How Do Hospital Cash Plans Help With Daily Expenses Amid Hospitalisation?

There have been times when a family member is hospitalised, and it gets taxing, both mentally and financially. The best solution at such times is to have a safety net that can help you take care of one part, i.e. the finances.

During such challenging times, any help is a blessing and a health insurance policy is no less than one. Health insurance in India is available in different variants that make them a perfect fit for anyone and everyone. Be it, infants or senior citizens, all are covered under health insurance plans. One thing you can make a note while picking your health insurance policy is the daily cash benefit option.

What is a hospital cash plan?

Hospital cash plan provides a fixed sum of money for each day that you are hospitalised. Such a fixed amount is decided at the time of purchase and remains fixed for the entire tenure of the policy. It can be purchased as a standalone cover or opted for as an add-on to your existing policy. Thus, either way, you can be sure that a hospital cash plan will help you in case of medical emergencies. These plans are considered as defined plans as a fixed amount is paid irrespective of the actual expense incurred.

For example, if your insurance policy provides a hospital cash benefit of ₹1,000 per day, irrespective of whether you incur ₹700 or ₹1,200, the insurer will pay only ₹1,000 for each day of your hospitalisation.

Let us look at how a hospital cash plan can help you amid hospitalisation –

#1 Cover for additional expenses and loss of income

Regular health insurance, be it individual, family health insurance or any other type has some exclusions. These expenses that otherwise are not covered by your health insurance policy can be met using a hospital cash plan. Since you have all the freedom to use hospital cash benefits the way you want, it can also be used to compensate for any loss of income during such times of hospitalisation. Any minor expenses can be taken care of using such hospital cash benefits.

#2 Unexpected hospital bills

At times you might exhaust the coverage of your health insurance plan, but you still need some money to pay for unexpected or extra hospital bills. At these times, a pay-out from a hospital cash benefit can help you for the same. This way, you will not have to go out of your way to cover for your expenses and will be able to pay off the balance claim amount.

#3 Protect your no claim bonus

Some health insurance policies have a no claim bonus facility. If your medical bill is not so huge, you can skip the claim and save no claim bonus. This bonus would otherwise be lost had you claimed your health insurance plan.

#4 Managing ancillary costs

In some cases, there are exclusions to your indemnity-based health insurance policy. These exclusions specifically exclude certain expenditure under the policy coverage. Using a hospital cash benefit facility, you can support such ancillary costs, thereby reducing your financial burden.

So now you know the benefits of hospital cash plans, it is undoubtedly a silver lining to the hospitalisation process. You can also combine a hospital cash plan with a critical illness insurance cover to get an added advantage of lump-sum pay-out along with daily cash benefit. Keep yourself updated with the insurance claim process should you ever require it. Select wisely and stay insured!