You know what’s worse than hitting your pinkie on the edge of the bed? A missed premium payment! Just thinking about the “grace period” process sounds like a hassle you can avoid. Luckily, things are changing for the better.
Gone are the days when you had to renew your health insurance policy regularly. With the lifetime renewals facility, you can now apply for lifetime renewal once and sit back to enjoy all the benefits of a regular life insurance policy. Most insurance companies today allow renewals via a quick, online process. So, you can put the hassles of regular renewals and the costs associated with them behind you. Besides, upgrading to lifetime renewal is easy, and you get to claim plenty of additional lifetime renewability benefits!
But what is lifetime renewability all about? We explain everything you need to know below.
What is lifetime renewability?
First things first, lifetime renewability in health insurance is a clause in your health insurance policy. It helps you renew your insurance coverage without re-qualifying for a new policy. This cuts the time to apply for a new policy and saves the costs associated with re-applying. But that’s not all.
Policyholders can now opt for lifetime renewalswhenever they please, as per the directive from the Insurance Regulatory and Department Authority of India (IRDAI). That said, if you do not opt for lifetime renewal before claiming insurance, you will lose the benefits of the previous policy. What are they? Here’s a comprehensive list to help you out.
What are the lifetime renewability benefits?
- According to IRDAI, lifetime renewability benefits have no age bar. This means anyone who opts for the policy can avail of its benefits for life.
- Typically, as you age, the premium amount you pay while getting a new health insurance policy increases and the coverage reduces. This is because the older the individual, the higher the perceived risks. But when you opt for lifetime renewability, there are no such premium costs involved. Hence, you save money and still get full coverage if you apply early on.
- As compared to health insurance re-applications, you do not have to wait for a stipulated period if you have pre-existing conditions.
- Since you don’t spend money on insurance premiums when you apply for lifetime renewability, you save on insurance costs as well.
Sub-limits on health insurance lifetime renewals
All health insurance policies today, including those offering lifetime renewals, come with sub-limits. These are used to restrict reimbursements over different insurance co-heads if the expenses exceed a certain limit.
For instance, routine hospitalisation includes co-heads like room rent, consultation fees, medicine purchase costs, operation fees, etc. So if the consultation fees sub-limit is set at 1% in this case, the policyholder will need to pay 1% of the consultation fees, irrespective of the total sum insured.
However, insurers often provide this facility and reduce the premium amount payable at the time of policy purchase.
Medical check-up requirements for lifetime health insurance renewals
Typically, insurers require policyholders to undergo a medical check-up to ensure they meet the disclosures in the application form. However, this does not apply to policyholders under 45 years unless they have a severe medical condition. That said, if policyholders want to make their claim settlements easier, they can undergo a medical test and submit the reports to the insurer.
Now that we know what a lifetime renewal of health insurance is and its benefits, the obvious question is –
how does one apply for renewal?
How to apply for lifetime renewal for health insurance?
You can apply for lifetime renewals for health insurance the same way you would apply for annual renewal.
The easiest way to do this is to visit the insurer’s site and check lifetime renewal options. Most insurers allow you to do this over call, fill out an online form, or even via an app. Visit your insurer’s site to know the details of the process.
Things to remember while applying for lifetime renewal of health insurance
Since health insurance is becoming more customer-friendly, you might be tempted to choose the first health insurance policy with a lifetime facility that comes your way. However, before you do, consider the following points.
- Make sure to research different health insurance plans and compare the features and lifetime renewability benefits they offer. Choose a plan that offers the most benefits for the price. But don’t make a choice after only considering the price.
- Check the exclusions and inclusions specified by the insurer. This will help you avoid claim rejections.
- Choose an insurer that not only has a good brand reputation in the industry but also one that offers excellent customer service, discounts, and more.
- Look for an insurer offering digital insurance services. The reason? This way it is easier to buy or claim insurance online, and the process is instant.
- Choose an insurer offering a health insurance sub-limit on lifetime renewals to further reduce your spending.
Over to you
There! That’s everything you need to know about health insurance and the renewability clause. So, if you’ve been considering getting insurance for yourself or your family, don’t waste a minute more. Given the signs of the time, a healthcare insurance policy is a necessity you should have.
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17 June 2022
5 mins read
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