Last Updated on June 17, 2022 by Parentology
Health insurance is one of the most important things we need in today’s world. We never know when we may fall sick or even get in a serious accident. These policies ensure that we can afford the treatment we need to recover, while also providing a safety net for our own savings and finances. So, if you are planning on starting a family or already have one, you need to make sure that you have adequate protection, particularly for your child.
There are many policies you can choose from for your little one but it is important to get one early, as medical costs are constantly rising and we can’t predict the future. So how do you find the right policy for your child? Here are a few of the different kinds of policies to consider:
Critical Illness
You can get a critical illness policy on either a term basis, which will end after a specified amount of time or on a lifetime basis. This is a great policy to get because it will cover a number of critical conditions such as cancer, heart attack, and stroke. This coverage will ensure that you have additional payment options for treatments that are not covered under a typical surgical or hospital plan.
Also, you can get a payout without having to be admitted to a hospital. This is an essential policy that every parent should consider for their child. Getting it early, also means cheaper premiums, which will help them when they get older.
Endowment Plans
An endowment plan can be used for many purposes. It can be used to save up for your child’s college education, their wedding, or even a house in the future. However, one of the most important purposes is for their health care. This kind of policy can provide a large lump sum that can be used to cover medical emergencies.
This is a fairly affordable policy, as it comes with long terms such as 15 to 20 years and the payments can be customized to suit your budget. You can also add supplemental policies that cover various health conditions.
Surgical and Hospital Policies
These health insurance policies are designed to cover any hospitalization and surgical bills that have resulted due to illness or injury. They will also cover the expenditures that have stemmed from treatment as well as pre and post hospitalization expenses up to 90 days.
These plans are quite affordable and you can pay the premiums using the funds in your Medisave, which prevents out of pocket expenses. You can find great policies that can be tailored to your unique needs and budget from third party insurers. However, make sure to shop around as each insurance company offers different premiums and benefits. To make things even more affordable, private shield plans include deductible and coinsurance features.
Infectious Disease and Personal Accident Policies
These policies will offer worldwide protection against 17 different infectious diseases such as: dengue fever and hand, foot, and mouth disease. It will also cover personal accidents. You will receive cash benefits on a weekly basis when you make an infectious disease claim.
Treatments conducted by chiropractors and Chinese medicine practitioners will be covered.
So, now that you know about the different policies available for your child. How do you know which ones they need? Here are a few tips to point you in the right direction:
Figure Out Your Medical Situation and Budget
One of the most important things to do when you are deciding on getting health insurance for your child, is knowing your budget. Even though you can save some money by using your Medisave to pay the premiums for basic health insurance and integrated shield plans, third party policies will still need to be paid out of pocket. So you have to decide how much you are able to spend annually.
The premiums will be dictated by a number of things including the age of the parents, the age of the child, payment terms, term period, and the sum assured. You will also need to figure out how much insurance to get, which will depend on your lifestyle, budget, and what you are interested in covering.
To figure out what you should plan for or what kind of health policies you need to consider, it is always a good idea to take a look at your family’s medical history. For example, if cancer runs in your family, you will want to get insurance that will cover the possibility that you or your child may get cancer in the future. It is important to get this early, as it will guarantee your child’s insurability.
Get Your Child Health Insurance as Early as Possible
It can be difficult to get good health insurance when your child is older. They may have developed certain health conditions or their age may raise the premiums. To make sure your child is as insurable as possible, you need to get them insurance as early as possible. This will make sure they have no pre-existing conditions. A good time to get insurance for your child is as soon as you get their birth certificate.
This is important because many insurance policies do not cover pre-existing conditions and if they do, they will raise the premiums a considerable amount. So if your child develops a condition, while insured they will have nothing to worry about but if they are not insured, this medical history will be a hassle for their entire lives.
Disclosing Medical Conditions
When you are signing up for a health insurance policy for your child, you will want to be honest and disclose all information regarding their medical care and health. If you lie or do not disclose something and it is discovered at a later date, your policy will be terminated.
Take note of the learning environment, living environment, and lifestyle of your child. Are they prone to accidents from playing roughly or are they susceptible to common illnesses? You will want to choose a policy that can cover situations that may occur during your child’s life. You can also go for comprehensive health insurance, which will simply cover everything from infectious diseases, child-related illnesses, and any kind of hospitalization.
Hospital Ward Classes
Your insurance plan will decide on the kind of ward or even hospital your child will be able to stay at. A basic plan will allow your child to stay at a Class C or Class B ward. You can also upgrade the plan so they can stay at a better Class A ward or even at a private hospital.
Depending on your budget and needs, you may want to upgrade your policy but doing this will raise your deductible and may incur other costs. So you will want to weigh the pros and cons of a better ward versus something much more affordable.
These plans are also quite customizable. For example, you could get a better plan for enhanced coverage for healthcare but then downgrade the hospital ward. This might even net you a cash benefit from some integrated shield plans!
It can look overwhelming at first when you are looking for health insurance for your child but just keep it simple. Consider your family’s medical history, the lifestyle of your child, the environment they live in, and take into account future possibilities. Just make sure to get insurance for them as early as possible for the best premiums and for the best insurability.
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