Individual Health Insurance Plans for Corporate Employees

Post the pandemic pandemonium, increased access to remote work privileges, and rising health scares, enterprises worldwide are pooling in more and more resources towards ensuring employees' mental and physical well-being. With corporate retreats, office tours, and free health camps, companies are showcasing their care and concern for their employees.

And it is no surprise that an increased number of organizations are now offering corporate health insurance plans, wherein, with some additional charges, you can also include your family.

While this is a much appreciated and welcome gesture for salaried individuals, especially considering how flexible corporate health insurance plans are, they should still be looking forward to availing of individual health insurance plans.

For a salaried individual, a corporate health insurance plan is like the classic glass of red wine with your meal. While it does tease your palette, it doesn’t satiate your hunger! For the latter, you need an individual health insurance policy.

But why are we saying this? Is it about corporates falling short somewhere? Is it about some additional benefits that individual plans bring to the table? We will be discussing all of that and more. However, first, let’s look at what your employers are offering you and how beneficial this is for you and your family.

Salaried Individuals and Corporate Health Insurance Policies

Atul joins a Private Company that offers handsome remuneration and multiple perks. Among these is a corporate health insurance plan. The company's HR department informs him that he has 2 options - INR 5 lakhs and INR 10 lakhs coverage, both of whose premiums can be deducted from his salary. Atul also has the option to include either his parents or his spouse and children at a nominal charge.

The plan seems like a godsend, doesn’t it?

What more perks does this corporate plan entail for him? What are the cons of such plans? Take a look below -

Heads Up: It takes an average person up to 5 hours to read & analyze a policy, and 10 hours or more to compare different plans and make a decision.

This is why we propose a better alternative - taking a 30-minute FREE consultation with Ditto’s certified advisors. We have a spam-free guarantee, and we’ll never push you to buy a plan. Don’t delay this - we have limited slots every day, so book a quick call here before they run out.

Pros of Corporate Health Insurance Policies

• Affordable plan: The premium charged on corporate plans is often pretty low. Since such health insurance policies are offered by an enterprise with a tie-up with the insurer, more often than not, employees enjoy the benefit of paying a low premium for the coverage offered.
• Family inclusion at minimal charges: For the employee’s insurance, the employer funds the premium. If the employee extends this plan to include his/her family members, a minimum premium charge will be added that will be deducted monthly from their salary. Hence, employees and their families are financially funded against medical emergencies for a nominal amount.
• The premium deduction is right out of your salary: Since the premium for the corporate health insurance policy is deducted from the salary on a monthly basis, it is not financially burdening for policyholders.
• No waiting period: Keeping in mind the ultimate agenda of corporate health insurance plans, they come with no waiting period. This means you and your family are covered from Day 1.
• No medical check-up: No pre-medical screening is conducted before offering this plan.
• Pre-existing ailments covered: With most health insurance plans, there comes a certain waiting period for certain pre-existing ailments. At times, there are sub-limits put on pre-existing disease treatments, or insurers request you for copayment on such conditions. However, in cases of corporate plans, the insurer accepts the claim settlement easily, irrespective of any pre-existing diseases.

Cons of Corporate Health Insurance Policies

• Minimal coverage: Corporate plans are an added perk for employees. So, naturally, the offered coverage may fall short of meeting any future medical treatment charges. Additionally, in case the family is covered under this policy, the coverage offered is minimal, at best.
• Dependency on the employer: The corporate plan is good as long as you stick to your employer. If you quit, get terminated, or the company shut down, your health insurance plan is packed up and gone too.
• Portability to Individual plans is not easy: True, you can port your corporate plan to an individual health insurance policy. However, the process is cumbersome and not advised by the best insurance advisors.

So, kudos to your employer who are offering you an introductory health insurance pack. However, this can just be a backup plan and not the only one. Take their initiative as a reminder to get started with your own individual health insurance plan.

Why do Salaried Individuals Need Individual Health Insurance Policies?

A corporate health insurance plan is a great stand-in plan that comes for a nominal premium charge. However, take a look at the recent medical inflation, and you will know the costs to avail of quality medical services are shooting north as we speak.

