Hospital Cash Plan from SBI Life Insurance – What is that?

Insurance | admin | September 26, 2011 at 9:24 am

SBI Life recently launched a fixed benefit health insurance plan. The Hospital Cash plan offers pre-defined daily allowance to the insured for every day of hospitalisation.

This allowance also covers expenses incurred before, during and after discharge. The sum is disbursed once the claim is made, irrespective of the actual expenses. The daily benefits are linked to the total sum assured of your plan.

The Daily Hospitalisation Cash Benefit (DHCB) provides policyholder 100% fixed payout from the first day of hospitalisation without any deductible. If admitted to an ICU, the amount receivable by the policyholder is twice that of the DHCB. The cap on the maximum number of days of hospitalisation in an ICU is 50 days in a year, and 100 days for regular hospitalisation.

The DHCB and ICU benefits cannot be clubbed together. Moreover, the maximum benefit payable in a year for both regular and ICU hospitalisation cannot exceed the sum assured. The Family Care Benefit feature provides for an additional fixed lump-sum benefit of Rs 10,000 (independent of the basic sum assured) in case two or more family members covered under the policy have to be hospitalised simultaneously due to the same ailment or accident for more than five consecutive days. This sum is payable to the family only once in a policy year.

The plan also promises no-claim bonus of 5-40% of the sum assured every year. In the event of a claim in the previous year, however, the enhanced sum assured will decrease by 10% on the next anniversary. The policy offers discount of 2.5% on the premium on renewal of the policy and family rebates of up to 10%, depending on the number of members covered.

While the cover will never fall below the basic sum assured, DHCB and ICU benefits will be revised as per the change in the basic sum assured. Like many such policies from other insurers, the premium will remain the same for three years (the basic policy term, which can be renewed upon expiry).

SBI Life's plan offers renewal till 75 years of age at maturity. Also, pre-existing diseases are covered after two years of continuous coverage. Along with other channels, this product can be bought through SBI Life's website.

UPSIDE:

Claim is disbursed once it is made, eliminating the hassle of awaiting the results of the company's assessment process. Even if you have an indemnity cover or group mediclaim, the proceeds can be utilised towards recuperation expenses.

DOWNSIDE:

The onus of estimating per-day expenses falls on the insured, who will have to bear the shortfall, if any, out of his/her own pocket. You also need to keep an eye on sub-limits, particularly the ones specifying the maximum number of days spent in ICU and for regular hospitalisation in a year.

Source: Economic Times