Consider this: In an unforeseen circumstance you are hospitalized for three days and are asked to pay the hospital bill of around Rs 4 lakh inclusive of tests, treatments, medicine bills, doctor’s fees, etc., How would you pay?- Out of your pocket, draining your savings and investments, or seeking a claim from a health insurance company. Needless to say, through the claim.

But, do you have health insurance?

You must’ve read about the importance of health insurance. It covers your hospitalization costs, bills and many other medical treatments, saving you from derailing from your financial plan. But, despite many benefits, many individuals don’t take health insurance, assuming nothing will happen to them or they will decide when the day comes, and end up burning a hole in their pockets.

Let’s face the truth, you can’t predict ailments, diseases are increasing and so are medical treatments. As per The Lancent and its associated journals, India saw an alarming increase in heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancers in the past 25 years, between 1990 and 2016. Also, the World Health Organisation (WHO) stated that India had the highest number of diabetics at 50.8 million till 2018 and estimated that the number will reach 73.5 million by 2025.

Talking about treatment costs, as per the Economic Survey of India 2019, there was a steep rise in healthcare goods and services such as doctor’s fees, medicines, and more.

Yet, there are few takers of health insurance and the numbers are startling. The overall insurance penetration in India reached 3.69% in 2017, and as per a report by Milliman titled ‘Indian Life and Health Insurance Sector’, out of 1.3 billion people in India, only 44% had a health insurance policy as of 2017.

So, what choice do you make—Bima ya Bimari?

To raise awareness about the criticality of health insurance, government and the private sector are taking several initiatives and reaching out to people in metros, Tier-II and Tier-III cities. Companies such as Reliance General Insurance (RGI) are making health insurance accessible to all by introducing several schemes and launching attractive features.

For instance, through RGI, you can pay premiums for adequate health insurance in four easy instalments. The insurer has even introduced a 5% discount for girl child and independent women.

Policies under RGI’s HealthGain Health Insurance covers pre and post hospitalization costs, domestic ambulance, donor expenses, etc. In case you exhaust the full amount of sum insured during the policy period, you can opt for auto re-fill of your sum insured.

Moreover, you get tax benefits on health insurance under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act.

In a nutshell, there are various benefits of health insurance and since it’s being made affordable, it is a good time to get a policy and add a safety net around yourself and your loved ones.