Here’s What You Must Consider While Buying Group Health Insurance

Young doctor offers group health insurance

The cost of good quality medical treatment is quite high in our country. Health risks have become a part of everyone’s life, which makes buying health insurance a necessity in life.

However, not everyone prioritizes this necessity, i.e. to proactively get financial protection for any medical emergencies.

No one plans to get sick, but you can prepare for the financial implications of health emergencies. If you own a firm where most of your employees do not have health insurance, you can insure them all in a group medical insurance policy.

As per IRDAI, employer-employee groups are eligible for buying group health covers. Under group medical insurance, group members get several benefits, including financial backup during health emergencies at lower premiums. It doesn’t require any prior medical tests.

Before buying a group medical insurance policy, you must consider these things:

Coverage for Pre-existing Diseases

With a team that might consist of a hundred or more employees, it becomes hard to know who suffers from which pre-existing conditions. In standard individual health insurance policies, you may not get adequate health coverage at an affordable price because of certain pre-existing conditions.

On the other hand, group medical insurance is different. It generally covers pre-existing conditions from day one.

Still, it is essential that you know whether the plan you’re choosing includes this benefit or not. Your employees won’t be benefited from a group medical insurance policy if it does not cover medical treatment for diseases they already suffer from.

Maternity Benefits

Many young employees consider maternity cover benefits as a reason for continuing to work in a firm. This is because pregnancy and child delivery-related expenses are high. You can ensure financial backing for such a significant life event with a group medical insurance plan that offers maternity benefits.

Also, you must consider the terms and limits of maternity benefits before buying a group medical insurance plan. Check for coverage limits related to specific maternity cases, be it normal, cesarean, or ectopic pregnancies in the policy. If these limits are not high enough, it is essential to ask about limit enhancement terms.

Coverage for Critical Illnesses

Certain critical illnesses, like cataracts, hernias, and piles, require immediate treatment in some cases. In general, there is a standard waiting period of 1 to 4 years to get insurance coverage for these illnesses. It would mean that your employees need to wait for a long time before they can get the treatment covered under the group medical insurance policy.

Hence it’s best to check the details related to critical illness coverage at the time of buying group medical insurance. You need to know if the standard waiting period or other medical exclusions related to the plan can be waived off.

Total Cost

The cost of buying a group medical insurance policy depends on various factors. These include the number of employees in your firm, their average age, the type of business you have, the chosen coverage limit, and other benefits opted for, if any. If you previously had a group plan to cover your employees, your claim history may also have an impact on the total cost to be paid.

It is in your hands to select specific health insurance benefits to be included in the plan chosen. Accordingly, the price of the policy will be determined. Keep in mind that the per-employee share of the policy price must be budget-friendly.

This way, your employees won’t hesitate to get the insurance benefits you offer to them. Alternatively, it can make sense for you as an employer to offer the policy free to the employees as an attractive perk, provided the per-employee cost is budget-friendly.

It is easy to find a wide variety of group medical insurance policies in the market. However, policy benefits may differ from one insurer to the other. Things become much easier if you buy group health insurance through renowned insurance broking firms, such as SecureNow.

With their in-depth product knowledge, they can help you choose the right policy that will offer adequate insurance benefits to all your employees. The average cost of a policy they provide is also lower than what you can directly get from the insurer.

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