The holiday season is in full swing. Festivals are all about lights, food, gifts, etc. Every year during the festive season, you can buy gifts like clothes, jewelry, etc. for yourself and your family. These gifts may or may not be that useful. For giving this holiday season, rather than traditional gifts, consider gifting yourself and your family members with a health insurance plan. Health insurance is an integral part of your financial planning and is a gift that is as precious as gold.
In this article, we look at the top reasons to buy health insurance this holiday season.
Invest in your health this holiday season
The holiday season is a good time for new beginnings. We eagerly look forward to the festive season when we buy a new house, vehicle, gold, home appliances, gadgets, invest in financial products, etc. It is auspicious to buy them in the season. So why not make a fresh start by investing in your own health and that of your family this festive season?
You can take a two-step approach to investing in health this holiday season:
Adopt a healthy lifestyle
Due to the rapid increase in viral infections and civilization diseases in recent years, there is a growing awareness among individuals to take control of their health into their own hands. You can do this by adopting a healthy lifestyle. The holiday season is mostly about foods that are not very healthy, such as sweets, fried foods, etc. During this holiday season, you can choose to focus on healthy foods and avoid unhealthy foods.
In addition to a healthy diet, you can include the following for a healthy lifestyle:
Exercise for about 45 minutes to 1 hour five times a week
Sleep early, about 8-9 hours, and get up early
Maintain work-life balance
Stress management
Take up a hobby, etc.
Get a preventive health checkup for yourself and your family once a year to stay on top of your health.
Buy health insurance
The above section shows the steps for adopting a healthy lifestyle. However, ill health can strike an individual or a family member at any time. That’s why you should invest in family health insurance this holiday season. Health insurance plans can protect you from the ever-increasing costs of hospitalization. During the festive season, individuals are prone to road accidents or fires. Therefore, it is helpful to have a health insurance plan to provide you with financial protection against hospitalization bills.
The main reasons for taking out health insurance during the holidays
Top reasons to buy health insurance during the holidays include the following:
Health care costs are rising rapidly
Healthcare costs have risen significantly in recent years. Healthcare inflation is growing faster than general inflation. If you or your family member gets hospitalized for a surgery/operation, it can set you back by several lakhs of rupees. So buy health insurance this holiday season to insulate yourself from rising hospitalization costs.
Health protection for the whole family
It is your responsibility to protect your health and the health of your family. Health insurance companies offer a family plan that can protect your entire family in a single plan. All family members can share the cover in any proportion. If you are in your 30s and your parents are in their 50s or senior citizens, you may want to consider purchasing two separate health insurance plans:
One health insurance plan covering you, your spouse and children
One health insurance plan covering your parents
So give the gift of health protection to your family this holiday season by purchasing a family health insurance plan.
OPD cover
Apart from hospitalization coverage, some health insurance plans also provide you with outpatient department (OPD) benefits. OPD benefit may include doctor consultations, diagnostic tests, prescription drugs, etc. OPD fulfillment is provided in one of the following ways:
It is part of basic health insurance
It can be added as an optional benefit to basic health insurance
It can be added as an optional additional insurance to the basic health insurance
While hospitalization expenses may be one-off, OPD expenses may be a regular occurrence for most families. So this festive season, make a wise decision by investing in a health plan that provides you and your family with hospitalization and OPD benefits.
ManipalCigna Health Insurance provides the main benefit of ManipalCigna ProHealth – you get coverage for doctor consultations, prescribed diagnostic tests and prescription drugs under this plan.
Medical examination
A health insurance plan can be your financial backup against hospitalization costs. However, while maintaining a healthy lifestyle, you should monitor your health and the health of your family with regular preventive health checkups.
Some health insurance plans may provide you with preventive health exams once every 1-4 years. So if you want to stay on top of your health this festive season, invest in a health insurance plan that provides an annual health checkup for all family members covered.
ManipalCigna LifeTime Health Plan provides an annual health checkup for all covered members.
Cashless handling
Most health insurance plans provide the option of cashless treatment at network hospitals, subject to policy terms and conditions. In a cashless facility, the health insurance company pays the bill directly with the hospital. Therefore, this festive season, if you opt for a health insurance plan with cashless treatment facility, you can gift your family with the benefit of cashless treatment.
Health insurance company ManipalCigna has a strong and wide network of more than 9000 hospitals for cashless treatment.
No Claim Bonus (NCB)
Most health insurance plans provide a No Claim Bonus (NCB) when you do not make any claims during the year. When you renew your health insurance coverage, the NCB is usually given to increase the sum insured by a certain percentage.
ManipalCigna Health Insurance provides a guaranteed cumulative bonus with its ProHealth Prime plan irrespective of the claim or non-claim year.
Accident insurance and coverage of serious illnesses
Apart from hospitalization cover, health insurance companies also provide other health insurance plans like personal accident cover, critical illness cover etc. For example, MCHI provides ManipalCigna Accident Shield and Lifestyle Protection Critical Care plans.
Tax savings
Premiums paid for health insurance plans are eligible for deduction from taxable income under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act. You can pay premiums for yourself, your spouse and children. The maximum deduction allowed in a financial year is Rs. 25,000. If you and/or your spouse are a senior citizen, the maximum deduction allowed is Rs. 50,000.
A separate deduction of Rs. 25,000 is allowed for health insurance premiums paid for parents. If one or both parents are/are elderly