Here’s Why The Employer Health Insurance Is Never Enough!

There are many salaried professionals who believe that individual health insurance provided by their employers is enough for them in the long run. Well, employer’s health insurance is certainly useful. However, during an emergency, they may realize that Employer’s Health Insurance is sometimes never enough. You must evaluate the pros and cons of the health insurance provided by your employer. A health insurance policy provided by an employer is deemed as a master policy that covers that includes all the employees in the organization. However, that’s not always the case. Most of the salaried professionals do not read the fine prints of their insurance policy, and that leads to all sorts of troubles that you can imagine.

It is important to note that the health insurance plans provided by employers, also called the Group Insurance plans, come with certain conditions that may offer limited coverage such as certain sub-limits. The bottom line is that an employer’s health insurance policy may not cover all health conditions. Let’s find out why you need a separate health insurance plan.

Employment Status

The key thing to know here is that the Employer’s health insurance policy provides coverage only till the time you remain employed in that company. During the time when you are changing jobs, you are not covered. You may face a lot of trouble and things can go awry. The previous health insurance policy remains valid as long as you remain employed. The day you decide to quit, the policy becomes null and void. Imagine bearing hefty medical bills at a time when you do not have that much monetary support. A secondary policy can be just what you need during such scenarios.

Limited Coverage

Most insurance policies that employers provide do not provide more than a limited coverage a year. Most of this amount can only provide for small illnesses only. If you have been suffering from major illnesses, you may need substantial insurance cover for the hospital bills in times of emergency. You may be left in the lurch when you have limited coverage and need to treat a chronic disease! The coverage that you thought was adequate at first, will definitely not be enough.

You Have to Depend on Your Employer for Coverage

The health insurance provided by an employer is a job-related perk and in most cases, it may not be a mandatory feature. The onus is on the management to decide what are the major certain benefits, whether they will make you pay the premium or discontinue the policy when you face certain problems.

Insurance Coverage for One

With most employer’s insurance policies, the employee is covered and not the dependents. It means if someone other than you in the family gets hospitalized, the insurance policy will not pay for the expenses incurred at the hospital.

So, it’s important not to depend on a single employment policy and have secondary health insurance coverage so that all your dependants, namely, your spouse, children, and parents can benefit from it.

Conversion to Individual Policy Not Possible

If an employee quits suddenly, an employer’s health insurance policy cannot be converted into an individual policy. The policy is essentially an agreement between the company and the insurer, and the rules cannot be changed.

No Specific Options

As far as the company’s health insurance policy is concerned, the terms and conditions of the policy are decided by the employer and the insurance company. They will decide what diseases are to be covered.  In most cases, the minimum and maximum sum assured, and hospital admission may be decided as per the employer’s policies. You may be bereft of certain specific privileges other policyholders enjoy and may not be able to make changes in medical policies when you need to.

No Support for Future Planning

Group plans are often for ordinary and routine health expenses. If you are on the threshold of starting a family, this policy may not take care of the future medical assistance that your family may need during an emergency.

Even if the current company-backed health insurance policies seem lucrative at first, it may not be the case. To be future-ready, get a health insurance policy that gives you the most bang for the buck.