Health Insurance Renewal

Benefits of Renewing a Health Insurance Policy Before Expiry

Take a look at the key benefits of renewing your health insurance policy before its expiry:

• Uninterrupted Coverage– Renewing your health insurance policy on time is important to ensure uninterrupted coverage. If your policy lapses, your medical expenses will not be covered by the insured and you may also lose your No Claim Bonus. Moreover, you need to renew your policy before expiry to get medical coverage even at an age when you are no longer eligible to buy a new policy.
• Tax Benefits– Tax benefits can be availed on health insurance premiums under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act, 1961. By renewing your policy on time, you ensure tax savings on your premium amount.
• Higher Premium– Health insurance policy should be renewed before expiry to avoid paying a higher premium amount. If your policy lapses, you may have to pay a higher premium to buy a new health policy.

How to Renew Health Insurance Policy Online at Policybazaar.com?

Health insurance online renewal on Policybazaar.com is a fast and simple process that takes just a couple of minutes to complete. All you need to do is follow the steps given below to renew your health insurance policy online:

• Visit the official website of Policybazaar Insurance Broker Private Limited
• Go to the ‘Renew Your Policy’ option on the menu bar and click on ‘Health Renewal’
• Log in to the website by entering your registered mobile number or policy number
• Fill up other required details regarding your policy
• Add/remove any coverage, family member or change the sum insured if desired
• Make the payment for the renewal premium online via debit card/ credit card/ net banking
• Once your payment is successful, you will be issued a digitally signed copy of the policy. The policy document can be downloaded and printed anytime.

Grace Period Benefits During Health Insurance Renewal

Grace period benefits are provided to all policyholders at the time of health insurance policy renewal. Grace period offers you an additional time period to renew your policy even if the policy has expired. Most health insurance plans in India offer a grace period of 15 or 30 days.

Although no insurance coverage is provided during the grace period, the policy does not lapse. If you do not renew your policy even during the grace period, it will lead to policy lapse and you may lose your accumulated benefits, including waiting period benefit, etc.

Things to Remember While Renewing a Health Insurance Policy

A lot of things should be kept in mind at the time of renewing your health insurance policy to avoid any hassles later. Below are some essential things that you must remember while renewing your health insurance policy:

1. Renew Your Policy before the Due Date

You should renew your health insurance policy before its expiry. If you don’t renew your health insurance policy before the deadline, you will be provided with a grace period of up to 30 days depending on the policy. If you fail to pay the renewal premium for your policy even during the grace period, your policy will lapse.

As per the guidelines of the Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority of India (IRDAI), you will not be provided with any health insurance cover if your policy has lapsed. Moreover, you can also end up losing your no claim bonus if you do not renew your policy within 90 days of its expiry.

2. Review Your Health Insurance Requirement

At the time of renewing your health insurance policy, you must review your insurance requirements. Check the coverage under the existing policy and add/remove any cover as per your needs. If you wish to add a family member to the policy, now is the time. You can also include or remove any rider from your health policy during renewals.

3. Revise the Sum Insured under Your Health Insurance Policy

While reviewing your insurance requirements, you must also review the sum insured of your health insurance policy. If you feel the sum insured is insufficient, then you must increase your sum insured while renewing your policy.

4. Disclose any New Illness or Medical Condition

When renewing your health insurance policy, you must disclose any new illness or medical condition that you may have developed during the policy tenure. Your medical conditions can impact your insurance premium and therefore, is mandatory to disclose to the insurer. If you hide any medical condition or illness, it may lead to rejection of claims later.

5. Check for Any Changes in Terms & Conditions of Your Policy

Before paying the renewal premium, you must go through the terms and conditions of your health insurance policy. You should ensure that your policy terms are the same while renewing the policy. According to IRDAI guidelines, any change in the policy terms can only be done with their approval and has to be intimated to the policyholder at least three months before the expiry date.

6. Inform Your Family About the Policy Changes

Once you have renewed your health insurance policy, you must inform your family, especially your spouse and heir, about the changes made to the policy. Provide them with the details of the policy so that they can access it at the time of an emergency.

Can You Transfer Health Insurance Policy During Renewal?

Yes, you can transfer your health insurance policy to another insurance company at the time of renewal. This feature is termed as ‘insurance portability’ and is mandatory to provide for all insurance companies in India as per the IRDAI guidelines. A request for insurance portability should be raised at least 45 days before the expiry date of the existing policy. In case of a delay, the new insurance company can reject your portability request.

When you switch over to another health insurance provider, your no claim bonus and waiting periods are also transferred from your previous policy. The waiting period covered under the previous plan is reduced from the waiting period of the new policy. As a result, you only have to spend the remaining waiting period to raise a claim.

For example, Insurer A covers pre-existing diseases after a waiting period of 4 years. After 2 years, you decide to switch to Insurer B that covers pre-existing diseases after 3 consecutive years. Therefore, you will now be able to raise a claim for pre-existing diseases after waiting for only 1 year due to the insurance portability feature.

Factors to Consider While Renewing a Health Insurance Policy

You must consider the following factors while renewing your health insurance policy:

• Health Insurance Coverage– Check the existing coverage of your health policy and modify the coverage if required as per your current medical requirements.
• Sum Insured Enhancement– Enhance the sum insured under your health insurance policy if you feel that the existing amount is not enough.
• Renewal Terms– Go through the terms of your health policy at the time of renewal so that there are no discrepancies.
• Policy Upgrade – Upgrade to another health insurance plan if you find the coverage and benefits under your existing policy is insufficient.
• Health Insurance Portability – Switch your health insurance company if you are not satisfied with the services of your current insurer.