There are endless terms in health insurance, such as copayment, claim, TPA, hospital cash benefits, incurred claim ratio (ICR), claim settlement ratio (CSR), premium, sum insured, pre and post hospitalization, inpatient cover and more. Among them, the daily cash benefit in health insurance offers a fixed amount for each day during your hospitalization. The daily cash benefit amount is pre-determined when taking the policy. So, it remains fixed. This benefit can be opted for as a rider to your existing health insurance policy. Or it can be a standalone cover.
Coverage under Daily Hospital Cash Benefit
While your health insurance policy features to provide coverage for most of your expenses during hospitalization, some medical costs are not covered and they are known as inadmissible expenses. These expenses are surgical accessories, X-Ray charges, costs related to accompanying family members, etc.
What’s more?
- Daily hospital cash benefit kicks in without asking for any supporting bills.
- To avail of this benefit, valid proof of hospitalization of at least 24 to 48 hours is required.
- In case of becomes inadmissible, the benefit is declined.
- This feature offers a lump sum amount in case of hospitalization
- The daily cash benefit amount can be used per your needs, such as meeting additional expenses
- You can also use this amount to compensate for the loss of income during the period of hospitalization.
What if the patient is in ICU?
No doubt, if the patient is shifted to an ICU, the expenses grow much higher. In that case, the health insurance company generally doubles the daily cash benefit amount. For instance, if Rs 1,000 is the daily cash benefit in a regular room under your policy and when the insured member is shifted to ICU, the insurer will increase the amount to Rs 2,000 depending on the policy you have chosen.
Longevity of Daily Hospital Cash Benefit
Generally, a daily hospital cash benefit in health insurance is available for 30 to 45 days. Hence if you get admitted to a hospital for one medical condition for 30 days, you can receive daily hospital cash for 30 days. However, this fluctuates from one insurer to the other. You need to opt for daily hospital cash benefit while taking the policy.
How much amount can be received?
The amount under daily hospital cash benefit can range between Rs. 100 and Rs. 10,000, on average. In addition, some insurance companies that offer this benefit inbuilt in the health insurance policy have a % of it associated with the Sum Insured.
Benefits under a Daily Hospital Cash Benefit
Daily hospital cash benefit lets you have multiple benefits. Some of them are that
- You can take care of the expenses that are not covered under the comprehensive health insurance policy
- The feature can be availed to take care of additional costs that you might incur during hospitalization
- The amount is fixed. Even if the actual medical cost is not as much as the daily hospital cash, the insurance company doesn’t ask for the extra amount.
- It is like a cushion you can fall back on in times of need.
As a result, a daily hospital cash benefit is a godsend when you meet difficult times your extra expenses weigh heavy on the pocket.
Things to Consider When Going for Daily Hospital Cash Benefits
There are certain conditions that you need to keep in mind when opting for a daily hospital cash benefit.
- You need to be hospitalized for a minimum of 24-48 hours for availing of daily cash benefit
- No coverage is available for Day Care Procedures under the scope of this facility
- Generally, there is a ceiling of 30, 60 or 90 days on the number of hospitalization days in a policy
- There is a waiting period to enjoy daily cash benefit under health insurance
To know about daily hospital cash benefit or any other terms and features in health insurance, it is advisable to contact an online health insurance aggregator. An aggregator can help you with a complete guide about health insurance, daily cash benefit, a suitable plan based on your circumstances.