Top-up vs new health policy: What should you opt?

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The Covid-19 has made people become more aware of their health well as health insurance than they were ever before. There are multiple options available for the existing policy holders. Insurance experts suggest taking a top-up on the insurance policy. The insured can add not only the amount of cover but also the cover of critical illnesses in that policy by taking a top-up on the existing policy.

A top-up policy works best in conjunction with an existing health insurance plan. You can buy a top-up policy whose deductible is equal to the sum insured of the base policy. Thus, the claim up to the deductible will be made through the basic health insurance plan and the increased claim will be covered under the top-up plan.

Suppose you feel that a health insurance cover of Rs 10 lakh is not enough and needs to be increased. As the amount of health cover increases, the premium amount also increases. In such a situation, you can increase it to Rs 25 lakhs by taking a top-up cover of Rs 15 lakhs.

The cost of the top-up plan is linked to the deductible limit. This limit is pre-determined. When the cost of any illness crosses that limit, then the top-up plan starts.

The deductible limit should always be kept high as the primary health insurance policy provides cover up to this amount. The higher the deductible, the cheaper the top-up plan will be. The top-up plan usually covers the one-time hospitalization cost. This means that only if the hospital bill crosses the deductible once they are admitted, only then can the top-up plan be used.

Choose optimum coverage

See what is included in the coverage.

Check the pre-existing waiting period and choose a plan that has a shorter tenure to get the coverage at the earliest.

Go through the coverage limits and sub-limits and choose a plan that does not have restrictions on coverage.

Choose a plan that has a maximum number of hospitals in its network.