Let us consider
this scenario: you run a family of four (you, wife, two children) and
you are paying off a home loan from your salary. One day, you meet
with an accident on the way home from work. You require
hospitalisation for three weeks. Your salary is deducted for the days
you are absent, and your savings are all used up for your
hospitalisation. This month, you have no money in your bank account
for your home loan EMI.
Consider another
situation: your father suffers a fall at home and requires immediate
hip replacement surgery. You decide to claim insurance from the
coverage provided by your employer. But while the surgery costs Rs
1,50,000, you can claim only up to Rs 50,000. The remaining money
must come from your pocket – and you do not have the money.
In both cases,
you end up paying hefty sums of money because you do not have health
insurance or have insufficient coverage. This is what happens when
you do not get medical insurance.
And this is what
happens when you do:
1. Invest in
your future.
Your future is
important to you. All that you do in the present determines the way
your future shapes up. By purchasing a medical insurance plan,
you are creating a corpus for future use. Despite the most stringent
saving and investments, you can still end up spending everything in
just one hospital visit. Medical
insurance will ensure that you do not have to dip into your
savings to finance your health care.
2. Secure your
family.
If you cannot go
to work owing to an illness or your unfortunate death, your family
may be left penniless. A sudden loss of income and existing
liabilities such as a home loan may reduce your family to penury.
They may have to depend on others for sustenance. However, taking a
medical insurance policy that covers the entire family will
negate such eventualities.
3. Instil
financial discipline.
People are very
sensitive towards the needs of their family. Hence, there is very
little likelihood of one being remiss with premium payments. Nobody
likes their medical insurance plan to lapse, so they are
normally very prompt with payments and renewals. If one has taken a
medical insurance policy with a higher premium payment, one is
inclined to be circumspect about overspending. The premium payment
process instils financial discipline.
4. Get access
to quality healthcare.
If you do not
have medical insurance in India, you are liable to spend large
amounts of your money to finance hospitalisation and treatment.
People who do not have health insurance are forced to defer treatment
till they can gather the necessary funds. Or they are forced to break
the treatment down in phases. As opposed to this, medical
insurance plans ensure that you can get timely treatment at the
facility of your choice.
5. Get tax
benefits
You might feel
the pinch when paying high premiums, but you also get a tax benefit
on these payments. This is an indirect saving for you. Based on the
medical insurance policy
you take, you can also get bonuses for claim-free tenure.
