Get your mother’s health secured this Mother’s Day

Shreeraj Deshpande

As rightfully captured by American actress and Princes of Monaco Grace Kelly, 'Women’s natural role is to be a pillar of the family'; women truly play a very important part in the well-being of a family. A woman, especially once she assumes the role of motherhood, gets completely involved in taking care of her child and other members of the family, however ignoring their own health concerns. This Mothers’ Day, let us extend our heartfelt gratitude to the women of the family and take a pledge of securing their health.

What most women don’t realise is that they will be able to take care of their family only if they are in good health. It somewhere correlates to the announcements made in an aircraft - ‘First you wear a life jacket and put on the oxygen mask yourself before helping others.’

There are numerous health insurance products offered by the companies which either cater to Women specific diseases/critical illnesses specifically or provide extra benefits to women like maternal benefits, child’s care etc. under the Hospitalization products. Also there are products catering to various age groups and life stages of a woman. Although the benefits from each and every product available in the market differs from policy to policy, few of the common one’s are mentioned below-

• Cashless hospitalization at any of the insurance company’s network of hospitals
• Pre and post hospitalization expenses
• Cost of health check-up at authorized centres
• Maternity benefits that cover the maternity expenses at the time of hospitalisation
• Pre-natal and Post Natal expenses
• Cover for new-born babies, vaccination expenses, etc.
• Policies covering the extended family of the proposer
• Lump sum payment in case the policyholder is diagnosed with any critical illness including cancer, heart attack, stroke, and kidney failure in case of Criticare benefit policies
• Tax benefits under section 80D
• Policies covering women specific critical illnesses like breast cancer, cervical cancer spondylitis

The medical expenses to be borne by a single mother are quite exorbitant. If there happens to be any major illness in the family, which requires huge investment for treatment and care, a comprehensive health care product and a critical illness product can provide the required financial support.

If you are a single mother, you can avail the following benefits through a comprehensive health insurance product as per policy Terms and conditions.

• Your child can be covered under comprehensive health cover along with you
• Child care benefits can be available under the same cover
• The cover includes the charges for vaccinations for child less than 12 years of age
• You can cover your own parents under a single cover along with your children
• All hospitalisation cost will be covered in case of any major illness

Newly wedded women can opt for a product with shorter waiting period for maternity benefit so that they can avail the benefit when they start family planning. There are health policies available with only two years of waiting period when both the husband and wife are insured.

Health insurance for a woman staying in joint family

If a woman is staying in a joint family, there are options available in the market that cover as many as 15 people in one policy like self, spouse, dependent (unmarried and up to the age of 25 years) or non – dependent children, dependent or non – dependent parents, dependent siblings, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, parents-in-law, grandparents and grandchildren (maximum up to 15 members).

Health insurance for senior citizens

Senior women citizen can avail the benefits of a health insurance at time of hospitalisation when they are diagnosed with any illness. Post hospitalisation services like nursing are also provided to them and these become beneficial at times when there is no one to take care at home. In some policies, there is no age restriction to enter a new policy.

Things to keep in mind while buying a health insurance cover:

The premium of health insurance policies varies depending upon the type of product, plan, extent of coverage as well as sum insured and age of the persons being covered. The premium can be paid through ECS, cash/cheque, and direct online payment. One can even opt for a long term policy of 2 or 3 years and pay the premium in instalment.

The insurers will give detailed guidelines to the policyholders on steps to be taken in case of a claim. In case of hospitalisation claims, cashless facility is available in the network hospitals of the insurer, a list of which is provided to the policyholder at the beginning. If the treatment is availed at a non-network hospital, the insured has to go for a claim on reimbursement basis.

Some products can be availed online. Alternatively, you may contact the nearest branch or call centre of the insurance company and they will depute a suitable official to get in touch with you to explain the product offerings.

One should always buy insurance from a reputed insurer that has a good record of servicing and claim settlement, as these are the features that become critical when you are actually in need. A cheaper policy may not always be the best policy for you. Choose a policy that suits your requirements in terms of coverage and sum insured. Please go through the prospectus and policy wordings to understand the waiting periods, exclusions and sublimit under the policy. Make an informed decision before signing on the dotted line.

The writer is Head-Health Insurance, Future Generali India Insurance Company Limited