0
0
With the recent technological advancements, it has become easier than ever to purchase a health insurance policy. You don’t have to continue with the hassle of visiting an insurance company and get in touch with an agent in order to buy one. With just the click of a button, you can complete all the formalities online. On the contrary, with such an ease of use, people are finding it hard to understand, which insurance policy will work best for them.
If you are buying your Health Insurance Policy from an agent, chances are that they might explain all the important terminologies associated with the insurance policy. But if you are going to opt for the same from an online website, it is very important to become vigilant and make your purchase according.
The harsh reality
Truth to be told, the majority of us doesn’t even bother to read the entire terms and conditions that are put forward to us, through the insurance company. Be it a life insurance, health insurance, travel insurance or even health insurance policy, we just sign off without even having a proper glance through all the numbers. One of the major concerns regarding such, we might end up choosing the wrong insurance policy without even realizing it.
Our inability to understand the importance of the situation comes from the time and effort that one needs to put forward for further research. Now, one might argue that it is completely ok not to know about the conditions applied in the first place, but the same can haunt us in the coming unforeseeable future while making the claim. That is exactly why it is very important to know at least some of the basic terms that are associated with the insurance policy. We have jotted down the points below in order to create awareness among the policy holders for making a smarter choice.
Top ten health insurance policies related terms that everyone should know about:
1) Policy holder
Policy holder is generally defined as the individual, under whose name the policy is being registered. In other terms, a policy holder can also be defined as the person whose name is there in the official records. But, under several circumstances, the policy holder might not be the person whose life is being insured. Take for example- you can always opt for a life insurance for your wife, in which case, you shall be deemed as the policy holder while your wife is the person whose life shall be insured.
2) Assignment
An assignment is termed as the circumstance where the entire insurance policy is transferred from the policy holder to a completely different individual. In most of the cases, such assignments are exercised where the policy holder opts for a load with the life insurance being the collateral. During such practices, once the assignment is completed, the new policy holder can avail all the benefits once the life insurance policy holder passes away.
3) Nominee
Nominee is perhaps one of the most common terms you have ever come across. In case of life insurance, a nominee is defined as the individual, who shall avail all the benefits of life insurance, after the demise of the policy holder.
4) Beneficiary
Beneficiary is someone who you may or may not consider as a nominee. The term beneficiary is often associated with the with regards to monetary interest with the policy holder. A beneficiary can also be certain someone who is the legal heir of the organization to whom actually the policy holder owes money.
5) Claim
The instance where the insurance company needs to pay the assured money to the policy holder/ nominee is often termed as a claim. According to the variation of the situation, the amount of claim tends to change.
6) Coverage
Every insurance policy is bound to protect their policy holder from certain life assurances. Such assurances could range from protection against certain ailments, accidents, and even long term lie covers. The coverage always varies according to the life insurance company and their terms and conditions.
7) Exclusions
Just like a life insurance plan is bound to save your life with certain coverage, the same can be applied for the instances where it fails to do. Exclusion for an insurance policy can be defined as the situations where the life insurance policy will not pay the policy holder or the nominee, with the claim. One such instance is suicide. During such instance, the assured individual is not paid any benefits.
8) Premium
In order to avail the benefits of a health insurance, you need to pay a certain amount every month/quarter/year. This is known as a premium. The premium varies according to the age, duration and total amount assured to the policy holder. Before you opt for a health insurance policy, make sure to check out the premium that needs to be paid and where you can afford the same or not.
9) Maturity/ Death Benefits
The maturity or death benefit can be termed as the overall sum that is provided after the completion of the entire insurance policy. Now keep in mind, not all the insurance policies provide a maturity benefit. You can also opt for a health insurance plan which only provides death benefits after the demise of the policy holder.
10) Rider
There are several instances where an individual can choose to opt for further protections from their insurance policy as compared to that of their base plan. This is what, commonly defined as rider. The rider is nothing by an add on which is provided by the insurer. Now, according to your insurance provider, the rider can drastically vary.
Bottom Line
Once you get a clear understanding of all the various health insurance policies buzzwords, you can easily create the perfect plan for yourself to get the insurance policy that works best for you and fits your budget. Just remember, there is always a trade-off between lower costs and higher coverage amount. Always choose wisely, and your decision will pay off in the future.
