Did you know that the last health sample survey by the National Sample Survey Office in 2013-14 showed that about 36 million households in India spent more on their healthcare than their annual per capita consumption? (1)

Shocking, right?

That is why, nowadays, paying out of the pocket to avail competent healthcare services is not a feasible option for most. Health insurance policies are the saving grace when it comes to meeting the high cost of medical treatment and all other accompanying needs.

If you still have questions regarding why health insurance policies are a necessity, let us take a look at a few relevant statistics.

Looking at these data, it is not difficult to make out that the situation surrounding affordable healthcare is quite dire in the country.

As a result, health insurance policies are no longer just a convenience; they have become a necessity to save yourself from huge financial losses.

The need for health insurance policies, as a result, has never been higher!

But, before you zero in on purchasing health insurance for yourself and your family, it is crucial for you to familiarise yourself with the benefits you can avail from one.

If you are well-versed with the advantages you can avail from an insurance cover, you can choose the one best suited for your requirements.

We have compiled a list to summarise health insurance benefits you should look for before purchasing a policy.

Take a look!

1. Hospitalization Expenses

One of the most significant benefits of health insurance policies in India is that they cover hospitalization charges. Following are some of the aspects that health insurance policies cover with regard to hospitalization:

a) Accidental Hospitalization - Any cost incurred while seeking treatment in due course of hospitalization due to accidents in covered under health insurance plans.

b) Illness-Related Hospitalization - Insurance policies cover costs incurred while seeking treatment in a hospital for any illness. You must note that the number of illnesses covered can be wide and varied, including Chikungunya, Dengue, etc. 

c) ICU Room Rent - As its name suggests, ICU rooms are for those who need specialised care for their treatment. As a result, the room rent for ICU is also significantly higher than that of standard rooms. A health insurance policy covers the charges for the ICU rooms alongside normal rooms.

d) No Cap on Room Rent – Well, this is a feature that is offered by only some insurance providers, like Digit Insurance. Usually, standard health insurance policies come with a cap on room rent charges, which deters them from availing a room that charges more than this rent cap.

But with Digit, there is no such cap, allowing you to choose the hospital room according to your convenience.

So there you go! You can finally breathe easy knowing that your health insurance benefits will cover all the expenses that you incur during hospitalization and will allow you to make your time at the hospital more comfortable with no cap on room rent.

2. Pre and Post Hospitalization Costs

It is not always necessary that you have to be hospitalised to incur huge medical expenses. Pre-hospitalization costs for diagnostic tests as well as follow-up post-hospitalization costs can also be quite substantial. A health insurance policy helps to cover such costs, as well.

What more?

3. Cost for Day-Care Procedures

A few procedures to treat illnesses might not require you to be admitted to a hospital but can land you a sizeable bill, all the same. So, does the health insurance policy help then?

Well, not always. But if you have health insurance from Digit, you can avail coverage for such day-care expenses. This includes the medical expenses that you incur in a hospital while being there for less than 24 hours, due to advancement in the medical field.

Few of the daycare procedures covered for treatments without hospitalization such as nasal sinuses, cataract, chemosurgery, orthopaedics, etc.

4. Refill Sum Insured Amount

This feature of health insurance policies allows you to refill your sum insured amount if you have exhausted the existing sum insured. Refill sum insured benefit is only available for an unrelated illness.

This benefit is especially helpful if you have a family floater insurance cover, and your entire family is sharing a single policy. 

5. Cover your Daily Expenses with Hospital Cash Benefit

Hospitalization may lead you to be laid off from your job for a few days. In this scenario, you may face a cash crunch, making you hesitant to spend on your daily needs. But with a daily cash allowance from your health insurance policy, you can overcome this situation easily.

This amount has no usage restrictions, allowing you to manage your daily expenses for tea, snacks, etc. for up to 30 days of hospitalization.

6. Get Your Transportation Costs Reimbursed with Ambulance Cover

Ambulance charges, especially if you are residing in metropolitan cities, can be quite high. For instance, in Bangalore, it can range up to Rs. 5,000, with transport from outside the city being even higher.

So, having a health insurance policy in place can help you cover the costs incurred during transportation through an ambulance.

7. Get Increased Sum Insured as No Claim Bonus Benefit

You are probably wondering what happens to the premiums paid towards your health insurance if you do not raise a claim during the policy period.

Well, fret not!

Insurance providers extend the benefit of No Claim Bonus in the form of an additional sum insured amount at the same premium payment for the subsequent year. This No Claim Bonus can range between 10% and 20%.

