10 Ways to Maximize Your Insurance Benefits
Insurance is a key component in the financial planning process and serves to shield you from possible losses through an accident or illness or any life event. However, to get the best out of your insurance policies, you have to learn how to optimize the benefits of the policies. Here below are some of the best ways to make sure that you gain maximum value for your insurance cover;
1. This is especially important when you are selecting the coverage that is ideal for you.
The first key that relates to the optimal maximisation of your insurance benefits is choosing the right insurance policy. The public is a major culprit of underinsurance or overinsurance where he or she receives inadequate protection or pays undeserving premium. First of all, assess what is necessary taking into consideration the life cycle, health status and financial objectives.
– For health insurance, think about your personal health history as well as the need for critical illness or maternity.
– For life insurance, determine your family’s liquidity requirements which may comprise of debts, children education expenses and general expenses.
– For cars or house, one should think about the actual cost it would take to replace them, and whether or not to add extra endorsement such as for theft or natural disasters.
Because the coverage can be adjusted according to the particular circumstances, one cannot spend too much money, as in the case with standard insurance, yet the desired amount of protection will be provided.
2. Bundle Insurance Policies
Most insurance providers have a system whereby they will provide you with a discount if you take another insurance policy from the same company for instance taking home, auto and life insurance. The advantage of this type of coverage is that it can lower your insurance premium as well as offer you additional services from a single insurer.
– Combined policies usually, attract low administration charges.
– Policies being handled by one insurer makes the whole claiming process to be easier and may also some time down the line they may offer you some other discounts if you are loyal to them.
It is always wise to consult your insurance service provider to know whether bundling options exist and the better figure out if going for standalone policies is financially meaningful.
3. Update Your Policy Based On Various Changing Factors
You are going to find yourself in different life situations that will require changes in your insurance requirements. Whether it is a marriage, having children, purchase of a new home, a change of job, these occurrences should trigger someone to consider his or her insurance needs.
– It is important to change the coverage amount and its type depending on new duties like adding individuals on the policy, or raising coverage limits to correspond to the costs of a pricey property.
– This can also be because of advancement in health or wealth situations enabling one to qualify for either low premiums or other kinds of cover.
– Keep yourself informed with the changes on your insurance provider’s terms and conditions since there are tendencies that some of them may offer additional riders or features that you could avail of that will prove to be very useful.
The major benefit of reviewing your policies is that you are able to make necessary changes that best suits your current needs.
4. It’s Important to take Advantage of Preventive Care like Health Insurance
In recent years, many health insurance plans offer the element of preventive care. Preventative care including annual physical examination, disease prevention test, and immunizations keep diseases at early stage hence avoiding severe and expensive illnesses later.
– Preventive care services are usually part of health insurance plans and some of these services can be accessed with little or no out of pocket expenses.
– Using these services do not only improve your health but such services and cash claims may minimize high cost treatment, which may in the process, decrease claim amounts.
The preventive care includes routine checkups, early detection for diseases such as cancer, lipid profile evaluation, immunizations to well-known diseases for instance flu.
10 Ways to Maximize Your Insurance Benefits
5. Maximize Your Tax Benefits
Most insurance policies especially the life and health are legal ways through which you can shave off some part of your income that is taken to be tax-free. Being aware of such advantages and applying this knowledge to proper usage can bring a lot of saving.
– The expenses incurred while buying life insurance policies, health insurance policies, and few pension schemes with certain sections of the Income Tax Act, these sections are 80C and 80D respectively.
– Besides, additional premiums paid for policies covering critical illnesses or disabilities may also come with extra allowable deductions.
It is advisable to seek the services of a tax consultant to reverse the claim to check whether one is allowed to recover all the deductions under the policies, insurance as well as taxes.
6. Take advantage of The Wellness Programs (Health insurance).
Most insurance services providers extend wellness programs as an important aspect of the insurance package so that individuals can live healthy. These programs are usually designed such that participants are induced into practising a certain healthy behaviours, for instance exercise, quitting smoking, or filling up the health risk appraisals.
– Examples of rewards used in wellness program include reduced premium, gift cards or points that can be later used to purchase various health products and services.
– Get enrolled for these programs and you will not only get healthier but also save on your insurance premiums in future.
This is where you need to review your health insurance options, find out which wellness programs are available and in which ways they can help you.
7. some buyers also need to learn how to comprehend and apply add-ons or riders.
These include the option to add on or stipulate certain conditions or what is referred to as riders which are normally done at an affordable extra cost to the policy holder. These riders can enhance the level of protection that you receive by providing for the gaps that may be left out.
– Some of the most standard health insurance riders are Maternity cover, critical illness cover and Hospital cash benefits.
– Other changes to the insurance policy may be provided under the life insurance riders- accidental death benefit, waiver of premiums in the event of the policyholder’s total disability, or income benefits.
– These companies provide home and auto insurance where you can have additional coverage for your valuables or for losses occurring due to natural disasters, or for personal liability.
Even though riders elevate the premiums a bit, they can discourage enormous out-of-pocket expenses if ever a rider hitches with a specific situation, making the most out of your policy possible.
8. Non-Health Insurance Plans and policies mustnot contain any avoidable clauses.
Regarding the policies such as auto and home insurance, then it is sometimes advisable to avoid or not to make a small claim. This is because the tendency of making many claims will lead to high premiums during the renewal period and also one loses his or her No Claims Bonus (NCB) which is discount given by the insurers in respect of any claim free years.
– It is possible for the no-claim bonus to get you up to 50% discount on your premium payment.
– Determine when it is valuable to file a claim for minor repair or damages or when it is more advantageous to make cash payments to maintain NCB.
It is always important to judge any claim and gains it might offer in the short-run against the losses it has on the policy’s financial coffers.
9. Use Participating Doctors & hospitals (Insurance).
Most of the health insurance policies come with a list of network hospital/clinics/doctors where the treatment can be availed at a lesser cost or cashless facility.
– Going to in-network providers helps one make good use of negotiated prices and oy avoid situations whereby out-of-network providers will bill you.
– For cashless claims one doesn’t have to pay on the spot for services because the insurer makes payment on your behalf to the service provider.
Before the client goes for the treatment, ensure that the provider is recognized by the insurer to enrich on the coverage.
10. Understand Your Policy’s Exclusions
If you want get the last drop of your insurance dollar, then it is of paramount importance that you know what is covered and what is not. Policyholders fail to note exclusions and this makes them suffer when their claims are rejected especially during disasters.
– When reading policy documents, ensure that you are aware of the usual limitations in coverages as seen in health insurance where certain illnesses are excluded due to their pre existing nature, in home insurance where cosmetic repairs will not be covered or in auto insurance where wear and tear will not be catered for.
– Include options for further policy enhancement, which complement your basic coverage, for instance, a critical illness in the health care plan.
Understanding every single aspect of your policy allows you to avoid being taken aback when it comes to the times of having to make a claim as well as enables you to decide on whether to take any further policies or not.
Conclusion
Insurance as we have seen should be managed and policies reviewed routinely with proper understanding of the benefits and coverages with special exclusions and limitations. This means that when choosing policies, adopting preventive measures, using riders and not making unnecessary claims, you can guarantee that insurance gives value when it is required. Depending on one’s circumstances, one has to conduct risk assessments periodically and seek new insurance products for better coverage of their needs.