Today, all corporate organisations are mandated to provide health insurance cover to all their employees. But, as an employee, is the corporate group policy sufficient to cover your family’s health needs? Read on, to find out.
In India, research suggests that only 18% of the population in urban areas have a health insurance policy. The condition is even worse among the rural community, with only 14.1% of people having a health cover. These numbers indicate that health insurance is not considered a priority by Indians. One of the main reason for this could be attributed to the fact that most people believe that the health insurance cover provided by their employee is sufficient. But, you must know that such group policies have limited coverage, and often the
sum assured is insufficient to cover the needs of a family.
So, if you are wondering, is my corporate health insurance enough? Here are a few reasons that suggest otherwise.
Your cover ceases to exist when you switch job
One of the most important reasons why you must not rely on your corporate group cover to cover your family’s health needs is that the cover will not be valid when you switch jobs. And you may not want to spend your entire life working in the same company.
Also, when you switch job, it may be possible that the new employer does not offer a health plan. This means that you will not have any protection, and if anything, unfortunate happens to any of your family members during the period, you would have to bear the full expenses. To avoid this situation, it is better to have an individual cover irrespective whether you are covered under a group policy or not.
Low Sum Assured
Today, there is no denying the fact that the medical cost in India is rising at a rapid pace. While we have best-in-class medical facilities, they are not affordable to all. Most group insurance policies have a paltry sum assured and often less than five lakhs, which is not much to cover your entire family. Also, you cannot revise or customise the corporate plan to suit your specific needs. This means even if you remain employed with the same company, your health insurance coverage will remain the same.
If you are living in an urban area, treatment of a critical illness can have severe financial implication; your insurance may not be enough to cover the entire treatment cost.
The policy may have many limitations
Apart from having a low sum assured, the corporate group health insurance policy may also have several limitations. For instance, some policies may not cover your dependant parents. Also, there may be many sub-limits on the hospitalisation, ambulance charges, diagnostic tests, etc. This means that you must pay for all these expenses after you cross a certain threshold. Some treatment may require post-operative care, and this may not be covered under your group health policy.
No coverage post-retirement
Retirement is an inevitable part of your life, and you must stop working at some point. Getting a health insurance cover after retirement can you a considerable amount, and sometimes you may even may rejection if you don’t meet the insurer eligibility requirements.
Most insurance companies have a limit on the entry age for buying health insurance. And, once you turn 50 years, the insurer will consider you a high-risk customer and they may charge a high premium. Also, the insurer may ask you to undergo a series of health check-ups and tests before agreeing to provide you with a health cover.
So, in a nutshell, there are many disadvantages of relying on a corporate health insurance policy to cover your family. Hence, it is better to have an individual plan or a family floater plan to cover all family member under a single policy.
