Health Insurance ensures necessary financial assistance against planned or emergency hospitalisation. Besides, Health Insurance policies also offer additional benefits and coverage. Across the industry, many Health Insurance providers are crafting unique Health Insurance policies to address the varying healthcare needs of individuals.
Despite having a Health Insurance policy, situations like medical inflation, inadequate coverage, etc., might lead to out-of-pocket expenses. There are add-ons and other benefits available in various Health Insurance plans that help minimise out-of-pocket expense. One such add-on is the Daily Hospital Cash benefit.
Additional coverage or add-ons enhances basic coverage in exchange for an additional premium. Daily Hospital Cash benefits entitle the insured to a fixed lump sum for each completed day of hospitalisation. Some insurer offers them as an add-on coverage, while other provides them as a standalone Health Insurance Policy commonly known as Hospital Cash Insurance/Hospital Daily Cash Insurance policy. Moreover, the premium paid for add-on coverage and Hospital Cash Insurance policy are exempted from Income Tax under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act 1961.
What is a Hospital Cash Insurance policy? It is a type of that provides a fixed lump sum as a daily allowance for each completed day of hospitalisation. Besides reimbursing the incurred medical expenses, with a daily hospital cash policy, you can also avail cash allowance to meet everyday needs. Here are the benefits of Daily Hospital Cash Insurance Policy:
Sickness Hospital Cash benefit provides daily cash for each completed day of hospitalisation if the insured is hospitalised due to sickness.
Accident Hospital Cash offers a lump sum for each completed day of hospitalisation if the insured is hospitalised due to an accident.
ICU Hospital Cash entitles the insured to a daily cash allowance if the insured is hospitalised in an ICU due to illness, sickness or accident.
Day Care Procedures coverage is also included in the hospital cash insurance policy. The working principle of this benefit varies from one policy to another. However, the coverage is eligible only for the daycare procedures which are listed in the policy document.
Convalescence Hospital Cash benefit offers a lump sum if the insured is hospitalised for more than the mentioned period. For example, the insured is entitled to convalescence hospital cash if the hospitalisation exceeds more than seven continuous days.
Always check the policy document to understand the coverage and benefits of the policy in a better way. Besides, the aforementioned coverage and benefits of the Hospital Cash Insurance policy varies according to the policy and insurance provider. The insured person with either or Family Health Insurance can opt for a daily hospital cash insurance policy.
Daily Hospital cash benefit is provided for certain days, the time slab varies from insurer to insurer. On average, the benefit is available from 15 days to 45 days, depending upon the chosen coverage. The lump sum varies between Rs. 1000/- and Rs. 5000/-. The lump sum is fixed at the time of inception of the policy. Despite the actual incurred expenses during the insured’s hospitalisation, the insured is entitled only to the fixed lump sum.
Star Hospital Cash Insurance Policy from Star Health and Allied Insurance is crafted with two plan options a Basic Plan and an Enhanced Plan. The policy can be availed on both individual and floater basics, making it flexible for the needs of individuals. The hospital cash amount and number of hospital cash days vary for Basic Plan and Enhanced Plan. Besides the Sickness Hospital Cash, Accident Hospital Cash, ICU Hospital Cash and Day Care Procedures, the Enhanced Plan option under the policy also covers Convalescence Hospital Cash, Child Birth Hospital Cash and Worldwide Hospital Cash.
Daily hospital cash can take care of the expenses which are not covered under the basic Health Insurance policy. The lump sum helps to tackle the daily expenses incurred during hospitalisation. As with any other Health Insurance policy, the Daily Hospital Cash Insurance policy also comes with a waiting period for pre-existing diseases, specific diseases, etc., so never miss out to check on it.
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