It is often seen that when people are planning for their retirement, they forget to build a kitty for health-related costs despite knowing that as they grow older, health complications can arise unannounced. One of the things that can aid you in dealing with this problem is buying health insurance. Tapan Singhel, managing director and CEO of Bajaj Allianz Health Insurance, discusses why the right time to buy health insurance is now and how it can benefit senior citizens, too. Here are the edited excerpts from the interview.
What is the right time to buy health insurance?
If you are aware of when you will fall ill and if you are sure about the date, and right now you are perfectly fine, then you buy health insurance 3-4 years before that date so that everything gets covered. But I don’t think that is the way we should look at it. That’s because we never know when we can fall ill, what can go wrong, and when an accident can happen. So, it is always good to buy health insurance right now, irrespective of your age. I don’t think we should time health insurance buying, thinking that it is going to be cheaper or more expensive.
The second point is that your premium goes up as you age, which is natural because the risk goes up as you age. But the basic difference is that if you take it early, your health insurance will cover nearly everything that can go wrong, because one critical point we miss in health insurance is that pre-existing diseases get excluded. So, if anything goes wrong, you have a fantastic cover and you will have a walk-in, walk-out experience. That is why you should take insurance early.
When you get it late and if you have developed some illness, which is a natural part of ageing, those illnesses get excluded. This means you don’t get a full-grown cover.
Are there specific policies for people in their 40s or 50s, who have missed buying a health policy? What is the solution that they can look at?
There are policies that have no age limit. You can take it at any age. If you have not taken it early, you should buy it now. Even if you have missed buying early, you do not know what will happen in the future. So buy now.
And even if I don’t use my health insurance, my money is being used for somebody else’s benefit. We give donations and engage in philanthropy. We go to temples, mosques, and churches, and give money there, so why can’t we give money for this social cause? Why can’t our money be used for somebody else’s benefit? I think from that perspective. So, it is always good to have a cover. So, when is the right time? It is now.
Finally, to sum up, what role does health insurance play in seniors’ lives? And what are the main points they should keep in mind before they make this decision?
If you have a health cover, it increases your longevity; second it gives you a life of dignity, and third, it gives a lot of mental peace.
When you have a cover, you don’t hesitate to go to the best doctor and the best hospital. You just walk in and get treated. If you don’t have a cover, you keep postponing the decision to go till things become really bad and that makes a difference of lot many years in your life.
(It gives a life of dignity) because you don’t need to worry about who will pay for it, or how expensive it is. (It ensures) peace of mind because in old age. What else can go wrong (in old age)? I think the biggest thing that can go wrong is health, which is expensive to get treated.
From that perspective, just buy a good cover. This is the last thing to save money on. It will not cost you more than a dinner out with your friends, and it is good to be insured. So, I recommend that if you want to have a good and happy retired life, health insurance will play an important role.
Transcribed by Versha Jain
