Watch: Health Insurance Guide for NRIs & OCI Holders Moving to India
Complete guide to choosing health insurance in India for NRIs and OCI holders. Learn about retail plans, family floaters, super top-ups, costs, and how to choose the right provider.
The full write-up, with the numbers and the links.
Chapters
- 0:00 Introduction
- 0:36 Health Insurance in India
- 1:33 Types of Health Insurance
- 2:48 How to Make a Smart Decision
- 4:38 How to Check Coverage
- 5:21 Typical Cost
- 6:55 Conclusion
Transcript
Auto-generated captions, lightly cleaned
0:02 Moving back to India, one of the most overlooked items for written is whether you are an OCI holder or an Indian citizen, it is health insurance. What are your options? When should you purchase the health insurance and how do you choose the right plan? Hi everyone, my name is Avin and at DI Return, we help you navigate the big move. Whether you're moving from US, Canada, UK or anywhere from abroad back to India. And today we're talking about health insurance for retaines.
0:38 Unlike abroad, India doesn't have universal health insurance. Private healthcare is excellent, but you have to pay out of pocket unless you are covered. So even if you're healthy, a major illness or hospitalization can cost you 5 to 10 lakhs or even more for private hospitals. So that's why it's critical to have a good health care when you move back to India. So even if you had a great coverage abroad, private health insurance, NHS or Medicare, it's likely doesn't cover you in India. So if you're someone who is planning to stay in India for a long term or travel to India on a regular basis, whether you are an NRA or an OCI holder, it's absolutely necessary to have a good local health insurance policy.
1:35 Here are your main options for health insurance policy. First, retail healthare plans or individual plans. These plans covers hospitalization, surgery and much more. Typically companies like NAB, Adicha Birila, Star Health, Care Health, HDFC, ICICI, they have offerings for these retail health plans. Second, family floater plans. You have one sum insured for the entire family. Typically, these are less expensive than the individual healthare plans. Third, top up and super topup plans. So this is something that you want to consider to have extra coverage beyond your base policy. Let's say your base policy is 10 lakhs or 20 lakhs. You can get an extra coverage. Let's say up to 1 cr with a minimal premium. And this is the best way to cover major illness affordably. And finally, you have senior
2:38 Plans designed for parents 60 plus. But these come with a waiting periods and sublimits coverage. So please keep that in mind.
Read the full transcript (6 more sections)
2:50 Here is how to make a smart decision about the provider for your health insurance plan. There are several factors to consider. Let me walk through them. First, cashless claim. Is the hospital that's near to you part of their cashless network? Use their online search tool. Make sure the hospitals close to your home or in your neighborhood are part of this cashless network. Second, claim settlement ratio. Look for providers that have a good claim settlement ratio. Anything above 90% is solid. Next, pre-existing conditions. Look into the waiting periods for the pre-existing conditions. Some providers have 2 years to four years. The lower the waiting period, the better it is. Next, renewal age. Some providers have lifetime renewal, whereas some plans have that would stop at age 65 or 70. Please look into that. Next,
3:54 Sublims. Avoid plans with low room rent or they have caps on certain diseases. These are certain conditions that you need to look into. Make sure that there are no constraints on the coverage. Next, no claim bonus plan that reward you with extra coverage if you don't have a claim. So, this is beneficial when you are healthy and if you don't have any claims that you have an extra coverage. And next, OCI or NRI friendly. Ask if they accept OCI and if Indian residency is mandatory. And finally, customer service. talk to them and make sure they provide good customer service and they are able to be reachable while you are in India or in abroad.
4:41 Most major insurance providers do cover health insurance for OCI holders. But here is what you should check. First, you must be residing in India at the time of purchase. You should have Aadhaar or other ID to prove your Indian address. Third, the coverage usually starts after 30 days waiting period. And finally, these coverages are typically India unless it's explicitly stated. You know, travel insurance is separate. It's always a good idea to have it in writing. You know, have an email or something with a confirmation that OCI holders are covered under your plan.
5:23 Now let's talk about some typical cost for these health insurance plans. For a 10 lakh coverage for an individual age between 35 to 40, it is anywhere between 10,000 rupees to 15,000 rupees per year. A family floater plan for two adults and one kid for 10 lakhs coverage is anywhere between 18,000 to 25,000 rupees per year. and a senior plan which is 60 plus is anywhere between 25,000 to 40,000 rupees per person per year. The best time to buy the health insurance plan is before your return while you're still healthy and then not in a need for health care. Typically, most of these policies have a waiting period for pre-existing conditions, typically 2 to four years. And you want to purchase beforehand so that you have a coverage for the pre-existing conditions. And also, while you are healthy, the premiums are typically low. Before you
6:24 Finalize the health insurance policy, check the inclusions and exclusions so that you're clear on what's covered. Also look into the pre and post hospital costs what are covered and what's not covered. Add critical illness riders if needed. Buy the health insurance when you are healthy as the premiums are low. Also file for section 80D for deductions if you're filing Indian taxes.
6:57 And that's all for today regarding the health insurance plans for OCI holders and NRIs. Please let me know in the comments which health insurance provider you went with and how was your experience working with them. If this video helped you, please give it a thumbs up and don't forget to subscribe for more practical videos for NRIs and OCI holders. Thanks for watching and take care until next
