5 Tips on Making the Most of a Health Insurance Top-Up Plan

• Written by Mudit Handa

  Reviewed by Akhil Pillai

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While everything in this world has a limit, happiness and contentment should know no bounds. Indian people are ambitious and renowned for their bargaining. Whatever the concern, Indians seek the best value for their money and expect potential additional benefits from all services they utilise. The same trend applies when it comes to buying health coverage. Although every type of health insurance has a threshold, people often seek supplementary coverage benefits. To fulfil this wish, health insurers offer a specialised health insurance plan, a top-up plan.

A health insurance top-up plan offers a cost-effective way to extend your health coverage beyond the limits of your base health insurance policy, providing additional coverage once its sum insured is exhausted. 

This article will guide you through the five best practices for maximising health top-up plan benefits. To start, it’s essential to  understand the concept of a top-up plan.

What is a Top-Up Health Insurance Plan?  

A top-up health insurance plan provides coverage when a specified threshold (deductible) is surpassed. It typically features lower premiums than regular health insurance plans and becomes effective only after that limit is reached. This option is ideal for individuals seeking to enhance their coverage while managing the deductible. 

How Does a Top-Up Health Insurance Plan Function?  

A top-up health insurance plan is a strategic financial tool to supplement your base health coverage. A key feature of these plans is the inclusion of a deductible clause, a critical element that defines the policyholder's financial responsibility. 

• The deductible, in essence, represents the out-of-pocket expense that you, as the policyholder, must cover before the additional coverage provided by the top-up plan comes into effect. 
• This deductible acts as a threshold. The top-up coverage is specially designed to activate only in scenarios where your medical expenses surpass this predetermined deductible amount. 

In simpler terms, you initially bear the cost up to the deductible limit. Once this threshold is exceeded, the comprehensive benefits of the top-up health insurance plan are triggered. 

How Does Health Insurance Top-Up Plan Benefit the Policyholder?

The benefits of a health insurance top-up plan extend to cover medical costs that exceed the deductible threshold. This mechanism makes a top-up plan an effective and cost-efficient way to secure enhanced health coverage without incurring exorbitant premiums. 

By agreeing to a deductible, you share a portion of the initial medical expense burden, resulting in lower overall premium costs for the additional layer of protection offered by the top-up plan. This ensures a financial safety net for substantial medical expenditures while managing your insurance expenses effectively.

How to Maximise Health Top-Up Plan Benefits in 5 Ways?

As discussed above, the benefits of a health insurance top-up plan activate when the deductible limit is surpassed. Hence, these benefits extend to cover out-of-pocket medical expenses. If you wisely buy a health insurance top-up plan, considering all its crucial aspects, you can even maximise its benefits.

Here are five ways to maximise the benefits of your  health insurance top-up plan:

Understand the Deductible

The deductible is the amount you must pay before the additional coverage kicks in. Select a deductible matching your typical health costs or primary policy coverage. Generally, a higher deductible results in a lower premium. Make sure that you can easily manage the deductible amount when necessary.

Select a Higher Sum Insured

Health insurance top-up plans offer higher sum insured limits at relatively lower premiums than standard health plans. Consider these factors when selecting a top-up health insurance plan:

• Opt for a substantial sum insured to cover significant medical expenses during hospitalisation.
• Evaluate the sum insured based on your area's expected treatment costs for critical illnesses.

Synchronise with Base Policy

Ensure that the deductible of your top-up plan corresponds with the sum insured of your primary health insurance policy.

• Once the sum insured of your base policy is exhausted, the top-up plan should activate right away.
• Examine the terms and conditions to guarantee seamless claim processing between both policies.

Prefer Super Top-Up Plans

Super top-up plans evaluate total claims throughout a policy year to determine the deductible. If several hospital stays happen in a year, the super top-up plan comes into play once the total deductible is exceeded. This can offer greater advantages than standard top-up plans for those with ongoing health concerns.

Review and Renew Regularly

Health insurance requirements generally increase with age and lifestyle.  Assess your top-up plan and its coverage annually. Ensure timely renewal of the policy to maintain continuity of benefits and coverage. When renewing, compare other market options to secure the best coverage and premiums.

These are the five best practices for health top-up plans to maximise benefits. If you apply the wise approach explained above, you can reap the benefits of a comprehensive health insurance plan.

Boost your Health Coverage with a Super Top-Up Plan

You can now wisely buy a top-up health insurance plan to increase your scope of health coverage within your means. You can maximise your health insurance benefits even more by purchasing a super top-up plan, which covers multiple hospitalisations when your medical expenses exceed the total deductible.

However, a top-up plan does not replace a regular health insurance policy. It's designed to supplement an existing plan, not provide primary coverage. While buying a top-up plan, you must carefully consider the terms and conditions given in the policy document. 

Disclaimer: Verifying the policy details and coverage with the official policy documents is essential. Also, kindly consult a professional medical expert to verify the details of health concerns.