The first thought that anybody has after buying health insurance is one of relief. Once the payment is made and the documents received, you feel assured that you are covered if you have to be hospitalised. While it stands true, there is one question that still remains unanswered. Once you have made a claim and used up all the insured sum mentioned in your policy, what happens if you need to be hospitalised again?
The usual answer that most people get is that you will have to cover that cost out of your pocket. While it is within the terms of medical insurance, medical costs today are too much for anyone to bear on their own.
However, what else can you do in such a situation? Do you take a loan to pay for your treatment? Or do you spend all your life savings in the hopes that it will be enough? While it may seem like those are the only options available with you, it is not the case. Here we introduce you to a little-known feature of health insurance called restoration cover.
What is restoration cover?
Restoration cover is the solution to the exact problem we mentioned above. Usually, every health plan has a duration of 1 year, and a fixed amount you can claim for medical expenses. Once you have made a claim and used all your sum insured, you have to usually renew your policy to get medical coverage again. However, even that takes time to come into effect. Hence, to make sure you can have continuous and repeated coverage for hospitalisation, you can get a restoration cover with your policy.
How does a restoration cover work?
Also known as a refill option, a restoration cover is offered as an add-on along with most health plans. Whether it is an individual policy or family health insurance, getting a restoration policy is often overlooked. In some cases, restoration covers are included as a part of the basic policy. However, that depends on your insurance provider. In the case that you need to buy the cover separately, it allows you to get hospitalised for a second time during the same policy term.
If you have bought the cover, it comes into effect as soon as your insurer reinstates your coverage after your first claim. This means there is no lapse in coverage even after making a claim. In a way of seeing, not only did you not lose your coverage, but you also essentially received double coverage.
Now, the question you may have, if it is so vital to health coverage, why is it so often ignored? A restoration cover like many other covers is an add-on. Including an add-on in your coverage increases your premium. These slightly higher premium are well worth the advantages that the cover provides.
Advantages of restoration cover
No activation premium
While the cover may add a few bucks to the overall premium, it does not require any payment at the time your coverage is reinstated. As soon as you make a claim and the processing is completed, the coverage is automatically restored without any fee payment.
Intact family coverage
For most people, repeated hospitalisation is something they have never been familiar with. While this means that they are mostly in good health, it also often means they do not feel that it is important to get a restoration coverage. However, it has other advantages than just replenishing coverage.
Imagine you have a family floater plan and you just used up all your medical coverage. Now, if one of your family members were to fall ill before the renewal period, you have no medical coverage to cover their treatment. In such a situation, having a restoration cover helps even if you don’t need hospitalisation but somebody else in your health plan does. Since the medical coverage is replenished immediately, there is no danger of not having enough coverage for your family.
These are some highlights on using a restoration benefit with health insurance cover. Making a thorough comparison of the available plans using a health insurance premium calculator will help make the right choice of insurance cover.
