Your family is the most important to you and so it is essential to secure their health and heartiness. The easiest way to safeguard your loved ones is to purchase a family health insurance plan. Health insurance provides financial support to the insured in case of a medical emergency by covering medical care costs.
However, your family health insurance plan also needs to be re-evaluated from time to time. Just like every other insurance plan, health insurance plans need to be renewed at the end of the term. At the time of renewal, the policyholder can re-evaluate the plan, look at the options and plan finances accordingly.
A good time to re-evaluate your family health insurance plan would be during any major life changing event. Some of which, we have listed below:
- Marriage: The wedding time is usually quite busy. Apart from the rituals and ceremonies, there are various other legal and financial formalities to be taken care of. Health insurance for your spouse is another item to be added on your to-do list after the wedding. You can either add your spouse on to your insurance policy or opt for another insurance plan with additional benefits and wider coverage during renewal.
- Birth of your child:While you plan to add a new member to your family, it is also important to add the new member to your family health insurance plan. The birth of your child comes with a handful of expenses. Right from the prenatal care to the delivery and newborn care, your medical bills will keep piling up. Having health insurance for the baby will take care of the expenses as you take care of your baby.
- Salary hike or promotion: Just like any other commodity, if you can pay extra, you can enjoy extra benefits with your health insurance policy. With an increase in your salary, you are likely to enjoy a more comfortable lifestyle. It would be wise to review your family health insurance plan at this time and opt for one that provides you with the maximum inclusions to cover your family.
- Retirement: We constantly work towards a comfortable and enjoyable life post retirement. It is during the final years of your work life when you must consider considering a more comprehensive health insurance plan. With our age, the medical expenses increase as well. Older citizens are more likely to develop critical ailments and hence have frequent visits to the hospital. To avoid financial strain at this age, it is wise to have a health insurance plan with the widest coverage and benefits.
- Unhappy with current insurer: If you are spending your money on a health insurance plan, you must guarantee that you are satisfied with the benefits and coverage. If you are unhappy with the service provided or if you are unsatisfied with the inclusions and the terms of the insurance policy, you must re-evaluate your plan and pick one that you are happy with.
The re-evaluation of your policy is not restricted to the above situations. You are free to review your existing plan at the time of each renewal or whenever you see fit. There are certain advantages associated with re-evaluating your family insurance plan:
- Save costs:The health insurance market is widespread and there are endless policies to choose from that fit your requirement. As you assess your family’s health condition and your existing policy, it is easy to compare different plans to choose one that fits your criteria perfectly. The online insurance marketplace lets you view hundreds of insurance policies enabling you to select one that is the most affordable and provides the best coverage.
- Change in network: Insurance companies modify their list of network hospitals quite often. One of the pros of re-evaluating your policy is that you can assess the network list while purchasing a new policy to make sure that the hospitals and clinics in your vicinity are covered. This way, you will stay in network and avoid paying out of pocket at any hospital or clinic that is not included in your plan.
- Diseases that are not covered: Your current policy may not cover some diseases that you may require coverage for as you grow and your family grow older. For example, dental coverage is not included in many plans but you may need it after a certain age. As you re-evaluate your plan, you can make sure to include dental care in your new policy.
To sum it up, your family’s health insurance must be re-evaluated on a regular basis. This will not only help you avoid unnecessary costs and plan your finances better, but also ensure a healthy and happy family like in the long run.