“If you are somebody who already has health insurance and are looking to bump up your cover at a very low cost, top up is a great option to go for. The detectable amount of that top up has to be equivalent to the sum insured that you already have,” says Siddharth Singhal, Business Head, Policybazaar.com

Whenever a person is going to buy health insurance, the first question that he has in his mind is what should be the amount of health insurance that they should be taking out to meet medical expenses. The other thing is inflation is very high at the high-end medical health insurance, maybe in double digits. What amount of insurance should people of different age groups go for? 

First and foremost rule is when you are young and do not have any kind of illness, it is always better to go for a very high sum insured at a young age as that helps you get a very high coverage at a lower premium. When I say high coverage, I mean there are plans available which can give you up to Rs 1 crore of sum insured at a very minimal cost.

For a two adult kind of scenario, if there is a husband and a wife living in a city like Delhi or Mumbai, a Rs 1 crore cover could cost you somewhere around Rs 12,000, 13,000, 14,000 per annum which is effectively about Rs 1,000 a month. That is the first and the foremost thing to go for.

The second is if for some reason, you are not able to go for this, then go for a health insurance plans wherein the bonus keeps on adding to your health insurance policy so that if you start with a minimum of Rs 10 lakh sum insured per member, with the bonuses every year renewal, the health insurance cover grows. These are the two major things which a person should look at while purchasing a health insurance plan.

But yes, the absolute minimum is Rs 10 lakh per member.

How to select the right insurance companies because there are different insurance companies offering different services. Which are some of those points that need to be checked in terms of selecting the best of the lot when it comes to an insurance company?

A lot of people tend to look at the price first without realising what are the main aspects one should look at. I will categorise this into two parts; one is a must-have which, irrespective of the profile of the customer, should be looked at while purchasing a health insurance plan. One should go for a plan which does not have any kind of room rent capping. Basically it allows you to go for the treatment of your choice and a room category of your choice or the hospital of your choice. The minute ..

The second thing is that a lot of us look at the premium but what is most important is to look at the claim settlement ratio of the insurance company that we are going for because ultimately health insurance is nothing but a promise between the health insurance company and the customer. One should know that at the time of your need, the insurance company is there to help the customers. That is a very important parameter to look at while purchasing a health insurance plan.

The third is to look at the cashless network of hospitals. It means during hospitalisation in case of an accident or any kind of emergency, one need not shell out money from one’s own pocket and can avail of the cashless facility and health insurance can come to your aid. These are the three major points which are in general the golden rule while purchasing a health insurance plan.