How to Claim Multiple Health Insurance Policies in India?

Around 30% of all hospitalisations in India are financed by the sale of assets or loans. Moreover, 70% of the Indian population spend most of their income on healthcare. And, about 3% of Indians go bankrupt for not being able to pay their medical bills. This indicates that many are not aware of the best health insurance plans in India.

Since the cost of medical treatments is ever-increasing, availing only one health insurance policy might not suffice your financial needs. So, you can file for more than one health insurance claim in order to maximise the benefits during your time of need.

Multiple health insurance claims: things to consider

1. You need to inform the other insurance companies about your existing health insurance plan while buying a policy or filing a claim.  Not disclosing this fact will result in a violation of terms as per the contract between you and the insurance provider.
2. As a policyholder, you do need to keep in mind that the incurred hospital charges cannot exceed the amount which can be claimed from either one or both the purchased insurance policies.

There are several ways to avail multiple health insurance claims –

1. Cashless claim

Paying your medical bills, to the hospital you were admitted to, is not an easy task. Managing the lengthy paperwork and arranging the deposits do not help while dealing with emotional stress during a medical emergency other than the urgency of the situation itself. This can be avoided altogether if you avail a health insurance policy with a cashless claim.

In case of cashless claims, you can use your multiple health insurance policies in two ways –

• Planned treatment

As the name suggests, you need to let your insurance provider know ahead of time about the treatment you are about to receive from the medical facility. You need to submit a cashless claim request form to your primary health insurance provider.

Once this is completed, you will receive attested copies of the bills. Now you can approach the second insurance provider, with the above documents, to ask for reimbursement of the remaining amount.

• Unplanned treatment

During a medical emergency, an individual has to be admitted to the nearest hospital available. In such a scenario, the hospital will charge you for a large sum of funds as it might not fall under the partnered hospital-networks of your primary health insurance provider.

In this case, availing multiple health insurance claims can come across as an added advantage. There is a high possibility that one of your health insurance policy providers has a partnership program with the nearest hospital.

2. Reimbursement claim

Individuals opt for a reimbursement claim when they decide to avail treatment from the hospital of their choice, considering the medical facility is not enrolled with any of the multiple health insurance providers.

Hence, the policyholders have to pay for the medical bills and other hospital expenses themselves and then file for a reimbursement claim. Individuals have to provide the necessary documents and legitimate bills to their insurance provider.

In this scenario, availing multiple health insurance policies can help you with comprehensive financial coverage against all such scenarios. For example, you had purchased a top up health insurance policy with company A and critical illness insurance with company B. While filing for a reimbursement claim for treatment of open-heart surgery, you would rather opt for the health insurance provided by company B to gain maximum benefits.

There are several types of health insurance policies provided by NBFCs across the country; the important ones are –

• Individual health insurance policy
• Family floater health insurance policy
• Top-up health insurance policy
• Critical illness health insurance plans
• Employee health insurance plans
• Senior citizen health insurance plans
• Maternity health insurance policy

Refer to one of the leading financiers, Bajaj Finserv who offers a range of Health Insurance Plans aiming to provide comprehensive financial coverage for individuals. Make sure to read the terms of coverage and apply for multiple insurance plans accordingly for complete healthcare safety.