How to Choose the BEST Health Insurance for YOU in 2025?

Did you know that 75% of Indians are underinsured when it comes to health coverage? If you are unsure about your health insurance, you're not alone. Stick around with me as I go through and unraveling certain points and everything you need to know about buying health insurance for yourself in this ultimate guide. According to recent studies, out-of-pocket health care expenses push Indians nearly 55 million into poverty every year. Yet many people don't understand their health insurance options, whether underinsured or covered properly. In my years of guiding my clients through financial planning, I have found that understanding health insurance is one of the most overlooked, yet essential aspects of financial security. Hi, I'm Taresh Bhatia, a Certified Financial Planner, CFP, and your go-to financial freedom specialist. I'm also author of the Amazon bestseller, The Richness Principles, where I share actionable steps to achieve financial success and independence. As a coach at The Richness Academy, I help individuals and families build wealth, reduce financial stress, and lead a rich and fulfilling life forever. Today, I'm diving into an incredibly important topic, how to buy health insurance for yourself ultimate guide. Whether you're just starting your financial journey or looking to enhance your current health insurance policy, this video is for you. I will cover everything you need to know, from understanding the basics to choosing the best policy for your needs. Make sure to like, subscribe, and share this video with your friends and family, because health insurance is something everyone should clearly understand. Yes, I'm going to share everything, my secrets, my knowledge, and my skills, and I'm going to give it to everything to you. Namaste, health insurance is not just another financial product, it's an essential part of your financial safety net. In today's video, I'll break down the key steps in choosing the best health insurance for yourself. And did you know that a major illness can wipe out your entire saving? Health care costs in India are among an alarming rate of 13.6% year to year. So health inflation in India increasing by what 15% year to year, and India is one of the highest medical inflation seen in Asia, 71% people personally covering their own health insurance expenses, health care expenses, and with treatments for critical illnesses like cancer, heart attack, often running into lakhs and lakhs of rupees even after post COVID. It's not just about having a policy, it's having the right, it's about having the right policy for yourself. So a well chosen health insurance plan ensures that you have that you have at least two things, you don't have to compromise on the quality of health care. And you can say, I am here, I've got the best and with you, I can say I'm here helping you choose the right policy in the following few minutes, put in the comments below, what do you expect? And how do you think health care is evolving in India, putting your comments below in the description below the video. Now understanding your health insurance requirements, needs, what seven points I like to illustrate further. So you need to understand what exactly you need when it comes to health insurance. You have to assess your family's need, four things you have to keep in mind health history, your lifestyle, eating, drinking, potential risk, which are possible, you're going for bungee jumping, or you're going rock climbing, or you're going for any serious sports event, or you feel that you are under a possible heart problem coming up, or past history is clear to you, you need to assess this before you actually take a policy. When you take a policy, the premium will depend on three conditions, your age, your existing medical condition, and your number of dependents in the family. So who all do you want to include? So if you're a young family, you could focus on a policy that covers maternity and child care expenses, a young couple and older individuals can more look for coverage of critical illnesses. For example, in your 60s or 70s, the most important thing is critical illness, cancer, heart attack, any organ transplant, and all the hospitalization which is attached with it. So your needs are kind of policy which you choose. It's not something which is being sold to you to understand the difference clearly, what you are looking at what you're getting, and what you should be looking at going further. When you're choosing the when you're looking at choosing the right coverage amount, how much insurance in health coverage I should take, and the following factors is what you should consider. So determining the right coverage amount, you need to have the general recommendations for yourself. So when you're considering for your husband, wife, single couple, then the minimum coverage I would recommend is at least 10 lakhs if possible 20 lakhs as of today in 2024. If you're planning for your family, a young couple, plan for maternity at least keeping two years in mind and with further newborn care to be included in your policy. So that's for yourself if you're a young couple. If you're looking for your parents, then the coverage I would say standalone for them is 20 lakh rupees at least. If you have children, then for them 5 lakhs at least for each child. And for older individuals who are in 60s and 70s, critical