A standard individual health insurance policy comes with different waiting periods for various diseases. What this means is that after buying an individual medical insurance policy, you might have to wait for some time before submitting a claim. The amount of time you have to wait might differ based on the medical treatment as well as the insurance provider. One of the biggest advantages of having group health insurance is that many waiting periods can be waived off. This post looks at some standard waiting periods and how they change with standard or customized group medical insurance.
The 30-day wait
Most individual health insurance providers have a standard 30-day waiting period. This means that you cannot submit a claim for 30 days after a policy comes into effect. The insurer does this to ensure that people do not buy insurance for the planned surgery. During this 30-day period, the insurer will cover only emergency hospitalization and accidents. Usually, group mediclaim policies do not have this waiting period.
A one-year high-incidence wait
Categorizing many ailments are as high incidence, which means that their rate of occurrence in a population is high. This includes kidney stones, gall bladder, cataracts, etc. The list of such conditions varies by insurer. Individual health insurance providers have a waiting period of one year or more for these conditions. This means that no claims can be made for the treatment of these ailments for at least one year after purchasing the policy. However, in a group health insurance policy, insurers provide cover for all ailments mentioned in the policy from day one.
Read About: Disease-specific waiting period in group health insurance
Two- and four-year waiting periods
For certain ailments such as hernia or osteoporosis, individual medical insurance providers specify a two-to-four-year waiting period. This means that insurers will not cover treatment for such conditions for two to four years after you purchase the policy. Group mediclaim policies typically have a very limited list of ailments that need a waiting period for claims. In fact, can eliminate the waiting periods in group insurance.
Waiting for maternity cover
Most individual health insurance plans do not cover maternity claims and those that do typically have at least a three-to-four-year waiting period. You can customize your group health insurance policy by waiving off this waiting period completely. Essentially, this would make a member eligible to claim maternity benefits from day one.
The standard practice is to put a monetary limit on the maternity claim. This can range from Rs 25,000 to Rs 100,000. Group cover also includes the medical expenses of a newborn baby within the maternity limits. For instance, many newborn babies have jaundice and need to place under a UV light for a few days. These costs can be covered in group health insurance.
With so many advantages, group health insurance seems like a smart choice. But which insurance is the right one for you and how can you customize it to make it appealing to your group? If this question stumps you, let SecureNow help you make the right choice.
