Some of them are essentials and not to be ignored while others may be added to cover risks from all fronts.

Since the outbreak of Covid-19, the need of having adequate health insurance has been felt by one and all. But, when it comes to buying a health insurance policy, there is often confusion as to which health insurance policy to buy. There are, after all, a variety of health covers, and making the right choice at times becomes difficult. And, unlike life insurance which is to be bought in the name of the bread earner of the family, make sure you buy a health cover policy in the name of all family members.

Besides buying the right health cover policy, it is equally important to keep adequate coverage so that hospital bills are paid by the insurers and you don’t have to pick the bill from your own pocket. And, remember, there’s nothing called the best health insurance policy, choose the one that is comprehensive in nature with maximum coverage.

Let’s see 7 different types of health insurance plans and what they have to offer. Some of them are essentials and not to be ignored while others may be added to cover risks from all fronts.

1. Individual health insurance plan

When you are looking to buy health insurance for yourself, the plan that you will have to buy is the Individual health insurance plan also popularly called the Mediclaim. They are to be purchased on individual name and, therefore, the premium is based on age, sum insured of the buyer. They are indemnity policies, that is, they reimburse the actual expenses incurred up to the amount of the cover that you buy. They cover expenses if you are hospitalized for at least 24 hours.

2. Family Floater plans

A Family Floater plan is largely the same as an Individual health insurance plan. The benefits remain largely the same, but the sum insured can be availed by any or all members of the family and not a single person. For example, instead of buying Rs 3 lakh health insurance cover for each member of the family of four, if you buy a Family Floater plan for Rs 9 lakh, each member can avail benefits up to Rs 9 lakh as opposed to Rs 3 lakh in the earlier instance. The premium in these plans is lower compared to Individual health insurance plans.

3. Critical illness plans

Unlike a mediclaim plan, the critical illness plan, regardless of your hospital expenses, pays the entire sum insured on the occurrence of the specified illness. All insurers cover 10 to 12 major critical illnesses or even more, some of which are cancer, coronary artery bypass surgery, heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, aorta surgery, heart valve replacement, major organ transplant and paralysis.

4. Daily Hospital Cash plan

As the name goes, a Daily Hospital Cash plan is a health insurance plan in which the insured pays a fixed amount on a daily basis when the policyholders get hospitalised. No matter what the hospital bill including the room rent, doctor fees and other charges, the Daily Hospital Cash plan will pay depending on the number of days plan opted by the insured.

5. Arogya Sanjeevani Policy

If you are too confused as different insurers offer different variants and features in their health policies, then this is the plan to buy. As features and benefits of health cover plans may differ across insurers, there is the Standard Health Insurance on offer from all insurance companies to help in buying a standard plan. Ask for Arogya Sanjeevani Policy, which is the Standard Health Insurance policy, from your insurer and buy it. Standard Health Insurance Product is aimed at taking care of basic health needs, carrying similar policy wordings and enabling seamless portability among the insurers. Arogya Sanjeevani Policy will only be an indemnity policy which means it will work on a reimbursement basis.

6. Corona Kavach Policy

Corona Kavach Policy is a specific health insurance policy covering hospital bills solely on account of Covid-19. They are available only with general and health insurers and they are indemnity-based plans in which the hospital bill gets reimbursed.

7. Corona Rakshak Policy

Corona Rakshak Policy is also a specific health insurance policy covering hospital bills solely on account of Covid-19 but is available with all insurers including life insurance companies. In Corona Rakshak Policy, 100 per cent of the sum insured is to be paid to the policyholder as it is a benefit-based plan.