5 Factors To Help You Know How Much Health Insurance Is Ideal!

Health insurance has become an integral part of financial planning. With the rising medical expenses and inflation rate, health-care costs have increased. It is needless to say that if you are not buying a health insurance plan, you are taking a big risk.

The importance of buying a health insurance cannot be overemphasized. Buying a health insurance plan is the basic requirement. But it is important that you have the right amount of coverage as per your needs.

The first question that comes to your mind while buying a health insurance plan is the amount of coverage you would need. So is there any ‘right amount’ of coverage that you should buy?

There is no fix formula to compute the optimum coverage that is ideal for you. Yet there are some factors that can help you in making your decision regarding the amount of health insurance coverage.

Factors affecting the amount of health insurance coverage

Financial Abilities: The first and foremost factor in calculating your health insurance coverage is your ability to pay. Premium is directly proportional to the amount of coverage. Before buying a policy, you must check your financial ability to pay the premium for the coverage. 

It is not necessary that you always need to buy a policy with a large coverage. If you cannot pay a high premium, you can go for a small coverage. You can increase the coverage in future if your pocket allows you.

Age: Age is an important factor in deciding the amount of coverage you need. If you are taking a policy at an early age, you can take a small coverage and then increase it in the coming years. 

Alternatively, you can take a large coverage initially as the premium payable is less for young people due to lesser chances of pre-existing diseases. A middle-aged or old aged person generally needs to purchase a higher coverage as the chances of diseases are more and so the premium payable is also high.

Hereditary Diseases: If your family has a trend of hereditary diseases, the probability of it being passed on to the future generation is high. In such a case, you should buy a health insurance that provides a wider coverage while you are young.

Percentage of Income: Your income plays a key role in your decision of buying a health insurance plan. Your health insurance coverage should be at least 50 percent of your annual income. It is practical for you to buy a health insurance coverage which ranges from 50 to 100 percent of your total annual income.

Type of Hospitals: There are different categories or types of hospital. Different insurance plans charge a different amount for different categories of hospitals. Your decision regarding the amount of health insurance coverage is also determined by the category or type of hospital you would prefer for your treatment. 

There are the factors that can increase the value of your coverage without any additional cost. With features like riders and top-ups in your plan, you can always have the additional benefit without any increased premium.

Read Also: 5 Elements to Look for in Best Health Insurance Plans

The Bottom Line

There is no set formula or rule for calculating the amount of health insurance coverage you need. Different people have different needs. The amount of coverage depends on your financial ability and requirement.

So you should analyze all the above-discussed factors from your point of view and choose an optimum coverage that is ideal for you.

Author BIO: Sidharth Kapoor is a well-known financial insurance advisor with the abilities to keep a track and predict the market trends with the utmost accuracy.He has done PGDBM in finance. He has worked on different financial sectors dealing with the entire range of Insurance like health Insurance,life insurance,personal accident insurance and also contribute as a writer at everythingoninsurance blog more. He is also an expert in writing many finance related articles and blogs.

How to Find the Best Health Insurance Plan

Choosing the proper health insurance plan has become a huge decision for many families. There used to be limited types of service, but since then, we’ve been surrounded by numerous choices.

Finding the best plan for you and your family is enough to make you diagnose yourself and avoid hospital care at all costs. Today, you need to know all the options available to you, what each of the options offers you, and of course, whether you can afford it or not.

In this article, we will examine the factors you should consider when selecting the best health insurance plan for your family and the Medigap policy plans that many struggles with.

For starters, let’s search for and compare hospitals and urgent care in your area. This step can help give you a solid baseline for selecting your health insurance plan based on the difference in cost associated with not owning a plan.

Compare Available Plans Keep in mind that you have no one-size-fits-all health insurance coverage. To find the coverage you need and to avoid the costs of paying for what you don’t, there are several questions and factors you must consider before signing the dotted line.

You are responsible for thoroughly understanding the plan you selected and following its guidelines. Various plans are available, and it is sometimes hard to begin to understand each of them. 

To start, let’s take a look at a comparison tool that helps you search for and compare health insurance plans available to you and your family.

What to Consider When Selecting a Plan

1. Budget verse Need

a. Your Needs.

Finding the marriage between your budget and need can be a tough factor to weigh. The needs of an individual in their twenties are far different from those of a family of four. 

Again, these needs are vastly different for baby boomers entering retirement. Because the needs of your family will vary based on the age and health of each individual, you must identify the coverage you need and assess whether you can afford it.

b. Your Budget.

It is important to look at both what you need and what your bank account will afford you. For those operating under a low financial ceiling, it is important to pay close attention to where your health care dollars are going. 

