Being covered under a Corporate Medical Policy facilitated by the organisation you work for is an advantage. A corporate health plan covers you and your family for a fixed amount. Usually, your spouse, children, and parents (in most cases) are covered. All pre-existing illnesses are included in the coverage from day one, and immediate hospitalisation is allowed. All of this sounds very good. But do you think you can solely rely on this group policy alone? As you dig deeper, compare health insurance, and compare insurance policy terms and conditions, you will discover many loopholes.
Here are five important reasons why you must opt for individual health insurance, despite being covered by a corporate medical policy:
1. Pre-fixed terms and conditions:
Corporate Health Plans cover your and your family’s hospitalisation expenses. But the coverage amount is pre-set, and there could be many possible caps on the hospital room category, an upper limit of room expenses per day, a fixed number of hospitals covered, and so on. For instance, if the coverage amount is only Rs 4 lakhs, and you have a sudden medical emergency amounting to 9 lakhs, the balance of Rs 5 lakhs will have to be borne solely by you.
2. Fluctuating Corporate Policies:
When a company runs into losses, it could be possible that they reduce they drastically reduce the corporate medical policy amount or ask employees to opt for a co-payment policy instead, wherein the company will partially reimburse medical expenses. As you compare health insurance norms, you will understand that co-payment can be very tricky and could burn a hole in your pocket in the event of an extensive medical procedure.
3. Retirement or termination of job:
No matter how beneficial your corporate medical plan happens to be, it will only provide coverage as long as you are working. In case you retire, get fired, or quit and join another job where there is no corporate health coverage (many companies don’t provide this facility to date), you will be left to fend on your own. And since pre-existing illnesses don’t get coverage from day-1 for individual health insurance, you will have to wait for several years to be eligible for hospitalisation under those pre-existing health conditions.
4. No-Claim Benefit:
When you compare insurance policy in terms of corporate versus individual, a significant difference you will observe is that of no-claim benefits. In corporate insurance plans, it is a group plan wherein your company is paying your premium. Hence, you don’t get any no-claim benefit from the group plan. When you purchase individual health insurance, the insurer will reward you every year with a no-claim bonus by increasing your coverage amount for the same premium paid. Apart from the no-claim bonus, insurance companies provide many other incentives for long-term association with a client. So as you finish a couple of terms on your individual/family health insurance, your coverage increases and you receive additional perks whilst paying the same premium amount.
5. Age-Brackets:
If you have even the basic knowledge about health insurance policies, you must be well aware that one of the most critical factors determining the premium payable is the age bracket that is applicable for you. The higher your age bracket, the higher is the premium when you purchase a new policy. Hence, it is wiser to buy individual health insurance beforehand, instead of waiting for retirement, as you end up paying a higher premium amount for a small coverage then.
Conclusion
When you compare health insurance policy in terms of corporate versus individual policy, the fact is that you cannot rely on the former alone. It is your employer that dictates the terms and conditions. Of course, some clauses like allowing immediate treatment of pre-existing ailments and instant hospitalisation could be very well in your favour.
But corporate policies are always subject to change, and this could affect your coverage amount and other facilities. Moreover, there are no benefits (like no-claim bonus and other long-term benefits) to carry forward once you quit the company or retire. Hence, it becomes imperative to invest in an individual/ family health insurance plan, even if you have an existing corporate medical policy covering you.
