Hyderabad: Health insurance is once again being discussed in the wake of the Covid scare. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has already directed the health insurers to ensure speedy settlement of claims. If the policyholders are careful about some things, they can get cashless treatment without any problems. If you pay the bill yourself, you can easily recover the amount.
Many are now taking more than one policy. In addition to the group health insurance policy offered by the employers, they choose another policy on their own. Due to this, there is doubt as to which policy should be used first when admitted to the hospital due to illness. Using two policies at the same time and seeking compensation will fall under the act of fraud. So, never try this. If hospital expenses exceed one policy then a second policy should be used.
Also read: Choose Multi-Year health plans for hassle-free protection
Suppose the value of the group policy given by the office is Rs 5 lakhs. You have to take another Rs 5 lakhs policy on your own. Let's assume that the hospital bill is Rs 8 lakhs. Then use office insurance first. Then claim your policy.
Are you in a dilemma about which insurance to use first and which one to use later? Suppose you have taken a top-up policy instead of an individual policy...then you have to use the basic policy and top-up for the remaining amount.
How to claim...
Generally, a single insurer policy is allowed in the hospital. The excess expenses will have to be claimed later from the second insurance company. In such cases, there may be some difficulties. All the bills will be with the insurance company that made the claim first. So, along with the original bills, get their duplicate copies and get an attestation from the hospital.
If the first insurance company does not accept your claim by then.. the second insurance company should be informed about it in writing. Then the insurance company will not mind the delay in filing the claim. It varies depending on the context. So, it is necessary to contact your insurance company's service centre in advance and know the complete details.
What to do...
Which policy should be used first and which later depends on the circumstances. However, a decision has to be made depending on the circumstances. When there is an insurance policy offered by the company, it should be given first preference as far as possible. Generally, these do not have any such thing as a claim bonus. No claim bonus is available for individual policies. This will reduce the premium while renewing the policy, or the value of the policy increases.
Some insurance policies cover pre-existing diseases only after four years. Whereas group insurance policies may not have such a limit. So, corporate policy should be used in such cases. Know which policy has higher benefits on hospitalisation. Hence, there will be no difficulties in using that policy.
