To find the best insurance policy, you need to understand what it says. One new term and your interest as well as understanding of the policy goes out of the window. So, we are compiling a list of 15 such terms that you must know before buying your next health insurance
Cashless ClaimAs the term suggests, the insured can make a claim without paying any cash for the medical assistance at the specified network hospitals.
Coverage Amount/Sum Assured/Sum InsuredIt is the maximum amount payable in the event of a claim. The premium of the health insurance policy is dependent on the coverage amount chosen by you.
Critical Illness PolicyA policy for a serious, possibly terminal disease, which is strictly defined by the insurer. Most critical illness policies provide for the payment of a lump sum benefit if the policyholder is diagnosed as suffering from any one of the specified conditions.
Cumulative BonusCumulative bonus is similar to no claim discounts, the only difference being that instead of giving an upfront discount, the health insurance company adds more benefits for the same premium paid.
Disability InsuranceIt is a form of insurance that pays a monthly income to the insured when he suffers from total or partial disability caused due to either illness or injury, that affects his capacity to work and earn.
DeductibleIt is the amount of loss borne by the insured after which the insurance kicks in. This share of expense can be a certain money amount or a percentage of the claim amount. However, bigger the deductible, lower is the premium.
ExclusionsThe diseases, conditions or situations in which medical expenses are not covered by the health insurance policy. Exclusions can be of two types – ‘Permanent’, i.e. the ones never covered and ‘First year’, which are ailments covered from second year.
Floater PolicyA policy that is issued with a single sum insured covering number of individuals. The cover can be used by any member of the family any number of times.
SublimitIt is the limitation in an insurance policy on the amount of coverage available to cover a specific type of expenditure. It can be in amount or percentage.
LoadingIt is the amount a health insurance company adds to you renewal premium if you had made any claims in the previous year.
No Claim BonusIt is a bonus or rather a discount on the Basic Premium if there is a claim-free year in the policy. This bonus gets accumulated with each year you don’t make a claim.
Overseas Mediclaim Policy (OMP)An Overseas Mediclaim Policy is issued to persons who are undertaking trips abroad for business, pleasure or educational purposes.
Personal Accident PolicyThey are issued as fixed benefit policies whereby specified sums are paid on the occurrence of specified events such as death or disability.
Pre-existing DiseaseIt is any ailment or disease that a person is already suffering from, at the time of purchasing health insurance.
Third Party Administrator (TPA)The authorized claim settling agents of the Insurer who ensure that the policy terms and conditions are compiled to.
Arrange them in chronological order.
Check that all the documents contain required information like the patient name, document number, serial number, cost price, signature of the authorised person and so on.
Usually the claim form can be downloaded from the insurance company’s website. Read the instructions given in the claim form carefully. Fill in the claim form with all the required details. Make sure the information is correct.
Next, get the claim form signed by the policy holder as well as the treating consultant. It must also be stamped with the official hospital seal.
Finally, attach all the relevant medical and policy documents to the claim form
Medical documents include:
Both, the original documents as well as their copies, need to be submitted with the claim form. Submission of only copies is usually not accepted.
Attach the documents in serialised or chronological order.
Review the documents carefully. Make sure that none of the documents issued at the time of treatment are missing. If any documents are missing at the time of submission, the claim may not go through.
You can get the name of the TPA from your insurance company. When you visit the TPA branch, ask an executive to check the submitted documents. Then submit the documents with the executive.
You should also inform the health care insurance company that the claim has been submitted, by sending them a set of copied documents
means a sudden, unforeseen and involuntary event caused be external, and visible and violent means.
Alternative treatmentsAlternative treatmentsare forms of treatments other than treatment "Allopathic" or "modern medicine" and includes Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy in the Indian context.
Sum InsuredSum Insuredmeans and denotes the maximum amount of cover available to the insured during each Policy Year of the Policy Period, as stated in the Policy Schedule or any revisions thereof based on Claim settled under the Policy.
Any one illnessAny one illnessmeans continuous Period of illness and it includes relapse within 45 days from the date of last consultation with the Hospital/Nursing Home where treatment may have been taken.
Congenital AnomalyCongenital Anomalyrefers to a condition(s) which is present since birth, and which is abnormal with reference to form, structure or position.
Cashless Facility means a facility extended by the insurer to the insured where the payments, of the costs of treatment undergone by the insured in accordance with the policy terms and conditions, are directly made to the network provider by the insurer to the extent preauthorization approved.
