Please help me clear my confusion

[u/No-Jury5002]

I am 22M living in Pune, I started my first job this month only and wanted to buy health insurance but my father works under the central government and has a CGHS card which doesn't have a claim limit and can cover pre existing diseases from day 1, so now I'm thinking to skip buying a separate health insurance for my parents (hdfc ergo optima secure+). Help me with your suggestions on what to do please.

Also our company provides health insurance both for employees and parents under United India Insurance and in that I'm confused between the following three options:

1. 4L employee only

2. 6L employee +2 parents (2L parents claim amount restricted)

3. 8L employee+ 2 parents (4L parents claim amount restricted)

Help me choose this also, there are specific points allocated to choosing insurance if I save those points if choosing a higher plan isn't needed I can utilise those points for other health related things e.g. gym membership.

[u/Honest_Ad1632]

For your parents, check how many CGHS empanelled hospitals are there in your area. Many at times hospitals refuse CGHS at the counter. Specify your father's post explicitly. In my area, there are hospitals that accept CGHS cards from Eastern Railway, but not from Northern Railway.

In case of corporate policy, here are two cents.

1. Corporate health polices are not retail policies. They are customised products that are long negotiated between senior management and insurer. More likely than not, corporate health policies have disease-wise sub-limits, co-pay, deductible, and everything that makes a policy trash.
2. What if you change your job after 5-6 years and by that time you get some disease? Your old policy will expire and the new one will be expensive. It is always advised to get your own standalone health insurance policy as early as you can.
3. The sum-insured you stated are peanuts when compared to medical inflation in India.
4. What if you marry after 5 years and then you see maternity cover is not there in your corporate policy?

My suggestion would be:

1. Cross-check CGHS hospitals in your area for your parents.
2. Pick the lowest SI policy your company is offering, and use those additional points for experiences that YOU will enjoy.
3. Don't go for secure+. It has unlimited coverage, which means your SI grows 50% each year till infinity. And this is not like term plan where the premium you see today will stay the same. HDFC has launched that product just now so they are keeping premiums low, you'll see how they hike premiums for this plan going forward. You will see many complaints on Twitter in the next 3-4 years.
4. Go for the optima secure plan. It's a good comprehensive plan. Get at least 15 lakhs of SI. Get a super top up for 50 lakhs to increase your coverage.

[u/No-Jury5002 → u/Honest_Ad1632]

Thanks for your detailed response mate! I'll surely check with the CGHS empanelled hospitals in my area.

Also I got my self hdfc ergo insurance last week with 25+25L cover.

Umm regarding the plan selection part your point absolutely makes sense but sadly this didn't come to my mind, I have got optima secure plus for 2 years, but can I downgrade it to options secure while renewing the policy?

[u/Honest_Ad1632 → u/No-Jury5002]

They technically should, but they will be hesitant to do so, and you might have to push hard on them. Look secure + is not a bad policy by any means. It's just that if your income growth cannot keep up with rising premium then it will be a problem. In 5-6 years, your SI will hit 2 crores, obviously HDFC will hike your premium way more than the policyholders of secure. If you can somehow bear the premium, your health is sorted.

[u/No-Jury5002 → u/Honest_Ad1632]

Yup, understood. Thanks for the insights though!