Health insurance policy always comes handy to provide a financial cover to protect yourself against unexpected and unforeseen medical emergencies. Moreover, in the present torrid times, having a health insurance cover is no less than a safety net.
When you buy health insurance, you must ensure it provides adequate coverage to its beneficiaries in situations of a medical emergency. But at times, it may so happen that your policy cover may fall short during a policy tenure. So what should you do? Purchase a top-up cover or a new insurance plan? This article makes it easy for you to select either a top-up cover or a new insurance cover. Read further to know more.
What is a top-up cover?
The top-up cover is an additional benefit that you can purchase for your base health insurance. It provides coverage once your base insurance amount gets exhausted. The limit of your top-up policy is over and above the base insurance policy. These plans have a deductible component which is a threshold that is required to be crossed for the policy coverage to kick in. A smart move would be opting for a policy with a lower threshold as these top-up plans come into the picture only after the threshold amount is reached.
There are two types of top-up covers that you can purchase:
#1 Top-up
A top-up plan kicks in when the amount of claim is more than the health insurance cover. It is applicable on a per claim basis. Say, for example, you have a top-up policy, and the hospitalisation expenses exceed the sum assured of your base family health insurance policy a top-up cover kicks in, and the top-up cover pays the differential amount.
#2 Super top-up
Super top-ups are useful as they pay the claim amount in case of repeated claims too. Moreover, these plans work in aggregate and kick in once you exhaust your base policy coverage. Hence, you do not have to wait for the expenses to cross a particular threshold to make a claim under a super-top up policy.
What are the benefits of a top-up policy?
- The premiums for top-up plans are cheaper when compared to buying a new insurance policy. This way, purchasing a top-up policy with higher sum assured is more affordable than a standard health cover.
- There is no restriction on how much you can increase the coverage of your policy. When you purchase a standard health cover, there is an upper limit on how much sum assured can be increased. Whereas the same isn’t the case for a top-up policy since they are independent of your based insurance cover.
What are the benefits of a new health insurance policy?
- When purchasing a new insurance policy, you have a plethora of options to choose from. You can purchase various plans depending on your need and requirement.
- Many health insurance plans offer cashless treatment facilities. This way, you can avail a complete cash-free treatment at your network hospital.
- Alternative forms of treatment like Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Homeopathy, etc. can be availed if your policy covers them.
These are the various benefits of a new insurance cover as well as a top-up cover. Both types of plans are essential, and one should select them based on their need and budget constraints. With rising medical inflation, it is becoming increasingly difficult to match your health coverage, and that is when a top-up policy comes to rescue. Make sure you compare health insurance plans for its advantages and limitations before making a final purchase.
