Are you soon heading out looking to buy health insurance? Well, if that is the case, you will do well to know that the insurance purchase decision is a financial decision you should take lightly. This assertion comes from an observation of the nasty experiences that people who buy health insurance without understanding the enormity of the purchase decision tend to go through. In a nutshell, the experiences of those people range from what can be termed as frustration to what can be termed as major regret. Looking through previous bitter experiences, it tends to turn out that they find themselves in such predicaments after having made avoidable mistakes when purchasing the health insurance. It is imperative to avoid these mistakes when buying for health insurance.
Common mistakes
Buying health insurance from financially vulnerable insurers
It is not for nothing that people buying health insurance are advised to check out the financial health of the insurers they are considering buying the policy from. It is worth noting that your insurance cover is as good as the financial strength of the company providing it. Yes, there are mechanisms, in most jurisdictions, to protect the interests of the clients in the event of a health insurer going down. But more often than not, it tends to take a while before these mechanisms can kick in – during which time you would be virtually uncovered. Purchase health insurance from reliable insurers only.
Buying health insurance from unreliable insurancers
The relationship between a medical insurance provider and their client is one that is built on trust. Therefore, it becomes necessary to ensure that you get health insurance from insurers who have good reputations; not insurers who are known to cut corners and shift goalposts against their clients, especially when it comes to awarding claims. Check out what the previous customer experiences with the various insurers you consider buying health insurance from and make a personal judgment.
Not looking beyond the price
In most cases, a cheap policy comes with some compromises regarding coverage has to be made. While it is advisable for you to go for the most affordable health insurance cover you can get, you should also look at it keenly to establish what exactly you will be getting in it. Sometimes, you find cheap health insurance policies that have so much stripped out of them (in a bid to make them affordable) that they are pretty much useless to the people who buy them.
Not reading and understanding the policy document
It is important to note that when buying health insurance, what you buy is essentially the contract. This makes it essential for you to look at the health insurance contract keenly, and make an effort to understand the clauses in it and their full implications.