Important terms in a medical insurance
If you think that you already have sufficient insurance, check to see if you have gotten yourself a medical insurance.
This is one insurance you cannot afford to ignore seeing how the current medical and health costs are skyrocketing these days. This insurance will help us get the necessary treatments without a dent in our wallets, provided we are sufficiently insured of course.
Medical insurance here covers both hospitalization insurance and critical illness coverage. Having hospitalization insurance is important as it covers the risk of being hospitalized due to illnesses and accidents. The uncertainty of treatment needed and medical expenses can be a scary situation for many people.
An illness or a lengthy hospital stay can actually wipe out one’s savings, and then, what will become of us?
When shopping for a medical insurance, it is important to understand what the coverage is like, the amount insured, the premiums needed and also how fast a typical claim will take. Of course, the insurer also needs to be reputable.
Below are some terms which are common in medical policies taken from Personal Money, April 2009 edition. These terms are particularly important when making a claim.
Co-payment – If you are hospitalised and the board rate is higher than your eligibility, you will bear the difference in the room charges as well as a portion (usually between 10% – 20%) of the other eligible benefits described in the policy.
Waiting period - Most medical policies contain a waiting period for illness and disease, which means that eligibility for benefits under the policy will start only 30 days after the effective date of the policy.
Free-look period - If you decide not to take up a medical policy, you can return it to the insurance company within 15 days of the date of issue. You will be entitled to a refund of the full premium, after deducting administrative expenses incurred by the insurer. These expenses shall be RM50 or 10% of the gross premium paid, whichever is less.
Overseas treatment - You may or may not be covered for treatment obtained overseas, subject to the exclusions, limitations and conditions specified in the policy contract.
Misstatement of age - Your age is an important rating factor in your medical policy. If you have misstated your age and the premium paid as a result is not enough, any claim payable under the policy will be pro-rated, based on the ratio of the actual premium paid to the correct premium that should have been charged.
Residence overseas - If you were to live or travel out of Malaysia for more than 90 consecutive days, no benefits will be payable for medical treatment outside Malaysia.
Phew, isn’t that a loadful? Remember that these terms may be slightly different depending on the insurers. Refer to your policy document for any further descriptions and call your agent when you have a question.
Most of all, ensure you are insured for this!!
