Reasons why you should buy a health insurance policy in your 20s – CNBCTV18

Despite the fact that you are fit and healthy when you’re young, there’s a very important reason why you should buy health insurance especially in your 20’s. This reason is that health insurance pays for any of your medical treatments that require hospitalization.

As a result, you don’t have to exhaust your and your parents’ savings during a medical emergency or a treatment that requires hospitalization because health insurance pays for 90 percent of your medical treatment on hospitalization.

As a young person, it’s quite natural to think that ‘nothing will happen to me because I am young and healthy’. However, this is no longer true. As per various industry sources, one in every five heart attack patients is below 40.

One in every four people below 25 years of age is diagnosed with type-2 diabetes. Respiratory or lung problems can start developing in your 30s due to active or passive smoking. You don’t need to be old to contract any of these diseases.

The reason young people are contracting these diseases early is due to their sedentary lifestyle which includes unhealthy diets, irregular sleep patterns, work-from-home schedules and stress.

Following this lifestyle with your growing age, you are more prone to contract diseases that require hospitalization. Once you get older and contract diseases, your health insurance premium increases greatly. Despite having ailments, you have to wait for 3 to 4 years, which is the policy ‘waiting period’, before which your health insurance doesn’t pay for your pre-existing ailments that require hospitalization. This can get dangerous because you won’t receive any financial help through your insurance company if you are amid the waiting period.

However, in your 20s, you don’t have to face any of these problems. You will easily get a health insurance policy with a substantial cover for a very low premium amount because you are less prone to contract diseases.

That’s why buying health insurance in your 20s is a must as it pays for any medical emergency which requires hospitalisation and helps you from eroding your hard earned savings. Have a look at some of the most common health insurance plans and further, understand what are the benefits of buying health insurance early.

Different Types of Health Plans for Youngsters?

John Mayne, Executive Director at Coverfox.com said that although, “There are various types of policies available under health insurance in India, for example, individual health insurance policies, family floater policies, critical illness policies , senior citizen plans, etc. You can start by purchasing an individual health insurance policy and then advance to a family floater health plan in future.”

Now let’s understand why you should buy health insurance early and what are the key benefits you can avail in your 20’s and not when you grow older

Reasons Of Buying Health Insurance in 20s

1. Low Premium

John says that “When someone is in their 20s, their chances of getting into a medical condition is less as compared to people in their 30s and 40s. Hence, they have to pay a low premium.

This is true because people in their 20s have to pay an average premium of Rs 8,000 annually for a cover amount of Rs 5 lakh. People in their 30s will have to pay an average premium of Rs 12,000 for the same cover amount. As you get older, your risk factor to contract lifestyle diseases increases and hence, your premium gets higher.

2. Low Health Related Risks

A comprehensive health insurance plan covers you for many critical ailments like heart diseases, kidney failure, diabetes, cancer and many more illnesses. However, once you contract any of these diseases, your premium will increase greatly. The insurance company may also put a permanent exemption from offering cover for any of these diseases if the condition is too severe.

However, if you purchase health insurance in your 20s, you are safe because most of the critical health issues start as you enter your late 30s. Not only do you pay a low premium but also you get cover for future critical illnesses without any problem if you buy health insurance quite early.

3. Protects Your Savings

John Mayne also mentions that “Even if you buy a health insurance policy with a cover of Rs 5 lakh while you are young and healthy, from a future perspective, you won’t have to worry about your hospital bills up to the amount of Rs 5 lakh. A health insurance of Rs 5 lakh is like an emergency amount of Rs 5 lakh in your savings account which you can use anytime for medical purposes. Additionally, your savings remain untouched.”

4. You Finish The Waiting period

Once you get old, you are more likely to contract certain lifestyle related diseases like heart , kidney ailments, diabetes, cancer , etc. Buying health insurance with any pre-existing health issue has a waiting period which varies between 3-4 years.

What if an emergency situation arises during your policy’s waiting period? In such a situation, you won’t be able to use your health insurance cover amount to pay for the medical expenses.

Hence, buying health insurance in your 20s helps you complete the waiting period faster. As you are young and healthy, there are seldom any chances of getting into a lifestyle disease related medical emergency.

In Conclusion

● Your health insurance pays for any treatment that requires hospitalization. It also covers pre and post hospitalisation expenses.

● When you are young, your premium is low with an adequate cover limit.

● Your waiting period gets over faster and your long-term future is secured.

● Your savings remain untouched and you don’t have to worry about hospital bills.

The author, John Mayne, is Executive Director at Coverfox.com. The views expressed are personal