Health Insurance Options: Finding The Perfect Plan For Your Needs

Considering the prevalence of various health risks, including COVID-19, and the rising costs of healthcare in the country, health insurance has now become an immediate necessity. It’s the most vital part of your financial portfolio, along with life insurance.

Living life without any sort of safety net from these risks can prove disastrous for your finances. Do you think there’s enough in your savings to pay off all the medical expenses you might incur in case of an emergency? Do you really want to leave your financial security to chance, if that happens?

You Can Never Be Too Sure

Even the young and healthy can run the risk of getting sick. Minor illnesses such as appendicitis or typhoid fever will require at least a few days of hospital confinement. While it might not break the bank, you’ll definitely have to dip your hands into your savings to cover the costs if you don’t have insurance. What if it’s something as serious as cancer? Or maybe a traumatic accident? How sure are you that you’re one-hundred percent safe from all of these?

Some medical emergencies can even leave you disabled, preventing you from being able to work. And if you can’t work, you can’t earn an income. Without an income, you’ll be dependent on others to provide for your needs.

So why take a gamble when there’s actually a way to ensure some sense of security? Even if you hope to never use it, making sure you have health insurance should be your top priority.

For a lot of working professionals, they likely already have group health insurance courtesy of their employers. If you’re one of them, then great. That said, sometimes the plans that come with employment are not necessarily fit or enough for your specific medical needs. That’s why we strongly recommend supplementing it with a plan you personally purchased.

To give you a good idea of how to start, we’ve created this two-part guide about navigating through the different things you need to know about purchasing health insurance.

Not All Products Are Created Equal

First and foremost, you should know that not all health insurance products are created equal. It’s a common misconception that the more popular a provider is or the more expensive a plan is, the better the benefits are. This, of course, is not true.

Some providers are only popular because they have more resources to advertise their products rather than the products themselves being good or fairly priced. In some instances, if you actually take the time to compare rates, the products from these providers can be more expensive than their lesser-known counterparts.

For this reason, we need to emphasize that, when it comes to shopping for a plan, make sure you know very well what you need. That way you can compare apples to apples and find a product that ticks all the boxes, from your medical needs to your budget.

What To Look For In A Plan

With regards to what you should look for in a plan, one of the things we think is very important is nationwide coverage. Find a plan that lets you use your benefits across different hospitals and clinics, so that you’ll always have some peace of mind wherever you go within the country. Having this benefit also makes it a lot more convenient for you to access the medical services you need when you need it.

Another thing you’ll want is the ability to customize your plan. Look for providers who allow you to opt out of benefits that you don’t need since this can help reduce the price of your premiums. Why spend on benefits you don’t need or plan to use, right?

In line with this, you need to decide whether or not to include expandable life and accidental riders in your policy. These riders provide additional life insurance coverage for you. However, you might already have similar benefits if you have a life insurance policy. If that’s the case, you can choose to include them with lower limits or just do without them completely.

You also don’t have to bundle these benefits with your health insurance. You can avail of these benefits by purchasing separate policies. It all depends on you and what you’re looking to get out of your policy. This is what’s particularly great about being afforded some flexibility and freedom.

We’ll have to cut the list here for this week’s blog. Be sure to check back for the second part next week where we’ll continue this discussion and tackle other health insurance options.