People have been investing in health insurance since the 1920s, and over time it became popular and mandatory in some countries, so by investing in the Medicare supplement plans 2021 you stand to be protected from the unprecedented high medical expenses. 

We must, however, note that there are rogue insurance companies that will drain your finances and not afford you the necessary help when the time comes. Below, therefore, are a few things that you need to look out for before investing in health insurance. 

1) The Waiting Periods and the Pre-Existing Conditions

Pre-existing conditions such as diabetes are rarely covered by most of the insurance policies, and if that is the primary reason as to why you are getting an insurance policy then you will have to explore your options. Most insurance companies don’t offer cover for pre-existing conditions, and you might, therefore, have to sit it out for a couple of years before you get insured over the particular pre-existing conditions. 

So what happens is that the insurance companies give a time frame of four years, and as a rule of thumb don’t try to be smart by hiding the pre-existing health condition (s) that you have when buying policy, because it could reduce your claim once you get hospitalized. Be sure to also find out which conditions are excluded. 

2) Maternity 

The Maternal deaths are yet to reduce and some of them are caused by negligence or by lack of the relevant equipment in public health facilities, requiring for the patients to be transferred to the better-equipped hospitals in the middle of a procedure. So, while an insurance cover will afford you the best healthcare services, you might want to first find out if the policy covers maternity expenses. 

Some policies will cover both you and the baby you are expecting and just like the pre-existing ailments you might have to invest in the policy a bit earlier. Remember that not all insurance companies consider maternity as a medical emergency, so be sure to check the procedures that will be covered with the policy among other maternity expenses that come before and after childbirth. 

3) The Free annual check-up 

How free these services are is still a subject for debate; some insurance companies, therefore, claim to provide free health checkups for their clients, yet the fee has been included in the premium. So since it is part of your cover, you can only attend to it if you are close to the relevant facility. 

4) Critical illnesses

Critical illnesses are normally covered under the comprehensive healthcare policy, so for this option, you might want to ensure that if your family has a history of any critical illness (genetically passed) then you might have to invest in the critical illness healthcare plan. 

5) The No Claims Bonus

The no-claims bonuses are normally offered to customers who haven’t made claims to the policy in the preceding year. So before you pay for any of the insurance packages go through the quantum of the no claims bonus simply because a high no claim bonus will cover you against medical inflation without you having to increase your coverage every year. 

6) The Age Factor 

Insurance policies have an age limit criterion, so what you will be looking out for is the minimum age entry limit and the maximum age entry limit. On the flip side, you will also find that there are plans that don’t have limits as regards the entry age. Ensure therefore that if you pay for the insurance policy, you have in mind the age of all the family members who need the insurance. 

7) Cashless hospitalization 

If you have paid for insurance before, then you must be familiar with the hefty paperwork that precedes before admission. So to save yourself and your health, you will have to find out what happens once you are presented to the relevant hospital more especially in case of an emergency.

And whether you will first have to pay for treatment and be refunded or whether the insurance company will pay the sum insured directly to the hospital. 

Additionally, check for the list of hospitals that the insurance company recommends and how close they are to your location. 

8) Check on how the existing clients have reviewed the insurance policy provider

Online forums will give you insight on the services offered by a specific health insurance provider, don’t depend on the information provided by the insurance brokers because it definitely won’t be conclusive.

The information that you will, therefore, be looking out for are such as the time that the insurance company takes to settle claims and the settlement procedure among others.

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