KEEP YOUR FAMILY SUPER SAFE
Extensive cover at an affordable premium makes super top-up health plans an ideal bet
Health insurance is one of the best ways to deal with medical emergencies. However, many people do not buy any cover at all, leaving themselves and their families vulnerable to uncertainties or at best go for a limited, basic insurance cover. While mediclaim premiums are getting competitive by the day, there’s an even better way to covering oneself at a very affordable cost—super top-up health insurance plans.
A super top-up is a health plan that provides medical cover over and above a declared amount, which is called deductible. You can either have a basic health policy, which can help you get medical cover up to the deductible, or you can pay this amount from your own pocket. Any amount over and above this deductible is paid by the insurer. For instance, if you have a basic health plan of Rs 5 lakh and take a super top-up of Rs 10 lakh, your total cover goes up to Rs 15 lakh. ➘ Higher cover at lesser cost: If you want a regular health plan with higher cover, you may have to pay a very high premium. But with a super top-up plan, you can enjoy the higher benefit at a lower cost. “Getting a super top-up over and above the base health plan is a cost-effective option to increase coverage,” says Rakesh Goyal, director, Probus Insurance. “If one has a health insurance plan with a low sum insured and wishes to increase the coverage for a small investment,
super top-up plans are ideal.”
➘ Difference from a regular top-up plan: A regular topup plan kicks in only when your single hospitalisation cost crosses the deductible limit. What this means is that in case of multiple hospitalisations within a year, if each hospitalisation cost is below the deductible limit, the top plan will not kick in even when the total cost during the year crosses the deductible amount. However, a super top-up plan offers extensive cover. “The greatest feature of super top-up plans is that it covers the total of all bills in a given year as it covers multiple hospitalisations,” says Amit Chhabra, business head, health insurance, policybazaar.com. This makes a super top-up plan the best tool to enhance the overall cover as one is guarded against both single big-cost hospitalisations as well as multiple hospitalisations that add up to a huge cost.
➘ Supplementing corporate health plans: The sum assured in corporate health policies for employees is usually low (Rs 2-5 lakh). In such a case, one can buy a super top-up, with an additional sum assured of Rs 5-10 lakh, at an affordable premium. “A corporate plan, along with a super topup, provides the required coverage for best healthcare facilities,” says Chhabra.
➘ Maximising benefits: It’s not necessary to buy the super top-up plan from the same insurance company that runs your basic health insurance. However, buying both plans from the same insurer makes cashless claims in a hospital easier. This becomes critical if the hospital in not empanelled for cashless claim with both the insurers. Super top-up plans are eligible for rebate under section 80D of the Income Tax Act. ➘ Watch out: Check for exclusions while buying a super top-up. “Be it age or existing ailments, companies have various terms and conditions,” says Sousthav Chakrabarty, co-founder of financial services firm Capital Quotient. ■