly lady who lives down the street with her husband, 3 sons, 3 daughters-in-law, and 5 grandchildren, she didn’t know that private health insurance existed. She had assumed that health insurance coverage was for salaried individuals and dependants only. I wondered how ignorant her family has been in not getting insurance nor educating her about the same. With the rise of new diseases and the increase in healthcare costs, it’s only wise to get yourself and your family coverage to secure the future. If your medical conditions require hospitalization, they most certainly cost a lot and will drain out a huge portion of your saving, and can be very inconvenient when you have to arrange that money especially on short notice.

According to health insurance statistics in India, taking loans or selling assets finance 31 percent and 47 percent of hospitalizations in urban and rural India, respectively. Furthermore, according to the figures, 70 percent of Indians spend their entire income on healthcare, and 3.2 percent of Indians fall under the poverty line due to excessive medical costs.

By getting health insurance, you are essentially transferring the risk to someone else ( your insurance company ). Suppose you think that paying these premiums is a waste, then you are accepting the risk of paying a huge sum if ever something happens. Though health insurance penetration is still low in our country, especially in the rural areas, COVID had been a wake-up call for many families. As per the General Industry Council, health insurance was the most important sector under general insurance in the first wave of COVID-19 from April-September 2020.

Saving that money

Yes, if you don’t claim your insurance, that money is gone for good. But, what’s in your control is paying a lesser premium and potentially saving those bucks. Here’s what you can do:

Get Health Insurance at an early age and when you have lesser ailments in your body.
Opting for family floaters where the entire insured sum can be utilized to treat a single person and still pay lesser than individual plans.
If you can’t afford specialized plans, at least get a basic hospitalization cover and then get Top up plans whenever possible.
Be healthy and reduce your visits to the hospital so your premium doesn’t increase.
Get tax benefits while you are paying premiums under section 80D, but that shouldn’t be the only reason to get an insurance.

But Remember…

I know that you are looking to save on premium payments, but make sure not to compromise on the coverage. Manage your insurance plans well. Even if the employer provides you with a policy, I would suggest you get private insurance too because usually these policies are very basic and won’t cover all your emergencies.

It’s also essential for you to understand the other insurances available in the market. Just as it is necessary for you to have health insurance to cover your hospital bills, you should get term insurance/ life insurance to financially safeguard yourself and your family which provides monetary benefits in case something untoward happens.

I know it’s hard to think about getting sick or death, but it’s important that you have these discussions at home. Life is unpredictable as it is, you don’t want to be taking chances. Sort your finances and keep your family informed because the loss of health or life is a burden and a responsibility of the entire family.