illness cover or a separate policy which covers cancer, stroke, kidney failure, are important coverages which are must in the basic policy or a standalone. Amount will depend on where you live, metros, mini metros and smaller cities, and their medical cost accordingly changes. So in a city like Delhi or Mumbai, the medical cost could be higher while living in a smaller area, a smaller city, it may be a little lower as such. So you need to know this clearly. So if you live in a metro city, you need to understand that healthcare costs are rising and they're higher in a metro city compared with a smaller city. And you need to compare the inflation factor which is increasing, as I said earlier, by 15% year to year. So how much insurance you should have at least for the next 5 years? Every 5 years increase by 20% so that inflation in healthcare can be taken care of. Now what is the right age to buy? Buy young. You're healthy. Go for maximum cover possible. No claim bonus can go on increasing thereafter. Therefore, you get a least premium which is possible for your age. So these are important factors to consider when you're looking for buying and what is the amount of coverage which you need. I'll explain difference here between family floater and individual health to dispel facts and myths about what you should be taking. If you're porting, so look at portability from your current insurance company, a floater, individual difference, couple of differences. A family floater will cover you for the entire family. And when I say family, typical mean husband, wife, one or two children. Don't do under insurance. Don't try to be saving premium. If you are young and healthy family, opt for a family floater with a coverage of 20-25 lakhs and all members can claim that amount up to what you have taken. If you've taken 20 lakhs, then anyone can claim up to 20 lakhs. So one has taken 15 lakhs in a year. The second member can only take 5 lakhs. Be aware of this when you take a family floater. So if you think you would need individually 10 lakhs, four members will take 50 lakhs cover. Don't take parents here. I've explained separately. Their adverse health will make your premium higher because their age will indicate the premium, the amount which you are paying as such. Now, individual difference with a family floater is that they provide separate coverage, which means 10 lakhs for each member of the family will be called as individual 10 lakhs cover. This is beneficial for members of family who are, let's say, 30 year and plus, 40 year and plus, the children are above 20 years old. It's advisable to take individual health insurance for each member. And also important fact is that any pre-existing health condition, blood pressure, sugar, will get covered or accordingly the policy continues for individual member one on one. So it avoids exhausting the sum insured due to frequent claims taken by one member in a floater kind of a scenario. So that's a major difference between health, family floater and individual. So I would say choose wisely. It depends on your family's health profile, your financial security or financial capacity, I would say to pay for health care. And now I'll evaluate you to help understand what is the best for you. I've given you the evaluation conditions. As I said earlier, don't take for parents together in this policy. They should not be taken. You should pay separately for their premium because their age is higher, let's say 75. So the premium for the entire family in a floater will be called as what the premium is for 75 age, not for your age at 40. So don't combine take parents in a separate health insurance policy. So this is a difference between individual and family floater, which I wanted to explain as a difference. Now, critical features to look for in a health insurance policy, seven, eight factors when you're doing or signing the document. So ensure that you evaluate the right insurance policy, as I've explained earlier. Crucial to understand that don't look for the lowest premium. Prioritize the key features as the priority which you would select. Once you have done that, make sure that you're not choosing a policy which has got copay. Avoid that policy because it requires you to pay a certain percentage of the claim amount when it comes to. So a no claim, no copay policy ensures that insurance policy company covers a full claim. You don't pay a 20%. So don't choose a health insurance policy where there is copay. Unless it is for your parents, they're not getting it. And you need to definitely take for them. Now, network hospitals coverage is what you should check whether in your city. It is being the network hospitals are there. Ensure there are no room rent caps done because some policies that cap the room rent like 10% or up to a certain amount. So don't limit that as a capping room rent capping maternity and newborn benefits. See if you really need them or they are just for namesake. And normally I've seen for two years plus there is a waiting period. And after two years, the maternity benefit will be possible unless you are with your company and the company is in a private sector offering you that benefit. Some policies have this beautiful feature called reinstate restoration benefit. You take a claim and this feature, it reinstates your summer short back to the So 10 lakhs cover 5 lakhs. You have taken balances 5 lakhs. They will do