The BuyT Desk
Health Insurance has taken a centre stage in our lives. People have understood the importance of health insurance and are buying it. While buying health insurance we are concerned about what all it covers. We never forget to check the room rent, ICU cost, medicine bill and how much of these expenses will be covered in your insurance. But there is another very important aspect which may miss your eyes. It is an exclusion which means there will be certain medical conditions, procedures or treatment that will not be covered by your insurance. Exclusion may differ from company to company and from one policy to another. That is why it is very important for you to know what your policy will not cover.
Let’s look at some of the exclusions that you should look at minutely
1) Pre-existing Disease (PED)
When you buy a health cover you must find out what is the cooling-off period for any kind of pre-existing disease. If you suffer from any ailment you must clearly disclose it while buying insurance. The health insurance policy will cover your pre-existing disease but only after you have spent a certain number of years with the policy. You need to wait before the insurance company covers your PED and that is why it is also called the waiting period which could range from 2- 4 years. So before you finalize your policy you must check out with the company about the waiting period duration of the policy.
2) Suicide Attempt or self-inflicted Injuries
In case the person has hurt himself/herself intentionally which leads to hospitalisation will not be paid by the insurance company.
3) Alternative modes of treatment
Treatments like naturopathy, ayurveda, acupressure or magnetic therapy will not be covered by the health insurance4)Cosmetic surgery or procedure
Cosmetic Treatment is one of the most common exclusions in health insurance policies. If you have plans to undergo weight loss surgery you must double-check with your insurer. It has been recently allowed under health insurance but there could be a waiting period clause of 2 to 4 years. But if you have to go through plastic surgery following an accident then you need not worry.
5) Know About the Cooling Off Period
Besides the waiting period for pre-existing conditions, all the insurance companies have specified time which specified coverage is not available. Within 30 days of the purchase of the policy every insured person has to adhere to a cooling-off period time. During this 30 days period no illness will be covered unless it’s an accident.