This makes for one of the most useful benefits of having health insurance.

8. Maintain Good Health with Complimentary Annual Health Check-Ups

Illnesses mostly occur unannounced. It is therefore pertinent to go for an all-round medical check-up every once in a year to ensure that you are healthy and hearty.

And the good news? Your health insurance policy will cover the expenses for this medical check-up, once in each year. This is a complimentary benefit that is extended by insurance providers on the renewal of your policy.

The check-up costs will be reimbursed to you irrespective of the hospital you choose for the same.

9. Avail a Cover for Seeking Psychiatric Treatment

Did you know that about 7.5% of India’s population is affected by some kind of mental illness?

Under such circumstances, it makes sense for insurance policies to cover the cost for hospitalization to seek psychiatric treatment.

With Digit Insurance’s policy, you can avail cover for the charges incurred for hospitalization due to psychiatric treatment.

However, you must remember that OPD consultation for such treatment is not covered under the insurance policy. 

10. Get Cover for Bariatric Surgery

This is not a benefit that is covered by all insurance providers, but that doesn’t dismiss the fact that it is an important advantage to have at our side. Bariatric surgery to treat obesity and its side-effects can be a life-saver under any circumstances.

Insurance policies under Digit cover the cost incurred in due course of such bariatric surgeries to alleviate issues arising from obesity.

11. Get Maternity & Infertility Treatment Benefit and Newborn Care Cover

This is an add-on benefit that can be availed by those who are planning to have a baby after 2 years from the date of availing the policy.

This add-on imparts you with the following benefits:

• Cost of child delivery.
• Cost of medically necessary pregnancy terminations.
• Cost of treatment for the newborn baby for up to 90 days (if required).
• Expenses incurred to treat infertility.

This cover is, thus, extremely useful if you want to reduce your financial liabilities while having or planning to have a kid. This benefit usually comes with a waiting period of 2 years and covers up to 2 kids only.

Disclaimer: Currently, at Digit, we are not offering Maternity Health Cover with our Health insurance policy.

Know more about: 

• Health Insurance with Maternity Cover
• Health Insurance with Infertility Treatment Cover

12. Affordable Healthcare in Metropolitan Cities with Zone Upgrade Cover

In India, treatment costs usually vary from one city to the other. It is especially higher in metropolitan cities like Delhi and Mumbai.

With a zone upgrade, you can avail higher financial coverage for treatments at different city zones. Zones are classified as per the city’s medical expenses. The higher the medical expense in a particular region, the higher it is placed in such classification.

This add-on allows you to account for the disparity in treatment costs across different regions or zones with a slightly higher premium. But subsequently allows you to save on your total premium by 10%-20%.

Different zones in India:

Though the number of zones based on zone classification varies across Insurance Providers, it is majorly as below: 

• Zone A - Delhi/NCR, Mumbai (including Navi Mumbai, Thane and Kalyan)

• Zone B - Hyderabad, Secunderabad, Bangalore, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Chennai, Pune and Surat.

• Zone C - All Cities apart from A & B belong to Zone C

Currently, at Digit, we have two zones: Zone A (Greater Hyderabad, Delhi NCR, Greater Mumbai) and Zone B (All other places).

You get an additional discount on premium if you are based in Zone B. Not just that, we have no zone-based co-payment.

13. Enjoy Income Tax Benefits

Under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act 1961, you can enjoy tax benefits on the premium paid towards your health insurance policy. These benefits can be illustrated as given below:

• Health insurance for self and family (spouse and children) - ₹25,000
• For self and family + parents (below 60 years of age) - (₹25,000 + ₹25,000) = ₹50,000
• For self and family (where the eldest member is below 60 years of age) + senior citizen parents - (₹25,000 + ₹50,000) = ₹75,000
• For self and family (where the eldest member is above 60 years of age) + senior citizen parents - (₹50,000 + ₹50,000) = ₹1,00,000

14. Seek In-Home Treatment Benefits with Domiciliary Care Cover

This benefit of health insurance is especially helpful for those availing the health insurance policy for their parents.

Your Digit health insurance policy will allow you to cover the treatment costs incurred under domiciliary care for your parents. This feature can make such unavoidable situations marginally easier for everybody involved.

15. Avail Alternative Treatment Benefits Under AYUSH Cover

This is an add-on provided by some insurance companies that covers the costs of hospitalization due to alternative treatment procedures like Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Homeopathy.

That is why health insurance policies have something to offer to individuals belonging to every age group.

*Currently, we are not offering any Add-Ons including Ayush Benefit with our health plans.