What is Health Insurance Renewal and Its Importance for Insured Individuals

If you renew the policy on time, you and your family can enjoy continuous coverage of the health policy. This will ensure that your and your family’s financial interest are protected even if one or more family members have to undergo expensive medical treatment or hospitalization.

The policyholder who pays renewal premium for health insurance is eligible for saving tax under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act . This tax benefit for medical insurance can be as high as Rs. 1 lakh annually for a senior citizen insured person who is also paying the premium for his/her senior citizen parents.

Mediclaim policy renewal when made on time ensures that your existing health plan is renewed with the same benefits and the same premium amount. This is not the case if you let your existing plan lapse and buy a new health insurance policy.

Offline renewals can be done by visting the office of an inurance agents or by visiting the representative office of your insurer in person. Currently, offline payments for renewal of health insurance can be done by cheque, draft, credit/debit card or UPI payments. Very few insurance companies and brokers at present accept

Health insurance renewal online can be done through various insurer aggregator portals as well as through the website of the health insurance provider. Alternately, you can set up a standing instruction with your bank for auto debit of your health insurance premium to minize last minute hassles.

Many insurers send renewal reminders usually 30 days before expiry of the plan or 30 days before the renewal premium due date. But it is the responsibility of the insured to renew the plan in a timely manner.

You get a 'No Claim Bonus' when you don't file a claim in the previous year and this increases the sum assured of your health plan. To avail this benefit, you must renew the health insurance policy on time.

Non-renewal of health insurance plans leads to loss of continued coverage. Hence you cannot enjoy uninterrupted services of your mediclaim plan .

If you are a senior citizen and your policy expires, you may not be able to enjoy the perks of the policy. If the policy is not renewed within the grace period, you may also not find an adequate health insurance policy for your requirement or end up paying a significantly higher health insurance premium.

If the policyholder wants to continue the policy with the current insurer, they do not need to submit any additional health insurance documents . For offline renewal, the policy holder may be required to submit a copy of the current insurance cover letter/renewal quote along with the cheque, bank draft for the amount payable. This is not necessary when making online payment of mediclaim renewal premium or if one has opted for auto-debit through standing instruction submitted with the bank.

Before renewing the health policy, you must check the due date of renewal of your policy. Always try to renew your policy within the due date. If you miss the due date, the insurance company will give you a grace period of 15-30 days to complete the premium payment. Renewal within the grace period ensures that you retain the benefits of the existing policy.

The cumulative bonus or no claim bonus refers to an additional insurance cover given when there is no claim made against the health insurance policy in the previous year. This bonus can be used throughout the period of the policy. Always look for a policy that comes with a cumulative bonus to increase your health insurance cover over time at no additional cost.

On each renewal, you must ensure that the sum assured of your health insurance policy is sufficient to meet your present and future medical expenses. Increase your sum insured in case there are more members under the same coverage. This facility can be availed only if your current health insurance plan is valid and has been renewed in a timely manner.

If you have a newborn baby or dependent parents and want to cover them, you can do so at the time of mediclaim renewals. Deletion of family members from the coverage can be done at the same time.

The last but not the least point to check at the time of mediclaim renewal is the feature of portability. This feature allows you to change your health policy whenever you want to. You can easily port your policy accordingly if you find a better plan.