restoration and the policy will become 10 lakhs within the same year. This is a feature to consider when you are comparing policies portability. Make sure that the policy allows portability. Most of it do so that you can switch between an insurance company A and B, which you don't like A which you like going to B and it should not be something which is stopping you. So A you are not satisfied. You can go to B. That's called portability of health insurance within certain number of days and certain conditions terms applied. So 15 days before the due date, you have to apply for portability. A common pitfalls to avoid six. So when choosing a health insurance policy when choosing here are some top ones, which I would say avoid. Avoid getting into the trap of low premium. Avoid getting into sublimates of treatment. So policies which often the premium is being indicated as low low, but there are sublimates hidden. There are room rent caps and there is a copay requirement. So these three are as a, you know, you can say a scam where you are offered a low premium, but these three make your ultimate claim more out of pocket. Sublimates on treatments again avoid. So check there are no sublimates like cataract surgery or ICU charges or extra charges. So ensure you get 100% coverage waiting period. Most of the policies have a waiting period like one year, two year or pre-existing diseases or certain treatments are not available for the first two years. So make sure you're aware of such periods when you're choosing the policy. And now finally deductibles. So there are some deductibles which are not paid, but taking a particular option where you don't pay anything, even deductibles you don't pay. So find out if you don't have to pay for deductibles when you're selecting your policy and look at exclusions. What are the list of exclusions like cosmetic surgery is not covered. Ayurvedic is not covered. Homopathy is not covered. So make sure that the exclusions are clear to you and non-medically available procedures are also clear to you. And any specific diseases in the first one year, two year or even four years, make yourself aware because these are standard terms and conditions. It's not something which one company will give you and the other is not giving you. So some tips to maximize your health insurance benefits. Seven, some of the advanced tips I'm going to give you now for those who already have health insurance, they may be looking for enhancing their current insurance policy. So restoration of the sum assured could be a very good feature. Top up and a super top up. Be clear on what you're taking now. Top up means I have explained, watch my separate video on this additional coverages that kick in once the base sum assured is exhausted. Now top up means if you have a 10 lakhs basic cover and 10 lakhs top up, you take a claim of five lakhs and you take another two lakhs, that next two lakhs, there is no availability. Only that five lakhs in the top up is being covered. But with super top up, it's particularly useful because you can take multiple claims in this first year itself. So take super top up, not top up. Forget the premium which you are paying. So in a year, it is ideal for families. It is for purchasing from different insurers. Also a possibility. You can do it only at the time of renewals. So you have this flexibility of adding on super top up. It's preferred. I've seen over the last 26 years, 30 years of health insurance being advisor. These features are definitely game changer when it comes to claims. Now, let me give an example. You have a base policy of 10 lakhs. Super top up of 30 lakhs. So deductible becomes 10 lakhs. You mentioned in the form while taking super top up. I want a deductible of 10 lakhs, which means up to 10 lakhs, you won't touch the super top up policy. It can be the same company, can be a different company. And now that extra 20 lakhs is super. So you can take n number of claims, as I said here, for multiple claims under the super top up from 10 lakhs to additional 30 lakhs. So remember, the deductibles should be the same as the base cover. And you can buy from another company. I would say try and buy from the same company and look at cashless benefit by obviously on the date of renewing only. So that's a small difference when it comes to looking at features. Portability. What does it portability mean? You're not satisfied company A and you want to go to company B. So you can use this portability feature to switch between company A and company B without losing any accumulated benefits like no claim bonus. And you can also use have a separate personal policy like your company corporate. You may have a corporate health insurance. You buy your separate personal health insurance policy as well. Corporate policy may end when you retire. But when you've taken a personal policy at age 30, continues till you're alive 60, 70, 80, 90 or till you leave the job. Even beyond that, your personal policy continues. Or when you leave a job, you have a next. So there is a backup and this may have limited coverage. Your corporate policy and it may end with your employment. It may end at your retirement age if you continue with the same company from day one till the last day of retirement. I would say always review and update your policy regularly because your health insurance may evolve and your health is also evolving. Maybe there is more risk you feel