How to Monitor Your Health Insurance Status?
Keeping an eye on your health insurance policy status holds paramount importance. Imagine a situation where you urgently need medical treatment but only notice that the policy has already lapsed. The financial burden of medical expenses can put you, as well as your family’s well-being, at risk.
Situations like these highlight the significance of routinely checking your policy status. Not only does it offer you peace of mind, but also safeguards you from unforeseen financial setbacks.
Importance of Checking the Policy Status Regularly
Several things can go wrong if your health insurance policy is inactive. Following are some of the reasons that underscore the necessity of checking your policy regularly:
- Firstly, if you are no longer covered, you will have to bear all the medical costs in case of an accident or need urgent hospitalisation due to an ailment.
- If a policy lapses, the insured individual has to restart the waiting period. For instance, if you have surpassed 2 years and 10 months of a 3-year waiting period, it will not be considered since your policy has already lapsed.
- You will also lose the accumulated claim bonus.
- Last but not least, you will not be eligible to raise a claim.
Ways to Check Your Health Insurance Policy Status
Your medical insurance plan validity is already mentioned on your policy document. Besides there are several ways to check your policy status:
- Email: You can send an email to your insurance provider mentioning your policy number and holder’s name for an update on its status.
- Website: Individuals can also log in to the official portal of the insurance company using relevant details to gain insights into the policy status.
- Nearest Branch: Drop a visit to the nearest branch and inquire about your policy.
- Customer Care: Call the customer care number found on the website and provide the executive with relevant details to ask about the policy status.
- SMS: Many insurers also furnish updates via SMS. For this, send an SMS in a proper format, as given on the website, and send it to the respective number.
These above-mentioned processes vary from insurer to insurer. You can follow either of them for timely updates about the status of your medical insurance.
Star Health Insurance provides easy access to the policy via WhatsApp. Simply send ‘Hi’ to 95976 52225 and choose ‘Policy Documents’ from the options. You can find your plan's validity there. Also, you can install the Star Health app to check your policy status frequently.
Things to Do If Your Health Insurance Policy Has Lapsed
Most insurance companies offer a grace period between 7 to 30 days. If you also have missed that, then there are two things you can do:
- You can request a policy revival. However, you will have to provide a reason for the lapsing of the policy. If the insurer finds the reason genuine, only then will they proceed with the revival; otherwise, your request will be rejected. This process also incurs a penalty.
- You can buy a new health insurance policy, which is certainly a wiser option than paying a penalty upfront.
Health insurance is an essential financial shield. Routinely checking its validity saves you from an unprecedented economic crisis.
Also Read:
→ How to Write a Letter to a Health Insurance Company for a Claim
→ Is Health Insurance Tax Deductible in India
→ Is Medical Checkup Required for Health Insurance
→ Loading Charges in Health Insurance Explained
→ Mention the list of health policies in India
