Easy Ways to Choose the Right Health Insurance for Your Needs

Many people would agree that it is important to have health insurance so that the financial risk due  to illness  can be managed properly. The need for health insurance is inevitably as important as other basic needs. However, not a few people are still confused when they want to choose the right health insurance to support their needs. Are you experiencing the same thing? letter to provider relation to negotiation a best rate

In today's market, there are indeed many types of health insurance products offered by insurance provider companies. Some are pure health insurance, some are equipped with investment features.

There are types of daily compensation health insurance, some also have a hospital benefit scheme  . Choosing the right health insurance according to your needs will make insurance benefits more optimal. What are the easy steps to choosing the right health insurance according to your needs? Come on, let's listen to the following 5 easy steps:

1. Understand the needs

Before deciding to buy a health insurance product, it is more important to first understand what health insurance needs you need. Look at the medical history in your family, is there a history of critical illness? This is to determine  what health insurance coverage or  coverage you need.

Likewise with traveling habits. If you are among those who are quite active in traveling to various places including abroad, having health insurance with an extensive network of  providers  (hospitals) is important. On the other hand, if you rarely  travel  abroad, health insurance that covers domestic protected areas may be sufficient.

2. Check the availability of existing insurance

If you are registered as an employee of a company, usually the place where you work has provided health benefits in the form of health insurance. So, before buying your own health insurance, you should first examine what kind of health benefits are provided by the office. 

Some companies provide comprehensive medical benefits for their employees and even for employees' families. Starting from the benefits of outpatient care, dental care to hospitalization and the benefits of childbirth.

It can take the form of cashless health  insurance  or  reimbursement . Typically, the higher the employee's rank, the greater the medical allowance ceiling limit.

However, there are also companies that provide health benefits in the form of an annual budget ceiling. For example, middle-level employees have a maximum allowance of Rp. 10 million per year which can be used for various health needs, even for their families as well.

The method is usually  reimbursement . On the other hand, every employee of the company is also almost certain to be included, which also provides basic health service benefits.

So as not to be redundant, if at this time there is health benefits from the workplace, adjust the health insurance that you want to buy with the existing one. An easy example, at this time you may already have health insurance from an office with a hospital benefit type  . Hospital benefit  health insurance  provides protection in the form of reimbursement of medical expenses according to the  coverage  stated in the policy. Usually consists of inpatient benefits,  intensive care unit (ICU) benefits ,  benefits of doctor visits, and so on. Where each benefit generally has a ceiling limit  (inner limit)  or an annual limit  (yearly limit) .

So, if you want to complete office health benefits with personal insurance, you should choose a daily  cash plan . That way, health insurance from the office can be used to cover medical costs, while  you can use the cash plan health insurance  as a substitute for income lost during your illness. Also make sure that the health insurance that you buy can be used in conjunction with other insurance  (coordination of benefits).

3. Allocate the budget

To get insurance protection benefits, you need to prepare  a budget allocation  to pay insurance premiums. The amount of the insurance premium will depend on the coverage of the protection offered, the age of the customer or the insured, the insured's medical history and the period of protection. 

Prepare a budget allocation to pay health insurance premiums. How much ideally do you need to budget for? You can allocate 5% -10% of your routine income specifically to cover the cost of insurance premiums, including health insurance. So, if your current income is around IDR 10 million, you can allocate IDR 1 million for payment of insurance premiums. That way, insurance needs can still be covered without disturbing the allocation of other necessities that are no less important. 

4. Check the benefits and exclusion clauses

When you want to buy health insurance, be sure to research in depth what the benefits  (coverage)  is provided and whether it meets your needs. Some of the benefits commonly offered in insurance products include inpatient benefits, outpatient benefits, dental care benefits, surgery benefits, and so on. 

Also make sure to study the exceptions listed in the policy. For example in connection with the pre-existing condition article  . Namely, the rules in health insurance which state that insurance benefits do not apply to pre-existing diseases. Pre-existing conditions  usually have a period of time, for example 1 year or 2 years, even  pre-existing conditions  can not be covered forever. So, if you fall ill and have to be hospitalized because of  pre-existing conditions  , the health insurance will reject your claim.

The pre existing conditions are different from the waiting period. Health insurance generally has a waiting period of 30 days. Pre-existing conditions are usually excluded in the first 1 or 2 years since the policy is active. But there are also insurance policies with pre-existing conditions that are excluded forever.

5. Compare with other health insurance

There is a large selection of products on the market. Do not immediately buy health insurance without comparing it with similar products from   other insurance companies. Compare at least three products first in order to choose the best one, namely in terms of coverage coverage, the amount of premium charged and the track record of the insurance provider. 

The track record of the insurance provider is important to see if the claim business can be easy or problematic in the future. Don't forget to choose an insurance provider who has a good reputation and long experience. That way, you can get optimal health insurance benefits.