You should consider the following questions: How often do you visit the doctor? How high of a monthly premium can you afford? Will you be able to meet your deductible in order to qualify for full coverage?

2. Identify the must-haves

It is relatively impossible to foresee a sudden illness or injury. However, some medical costs must be anticipated. For example, an obvious cost is maternity coverage if you’re starting a family. 

Not all policies offer maternity coverage. Therefore, it is important to understand and break down each policy option. 

If your family has a history of heart disease, selecting a plan that covers the cost of cardiac screening tests and cholesterol-lowering drugs may make sense.

3. Medicare Supplement verse Health Insurance

It is important to know what a Medigap policy is. A Medigap policy is health insurance that fills the gaps in your Original Medicare coverage by helping you pay for coinsurance, copayments, and deductibles for Medicare-covered services. 

Medigap policies will also cover benefits that Original Medicare does not cover. If you simply need to fill the “holes” in your current coverage plan, you should consider choosing a Medicare Supplement Plan. See the resource below if this applies to you:

4. Don’t Overbuy

Would you consider buying a luxury car with a monthly mortgage payment as big as your mortgage? There’s not much point in making a purchase that your budget simply cannot handle. 

If you’re young and healthy, you should consider choosing a policy with a high deductible. A deductible starting at $1000 will likely cost you less per month, allowing you to save money in the long run.

5. Health Care Reform and Affordable Care Act

There are many reforms and bills that are currently being discussed in the healthcare industry. These discussions can broaden the population that receives health care coverage through insurance and expand the number of healthcare providers consumers may choose from.

These reforms improve access to health care specialists, improve the quality of care, and help decrease the cost of health care for citizens. It is important to update yourself with the latest news as it will help your search in choosing the best insurance plan possible.

Verdict

When deciding what health insurance plan to buy, it is important to assess all the above factors. It can be a very stressful process, and it is important that you know exactly what you were paying in your old plan, what you actually need, and if it is worth your while to seek out a 

Medigap policy.

Depending on your age, health, family history, and size of your family, your decision will more than likely be different. 

The tools provided in this article and the factors outlined for you will help simplify your search for a health insurance plan and allow you to find and compare the best insurance policies that fit your needs.

4 Things, You Must Discuss With Your Agent About Critical Illness Insurance

Health insurance can help you reducing your financial strains by paying a huge or lump sum amount as a compensation of potential loss. This plan will benefit you in case of any disability or any specific illness. When it comes to critical illness, the health insurance is applicable, when surgery or disease meets the definition defined by the policy. 

One important thing about critical illness insurance is the waiting period. If one wants to avail critical illness policy, he should know that it has waiting period for certain types of surgery & diseases. For instance, if any surgery or critical disease covered under the policy is developed or diagnosed during the waiting period, you will get no benefit.

Today, we’ll talk about 6 important things, you must discuss with your agent before investing on critical illness insurance. 

One: Ask About Age and Amount’s Limit of Insurance?

One important thing is the financial coverage offered by the company. Each company has set its own age limit of an insured person and the amount of insurance. So, the benefits of critical illness insurance may vary from company to company. So, it is better to ask the broker about the best option they can offer. 

Two: Ask About Protection Covers, Durations and Return Policy?

Ask, whether the amount of coverage is fixed or will decrease by time. Also ask about the changes in premiums in future. Ask about a term policy; this policy can give you maximum protection for short period of time within your available budget. Ask, whether they offer return of premium option, if you don’t make any claim. 

Three: Ask About the Illnesses Covered, Limitations and Exclusions?

Make sure that the policy covers all serious medical conditions, like cancer, stroke, heart attack, kidney failure, blindness, coma, deafness, speech loss, paralysis etc. There are always restrictions on policy claims, so ask how many days, the condition should persist to make you eligible for claim. Ask about the exclusions, as, normally, the contracts are updated with exclusions, like cancer diagnosis. 

Four: Ask About Premium Amounts and Affordability?

Some of the questions that usually come in the mind of a person are what are the payment criteria? Will the premium become affordable in future or remain fixed? Is there any renewal procedure? When will the health insurance policy end? What is the claim procedure? Is there any limit of claim? What is the waiting period? If I make any claim, will my future coverage and premiums be affected by it?

Final Words:

Before buying critical illness insurance, you must consider all the above queries and don't forget to ask these questions from broker. These questions will definitely help you choosing the best health insurance plan, which is the best investment in financial planning.

Author’s Bio:

Lisa Smith has a journalism degree from NYU and is the leading writing for Kanetix.ca, an instant insurance quote marketplace. When it’s the right time for insurance, make sure to visit Kanetix.ca. You can connect with Lisa Smith on Google+.