Cumulative BonusCumulative Bonus shall mean any increase in the Sum Insured granted by the insurer without an associated increase in premium.
Day Care TreatmentDay Care Treatment refers to medical treatment, and/or Surgical Procedure which is:
Day care centre means any institution established for day care treatment of Illness and/ or injuries or a medical set - up within a hospital and which has been registered with the local authorities, wherever applicable, and is under the supervision of a registered and qualified medical practitioner AND must comply with all minimum criteria as under:- has qualified nursing staff under its employment; has qualified medical practitioner(s) in charge; has a fully equipped operation theatre of its own where surgical procedures are carried out-maintains daily records of patients and will make these accessible to the Insurance company's authorized personnel.
DeductibleDeductible is a cost sharing requirement under a health insurance policy that provides that the insurer will not be liable for specified rupee amount in case of indemnity policies and for a specified number of days/ hours in case of hospital cash policy, which will apply before any benefits are payable by Us. This is to clarify that a deductible does not reduce the sum insured.
HospitalHospital means any institution established for in-patient care and day care treatment of illness and/ or injuries and which has been registered as a hospital with the local authorities under the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulations) Act 2010 or under enactments specified under the Schedule of Section 56(1) of the said Act OR comply with all minimum criteria as under:
Hospitalisation means admission in a Hospital for a minimum period of 24 In patient Care and consecutive hours except for specified Day Care procedures/ Treatments, where such admission could be for a period of less than 24 consecutive hours.
Inpatient careInpatient care means treatment for which the insured person has to stay in a Hospital for more than 24 hours for a covered event.
IllnessIllness means a sickness or disease or pathological condition leading to the impairment of normal physiological function which manifests itself during the Policy Period and requires medical treatment.
Injury means any accidental physical bodily harm occurring during the Policy Period, excluding illness or disease solely and directly cased by external, violent, visible and evident means which is verified and certified by a Medical Practitioner.
Insured/ Insured Person(s)Insured/ Insured Person(s) means the individual(s) whose name(s) is/ are specifically appearing as such in the Policy Schedule and is/ are hereinafter referred as "You"/"Your"/"Yours"/"Yourself"
Medically necessaryis defined as any treatment, tests medication or stay in hospital or part of a stay in Hospital which
Network Provider means hospitals or health care provider enlisted by an insurer or by a TPA and insurer together to provide medical services to an insured on payment by a cashless facility.
Non- NetworkNon- Network means any Hospital, day care centre or other provider that is not part of the Network.
Notification/ Intimation of ClaimNotification/ Intimation of Claim is the process of notifying a claim to the insurer or TPA by specifying the timelines as well as the address/ telephone number to which it should be notified.
OPD treatmentOPD treatment is one in which the Insured visits a clinic/ hospital or associated facility like a consultation room for diagnosis and treatment based on the advice of a Medical Practitioner. The Insured is not admitted as a day care or in-patient.
PolicyPolicy means these Policy wordings, the Policy Schedule and any applicable endorsements or extensions attaching to or forming part thereof. The Policy contains details of the extent of cover available to You, what is excluded from the cover and the terms & conditions on which the Policy is issued to You.
Policy YearPolicy Year means a period of twelve months beginning from the Policy Period Start Date and ending on the last day of such twelve month period. For the purpose of subsequent years, "Policy Year" shall mean a period of twelve months beginning from the end of the previous Policy Year and lapsing on the last day of such twelve-month period, till the Policy Period End Date, as specified in the Policy Schedule
PortabilityPortability means transfer by an individual health insurance policyholder (including Family cover) of the credit gainer for pre-existing conditions and time bound exclusions if he/she chooses to switch from one insurer to another
Pre-existing DiseasePre-existing Disease means any condition, ailment or injury or related condition(s) for which You had signs or symptoms, and/ or were diagnosed, and/ or received medical advice/ treatment, within 48 months prior to the first policy issued by the insurer.
Post Hospitalisation Medical ExpensesPost Hospitalisation Medical Expenses means medical expenses incurred immediately after the Insured Person is discharged from the hospital, provided that:
Pre Hospitalisation means medical expenses incurred immediately before the Insured Person is Hospitalised, provided that:
Reasonable and Customary Charges means the charges for services or supplies, which are the standard charges for the specific provider and consistent with the prevailing charges in the geographical area for identical or similar services, taking into account the nature of Illness/injury involved. Room Rent means the amount charged by a hospital for the occupancy of a bed on per day (24 hours) basis and shall include associated medical expenses.