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| Is an OPD cover under Health Insurance useful? Posted: 26 Jan 2014 06:03 AM PST We can help. Call 0 94 8300 8300 (India) Leave your comment with mail ID and we will answer them OR You can write back to us at PrajnaCapital [at] Gmail [dot] Com
Most people do not know how to use it. At best, it provides tax benefit
Among the innovations health insurance customers can look forward to in 2014 are products focusing on OPD ( Out Patient Department) treatment, that is, treatment that does not require a stay in a hospital. These can be visits to the local general practitioner or medical bills from the neighbourhood medical store. A recent report by ICICI Lombard General Insurance company says insurance companies will focus on OPD, in line with changing customer trends and the emergence of shorter treatments.
While opting for such covers, customers should bear in mind that it does not give you the whole sum assured. It is usually a percentage of the sum assured or a fixed amount and can be used for doctor's consultation, health check- up, pharmacy bills or diagnostic tests like X- Rays or blood tests. Until now, insurance companies were covering limited ailments under OPD or were offering only for treatment at tertiary hospitals. Hence, customers often didn't find much value in such covers and would drop out. That is why these covers should be brought into mainstream policies. While OPD covers are useful, customers don't know how to take the benefit from these. For instance, if you go to your local doctor or medical store, it is possible you won't get a prescription or receipt. In such cases, the insurance company could reject your claim. It is important that you always take the receipt from your doctor and medical store to ensure your claim gets reimbursed. Such covers are very popular abroad, where healthcare is more organised. The fact that primary healthcare in India is still largely unorganised is the biggest reason insurers don't offer or market OPD covers in a big way. That is also why the pricing for such covers tends to be 100 per cent. For instance, if a family of four members opts for a health insurance policy with a cover of ₹ four lakh, the annual premium works out to about ₹ 8,000. But if you take an add- on OPD cover worth ₹ 10,000, then the price for the cover is around ₹ 8,000. So, what you get as cover is only the amount you pay. Hence, the benefit is very marginal, says Mahavir Chopra, a health insurance expert. Today, you end up paying close to the entire amount of OPD cover. So, it is not a great advantage. My suggestion is to increase the base cover instead and maybe buy a critical illness policy. Some customers buy it for the tax arbitrage. For instance, if you pay ₹ 15,000 for a ₹ 4 lakh base policy plus ₹ 10,000 OPD cover, then you can claim tax exemption for your health insurance policy. So, you save about ₹ 4,500 and you can claim ₹ 10,000 as OPD, provided you make the claims. Some companies will not pay for non- prescribed medical tests or medicines bought without prescriptions. So, keep these conditions in mind. Insurance companies will offer more OPD covers. But they might insist that the treatment be done at only reputed clinics or medicines be purchased only from reputed clinics. Or restrict it to four doctors' visits in ayear. Once the primary healthcare system in India becomes more organised, insurers will be more comfortable in covering such treatment. Once that happens, companies can even bargain with the clinic chains to offer discounts to customers. --------------------------------------------- Invest Mutual Funds Online
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| SBI Fixed Interval Debt Series Dividend Posted: 26 Jan 2014 05:37 AM PST Download Tax Saving Mutual Fund Application Forms Invest In Tax Saving Mutual Funds Online Leave a missed Call on 94 8300 8300
SBI Mutual Fund has announced 10 January 2014 as the record date for declaration of dividend under dividend option of SBI Fixed Interval Debt Series - 30 Days - 1. The rate of dividend (Rs per unit) will be entire distributable surplus as on the record date on the face value of Rs 10 per unit.
Specified Transaction period of SBI Fixed Interval Debt Series - 30 Days - 1 for the purpose of subscription/switch-in and redemption/switch-out will be 13 January 2014 to 17 January 2014 at the applicable NAV as per provisions of the Scheme Information Document of the scheme.
For further information on the topic you can CONTACT Prajna Capital on 94 8300 8300 by leaving a missed call.
We can help. Call 0 94 8300 8300 (India) Leave your comment with mail ID and we will answer them OR You can write back to us at PrajnaCapital [at] Gmail [dot] Com
--------------------------------------------- Invest Mutual Funds Online
Download Mutual Fund Application Forms from all AMCs Download Mutual Any Fund Application Forms ---------------------------------------------
Best Performing Mutual Funds
B. Large and Midcap Funds Invest Online
C. Mid and SmallCap Funds Invest Online
D. Small and MicroCap Funds Invest Online
2. Franklin India Smaller Companies E. Sector Funds Invest Online
F. Tax Saver Mutual Funds Invest Online 1. ICICI Prudential Tax Plan 2. HDFC Taxsaver
G. Gold Mutual Funds Invest Online
H. International funds Invest Online 1. Birla Sun Life International Equity Plan A 2. DSP BlackRock US Flexible Equity 3. FT India Feeder Franklin US Opportunities 4. ICICI Prudential US Bluechip Equity 5. Motilal Oswal MOSt Shares NASDAQ-100 ETF |
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