Why individuals should buy health insurance in their 30s

We take a look at some of the essential reasons why individuals should have health insurance in their thirties.

Naval Goel, Founder & CEO, PolicyX.com, said, “Indeed, taking a health insurance plan early in life helps in saving extra premium, but at the same time, there are a lot more benefits that a customer signing before 30 years of under a health insurance program can extract. The biggest benefit is that the long waiting period imposed on various treatments gets over by the time an insured need. This means they can take the leverage of their health insurance completely by the age of 40s.”

The pandemic has forced health insurance service providers to turn stricter with their underwriting. People who are older tend to show health complications and have higher chances of rejection these days. A person under the age of 30 years is generally considered healthy and has zero chances for application rejection.

Sanjiv Bajaj, joint chairman and MD, Bajaj Capital, said, “If you are young and healthy, do not delay about buying a health insurance policy. A youngster should not wait to get older or get any chronic illness as it makes sense to buy a health policy when you are young. Many youngsters consider buying health cover when they get old.” Bajaj further said, “By the time one is a middle-aged person, there could be medical conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, etc. and may also get a limited cover. The younger you are, the lower the policy premium, and you can buy a policy with a higher sum insured. It makes sense to buy coverage of around ₹20 to ₹25 lakh, considering the health inflation in these times. For small families, there is an option to buy a Family Floater plan wherein all individuals of the family can get insured.”

Along with being secure from a health perspective, timely buying of health insurance policy also helps in better financial planning by saving some amount of tax and ensuring that your savings are untouched at the time of health emergencies, said Goel.

Thus, if you are without a health insurance policy, you are putting your savings in jeopardy. It is crucial to have suitable coverage for yourself and your family members. You can choose the sum insured as per your affordability. You must also know that for every no-claim year, your sum insured keeps increasing up until the no-claim bonus kicks in.

Further, adhering to the rules that pre-existing diseases will be treated after 3-4 years, and after 8 years your claims can be rejected, you must understand that health insurance is a long-term buy product. Hence, it is always better to buy a health policy early and with a sufficient sum insured for oneself and family members .