Keeping in mind the increasing cost of medical care, if a larger sum insured is required and is insufficient under a single policy, policyholders may purchase multiple health insurance policies from various insurers.
You are permitted to submit a claim under various plans, such as the group policy offered by your company, your personal health insurance policy, and your top-up health insurance policy.
Read on to know the conditions and points that you must be aware of when owning multiple health policies:
Using a variety of policies
If you have two insurance plans, the health insurance claim process allows you the freedom to file your claim first on whichever of the two policies you choose. You may file a claim for the balance due on the second policy if the claim amount exceeds the total insured under the first policy.
Remember that you must complete policy paperwork when purchasing health insurance, and the insurer would ask you to disclose any current policies, even when buying online health insurance. This is crucial as the claim can be denied because failure to disclose plans is a breach of the insurance contract.
Since most plans have a contribution clause, insurance firms want this information. This clause states that if the same insured individual has multiple policies, each policy’s contribution to the insured amount in case of a claim will be equal.
Things to remember
The total claim amount and the available amounts protected under the various policies must first be considered. See whether there are any co-payment or deductible requirements. A percentage of the claim amount must be paid by the policyholder under the co-payment clause, whereas the deductible is the predetermined amount that must be deducted from the claim amount before the insurer will pay the remaining balance.
Furthermore, suppose you have two insurance policies with a cashless option. In that case, the health insurance claim process is such that the hospital might only offer you this choice for one of the policies, asking you to pay the remaining balance and then submit a claim to the other insurer for reimbursement.
Additionally, not all of your purchased policies might support cashless claims. The policy with reimbursement claims first or the cashless claims first option is available. In any instance, you must obtain the claim summary from the first insurer and submit it to the second insurer along with the hospital bills that have been certified to make a reimbursement claim. It is advisable to compare health insurance policy carefully before deciding which policy to claim first when you have multiple insurance policies.
Going with the policy that has the option of a cashless claim first will save you from having to pay out of pocket, and you will subsequently be paid for any excess costs under the second policy.
Although there is no restriction on how many health insurance policies a person can buy, experts advise keeping your options to a maximum of two policies with a sufficient sum insured (one base policy and a top-up above what your employer offers) to avoid confusion during the claim settlement process.
Before purchasing your policy, make sure you are clear about your requirements. These include the number of members, the amount of coverage and the number of add-ons as they may increase the price of your policy. DIscuss with your insurer about these things.
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