Insuring one’s health has gained a lot of importance and has almost become a necessity now-a-days. It is never known as to when someone may fall sick or majorly ill and with the hospital and medication charges increasing day by day falling sick is totally unaffordable by many. In order to avoid any mishaps a large number of families make use of the saved cash in order to get a health insurance done.

The main purpose of a health insurance is to be the support system of the family and to take care of the family’s financial burden during such situations. A health insurance ensures that you are provided with timely and adequate medical care. Even in the cases, where the accident results into a life long disability of the earning member of the family the insurance company comes to their rescue.

The Mediclaim policy enables you to get the reimbursement of the hospitalization expenses which come during the policy period. The health insurance Mediclaim is available to each and every person who is between the age group of 5 to about 80 years. If either 1 or both the parents of the child are covered then a child between the age of 3 months to 5 years is also covered.

The health insurance Mediclaim policy is eligible for claim only for unani, ayurvedic and allopathy systems of medicine and not for any other alternative systems. The policy is available only if the treatment is availed in India and nowhere else. While taking the Mediclaim policy analyze your needs, think if you need a family package, wide coverage, long coverage, think about the benefits you might get, get information about all the different benefits that can be claimed for etc.

The various health Insurers are National Insurance Corporation, Oriental Insurance Corporation, United India Insurance Corporation, National India Assurance Corporation,Bajaj Allianz, Royal Sundaram, ICICI Lombard etc.

Mediclaim policies are available for senior citizens are well. Senior citizens above the age of 60 can opt for Mediclaim policies or health insurance from several companies that provide medical cover through health insurance or a Mediclaim policy. There are specific schemes which are devoted to senior citizens and cater to their special needs. These Mediclaim policies provide cover to senior citizens in the cases of hospitalization or any other medical expenses that are incurred due to any medical treatment which takes place.

Thus in the case of any surgical procedure or any operation if it has to be done on the patient, then under the health insurance policy such medical expenses will also be covered. The Mediclaim policy thus provides numerous benefits to the senior citizens. Insurance is considered a form of savings as well for senior citizens. This money provides financial stability when in need and also helps during circumstances which can not be avoided. Medical insurance enables senior citizens to pay for health checkups, emergency medical costs and long-term treatment. There are several companies which these days are offering Mediclaim covers for senior citizens. Some of the major companies that offer such Mediclaim policies are listed below,

• National Insurance Company
• Oriental Insurance Company
• New India Assurance Company
• United India Insurance Company
• Varistha Mediclaim policy

There are other good companies as well which are offering Mediclaim policies to senior citizens and can be found online.

The concept of cashless Mediclaim has come from the western countries and is now gaining popularity in India. Cashless Mediclaim policies is now the talked about sector in the medical insurance industry in India with some top players in the insurance sector opting to provide the cashless Mediclaim policies. With the use of a cashless policy you do not have to undergo the hassles of paying in cash when you are getting the medical expenses taken care for.

Generally in the case of insurance policies you have to pay at the time of getting the treatment done and then are supposed to apply for reimbursement from the medical insurance company. But in the care of cashless Mediclaim policies you are not supposed to pay while getting the medical treatment done. Thus the holder of the cashless Mediclaim policy will be eligible to get treatment from the network of hospitals and will not have to pay for the treatment. The payments are generally done by third party administrators or people who are commonly referred to as TPA’s.

These third party administrators either pay for the medical treatment themselves on the spot and later ask for reimbursement from the insurance company. Or the third party administrators get in touch with the insurance company straight away and get the payment directly from the insurance company whose Mediclaim policy holder is undergoing medical treatment. Policy holders prefer the cashless Mediclaim policies some times as they do not have to make the payment and then wait for the reimbursement from the insurance company.

Now a days there are family Mediclaim policies which are available that an entire family can take in their name. Thus the entire family will be covered under the same policy and will be insured under a single sum. Generally the term family implies one self, one’s spouse and dependent children. Dependent children are generally the ones who are dependent on their parents income.

Dependent children age may differ from policy to policy as different companies may have different age criteria for dependent children. But generally the dependent children will be till the age of 21 or 25. It is better to clarify this point before you get the Mediclaim policy issues for yourself and for your family. Generally in the case of family insurance the parents are not covered. The family Mediclaim policy is just like any other Mediclaim policy and hence you need to be go through the family Mediclaim policy in detail in order to thoroughly understand what all is covered under the family insurance plan.

The family Mediclaim policies may differ from company to company. But most of them will cover any medical expenses that are incurred due to the patient being hospitalized or injured. The family Mediclaim policy premiums also may not be the same for all companies. It is important to note that you should go through every clause of the family Mediclaim policy before you sign it and get your entire family covered under it. The family Mediclaim policy will thus bear any medical cost that may be incurred due to the treatment of a member of your family who is covered under the policy.