with more stress happening that certain coverages you need to enhance. A 10 lakh may be insufficient. So you need to review your policy regularly and ensure that your needs a 10 lakh may be insufficient. So updated to 20 lakhs or a 50 lakhs cover. So ensure that you are updating your health insurance policy always and you're maximizing the benefits. Therefore, being the right understand certain five fine points. Now, this fine print in the policy of your health insurance policy I've discovered are these can make small differences when you're taking a claim. So for hassle-free claim process, understand the claim process because it should not be a financial nightmare for you sudden discovery. Understand exclusions and inclusions, claim settlement ratio, network hospitals, copay clauses and sublimits for each treatment. So you have to be aware as a customer. It is said best buy options feature to look for a health insurance. When I put together 13 points to summarize may have worldwide coverage. I wish treatment to be included animal vaccines, organ donor, free health checkups. I didn't find them useful personally. Air ambulance is a good part. You are in a remote area of India. You want to be flown back to Delhi or Mumbai for the metro coverage in a bigger hospital. This should be available including the dependent people who are coming to take you. Accident coverage, e-consultation, taking a second opinion, discounts on year-to-year renewal, if they are available or not, and any loyalty discounts or any no-claim bonus or increase of the coverage. Now daily cash allowance is something you can add on as hospital expenses per day. Let's say you're admitted for 10 days. There is loss of income and there is miscellaneous expenses every day in the hospital. So per day, you should get 5000 or 10,000 rupees per day. In addition to the reimbursement getting from the health insurance company, OPT features coverages are no, no, they don't, they're not offered. But if they're offered, look at pharmacy coverages, doctor consultations, and any diagnostic tests, which have been which you may need and ensure your policy covers beyond 60. Most of them do add ons. I would say what to avoid and what to consider. Think about it, as I've explained earlier, and buy separate policy coverage for parents, because they are having a higher premium when you're buying policy. And when you buy your own coverage, look at these three conditions that critical illnesses are covered. So take a separate policy for critical illness. Take a separate policy for hospital cash. See, take a separate policy for accident cover. These three are primarily what I give to my clients. When there is fear of loss of income or hospitalization could lead to excess expenditure over and above what you're getting from your reimbursement policy or an accident leaving you dismembered, any body part or permanent disability or temporary disability like burns or fracture. You're at home for three weeks, four weeks, six weeks, or a prolonged treatment like a cancer from critical illness. Have these three separate policies. If you wish to have complete, like beyond 99%, 100% effective coverages. These are hidden points. And these 13 points, nobody will tell you. So here at this point, take a screenshot of this, because it does have a meaning when it comes to considering, evaluating, buying the best health insurance policy. Finally, a checklist that you are having everything at the best. So before buying final checklist, ensuring that you are having every point covered. Eight points before finalizing. Make sure you have a checklist to ensure that you are having the right coverage. Adequate coverage is there. You know about the hospital network, policy features, exclusions, claim process, advisor support, if the advisor with whom you are taking this policy is going to support you. And in what way and review and renewal should be done every two years, four years, so that you can update as I explained earlier. These are my final points. And to close now, I have certain more points to add on to this. So if you found this useful and helpful, don't forget to subscribe to my channel. Like this video if you have liked it and share it with anyone who's confused about buying health insurance in India. This is one complete video. And remember, you can always leave a comment below with your questions or reach out to me for any personalized financial advice, which you may seek through my emails and my channels. Health insurance for you, yourself, ultimate guide. This was my subject today for buying health insurance for yourself in India. Thank you very much. So much for watching this video. Health insurance is a vital part of your financial well-being. With the right plan, with the right options, you can safeguard your health and finances. So be sure to watch my other videos on financial planning, investment tips to continue building your path to financial freedom. Until next, this is Taresh, your financial freedom, especially before I go, I want to show you something that blog. So go to this link given in the description blog. Taresh Bhatia.com, how to buy health insurance for yourself. And this blog, I've explained in detail what I've just spoken in this video. And I've explained in this blog. Every point which I have explained so that you can carefully take notes and read this blog. 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