Hence, for the next decade or so, you are in need of a financial security net that will be adequate to cover any and all medical treatment procedures and hospitalizations. Additionally, even if you have a corporate health insurance plan in place, remember this is a volatile one, conditioned to stay with you till your current employment lasts.

What happens to your corporate health insurance backup if -

CASE 1: You leave the company

No matter how great an employment seems, you will always have beckonings from better organizations offering greater packages. In that case, what do you do - stay back with your current employer because you have a health insurance plan here? That doesn’t seem logical, right? So, you get deductions from your salary; you pay up towards a health insurance plan that you end up losing when you change your company.

CASE 2: The company shuts down

With the recent competition across industries, companies closing down is not a rare occasion. Under such circumstances, as an employee of the company, you will be losing out on your corporate health insurance coverage. And unless you have an individual health insurance policy, you are looking at an alarming financial burden over medical expenses.

CASE 3: The offered coverage is exhausted

As established above, corporate health insurance plans offer nominal coverage, especially if you have opted for family coverage. The sum insured is spread thin over your family members.

Let’s say your corporate plan offers you coverage of INR 10 lakhs and covers both your parents and you. Now, from our blog on senior citizen health insurance plans, you know the spiked costs of healthcare services for older individuals.

Now, if, under some unfortunate situation, both your parents need to be hospitalized consecutively, followed by you requiring minor surgery, do you see the 10 lakhs coverage funding for it all?

And without any individual health insurance plan at your disposal and your corporate insurance coverage exhausted, medical bills will be digging a pretty big hole into your savings.

This doesn’t seem like a good financial decision at all.

CASE 4: You need a backup

Corporate health insurance plans as a standalone policy can be insufficient, but on the other hand, they can be an excellent support system. Here’s why -

Let’s say you have availed of an excellent individual plan from one of the best health insurance providers in India. Each plan no matter how popular comes with a waiting period. For this span, where you wait for your individual coverage to kick in, you can always bank on your corporate plan (that comes with no waiting period).

This means minimizing strain on your financial stability while still having access to premium healthcare services.

CASE 5: You quit to build on your own dreams

You might be a prodigal Bill Gates in the waiting with an $80 billion industry waiting for you. And this means to cater to your dream you will need to walk out of your current employment and walk towards building that independent dream of yours.

However, this also means walking out on your corporate health plan. And without individual health insurance coverage, you will be letting your medical bills take a sizeable bite out of your savings that might have otherwise helped in crafting your dream.

CASE 6: With age, you are looking at pricey insurance

If you are thinking of continuing with your corporate health insurance policy till you retire and then opting for an individual health insurance plan, think again.

Retirement suggests you are close to or above 60. And even with the best health insurance plans for senior citizens, you should expect an exorbitant premium, not to mention the diverse list of restrictions on the features offered.

So, with health insurance, the best way would be to run a simultaneous corporate and individual plan. And this wouldn’t be much of an issue because, for the corporate, you are rarely paying a premium. The only premium that you are liable to pay at a go is for the individual plan.

And if you choose any of the best health insurance plans for 2023, the premium becomes affordable, the perks are more lucrative, and the claim settlement process turns out to be smooth and convenient.

What are the benefits of Individual Health Insurance Policies?

With a premium individual health insurance plan, you are looking at -

• Extensive coverage for your medical expenses
• No-Claim Bonus that increases the bandwidth of your coverage
• Pre-and post-hospitalization expense coverage
• Maternity coverage (depending on the plan availed)
• No disease-wise sub-limits
• No room rent and room type restrictions
• Affordable premium
• Domiciliary treatment coverage
• Free annual health check-ups
• No copayment requirement
• AYUSH treatment coverage
• Unlimited coverage restoration (depending on the plan availed)
• Daycare treatment coverage

Best Individual Health Insurance Policies for Salaried Individuals in 2023

You can head over to our website for a free Health Insurance comparison tool to tally the aforementioned plans and settle on one that best suits your financial and medical requirements.

You can also reach out to our insurance experts and schedule a free session, explain your situation about having an existing corporate health insurance plan, and then seek their assistance in choosing the individual plan that would complement it.

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