Health Insurance

People often get confused between health insurance and medical insurance policies. Though the aim of designing both the policies is likewise the same, both the policies differ in some ways from each other. This article talks about the difference between health insurance and medical insurance policies.

What is Health Insurance?

Medical emergencies occur unexpectedly, and it impacts not only your physical condition but also financial state. The medical costs are rising day by day; hence buying a health insurance plan ensures your financial safety, and releases the financial burden of your family. Health insurance policy looks after your medical costs, starting from pre-hospitalisation such as medical tests, hospitalisation, treatment, and post hospitalisation charges.

What is Medical Insurance/Mediclaim?

Health Insurance is comprehensive such that it covers almost all the costs regarding your medical treatment; whereas, mediclaim policies are designed to take care of your hospitalisation costs only. It doesn’t include other costs associated with medications and post-hospitalisation activities.

Following are Basic differences between health and mediclaim insurance policies.

  • As seen earlier, mediclaim policies are concerned with only hospitalisation costs, whereas health policies take care of several expenses such as ambulance charges and loss of income including hospitalisation.
  • While claiming medical insurance, it is always needed to submit the hospitalisation bills or proofs. On the other hand, it is not required necessarily to confirm hospitalisation. Health insurance policies, especially critical illness plans enable you to claim on the diagnosis of the disease.
  • Mediclaim policies cover limited expenses on hospitalisation and usually possess capping about Rs.5L. Health insurance offers greater coverage as compared to mediclaim, and the limit can reach up to Rs.75L to Rs.1Cr.
  • Mediclaim policies work on some principles that if the person has incurred x amount for the hospitalisation, the insurance company will pay the same amount. In case of health insurance, the insurer pays-out the entire sum assured in lump-sum to the insured person irrespective of the expenses incurred by him.
  • Continuing the previous point, mediclaim enables you to claim several times until the limit reaches the amount of sum assured. On the other hand, health insurance pays-out the entire sum assured; hence the insured person is not entitled to make another claim.

Above mentioned are some of the fundamental differences that help you choose the appropriate insurance policy. Analyse your needs and purchase the policy best suitable for you and your family.

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