r/IndiaInvestments
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  • Introduction
  • Disclaimers and Disclosures
  • FAQs
    • FAQs
    • Mutual Funds and ETFs
      • What is the best mutual fund app for investments?
      • Why should I invest in Direct Plans instead of Regular Plans?
      • What’s the best mutual fund I can invest in?
      • Which date(s) is/are best for SIP in a month?
      • I’ve to invest in ELSS for 80C tax saving. Which fund(s) should I pick?
      • Should I get a Demat Account to buy units in Mutual Funds?
      • Lumpsum investment vs SIP/DCA
      • Why are Index Funds in India not as cheap as Vanguard's Index Funds and ETFs?
    • Insurance
      • Should I invest in this LIC policy?
      • Opinions on investing in smart wealth plan by bank?
      • Up to what age should I take term cover?
      • Do I need my own health insurance? Employer already has group policy
      • Should I take top-up policy or super top-up?
      • Is it worth paying extra premium for term insurance?
    • Stocks
      • Should I invest in smallcase?
      • What is the best app for buying or trading stocks?
      • Which screener(s) should I use?
      • The Stock Market Has Crashed. Which Stocks Should I Buy?
    • Foreign Investing
      • Why should I invest in the US markets?
      • How should I invest in US equity?
    • Tax
      • I don't have any tax to pay. Do I still have to file ITR?
    • Miscellaneous
      • Where can I park money for a few days, a few months, or a few years?
      • What are chit funds? Should I invest?
      • Is Gold a good investment now? It has gone up ~50% this year
  • How To
    • How To
    • How to transfer shares from one demat account to another
    • How to move from one mutual fund platform to another
    • How to switch a Mutual Fund from Regular to Direct Plan
    • How to file SEBI SCORES complaint?
    • How to Update Nominee Details?
    • How to rematerialize mutual fund from demat form
    • How to Pay Advance Tax
  • STOCKS
    • Introduction to the Stocks Series
    • Can You Beat the Market?
    • Reading an Annual Report
    • Researching a Sector
    • Financial Metrics and Ratios
      • Profitability
    • Using Screeners
    • Due-Diligence Checklist
    • Work in Progress
      • Diving Deeper into Businesses
      • Efficiency
      • Liquidity and Solvency
  • EXCEL
    • Excel for Fun and Profit
    • Reactive UI & Updates
    • Using External Data : Google Finance
    • Using External Data : Working with CSV Format
      • CSV Format
      • Computing LTCG Eligible Equity Units
      • Process for Estimating Tax
    • Quantifying Returns: CAGR and XIRR
      • CAGR: Point-to-Point Annualized Returns
      • A Gentle Introduction to XIRR
      • A Rigorous Introduction to XIRR
  • BONDS
    • Bond Basics
    • Government Securities
    • Corporate Bonds
  • MISCELLANEOUS
    • Miscellaneous
    • US Investing
    • Recommended Reading
  • New to Investing
    • Zero to Investing
      • Getting Started
      • Part Two - Defensive Setup
      • Part Three - Spending Pattern
      • Part Four - How to Invest
    • Investment Philosophy and Strategy
      • Basics of Investment Strategy Plan
      • A simple Financial Planning Roadmap
      • Various types of Risks in Investments
      • Are you a Stock or Bond?
      • Assets and Asset Allocation
      • Critical Mass
      • Asset Rebalancing
      • Lumpsum or SIP/STP
    • Insurance
      • Life
        • Life Insurance: What it is exactly?
        • How to Evaluate Life Insurance Needs
        • ULIP - Unit Linked Insurance Plan
        • Some FAQs on Life Insurance
        • Links to Answers related to Life Insurance
      • Health
      • Others: Disability / Home
      • Child Plan
    • All About Mutual Funds
      • What is a Mutual Fund?
      • Types of Mutual Funds
      • What and Why of Mutual Fund Ratings
      • How to Select a Mutual Fund
      • FAQs for Mutual Funds
      • SIP and Mandates
      • How to Become Crorepati using Mutual Funds
      • Analysis using long term equity and debt funds in India
    • Retirement
      • Primer on Retirement Planning
      • Why You should not Opt for a Readymade Pension Plan
      • Studies of Long Term Portfolios and Retirement Withdrawal Rate Suggestions
      • Do-It-Yourself Retirement Plan
    • Personal Finance
    • Behavioral Biases
    • ELI5 Series
      • Time Value of Money
      • Inflation
      • Life Insurance
      • ELI5 guide to Selecting an Equity Mutual Fund
      • How do I start investing in mutual funds [ELI5 series]
      • Mis-selling of Insurance Products
  • BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO INVESTING
    • Zero To Investing
      • The First Step - Emergency Fund
      • The Final Step - Mutual Funds
  • Contributors Section
    • How Can I Start Contributing?
    • What is a Contributor License Agreement and why are we using it?
      • Contributor License Agreement
    • How to link FAQ via bot in Discord
    • Style Guides
      • General Style Guide
      • FAQ Style Guide
      • How To Style Guide
      • Excel Series Style Guide
      • Stocks Style Guide
  • Discord and Reddit
    • How to Search the Wiki From Discord
    • I'm unable to send messages to stocks-fundamentals channel on Discord. Why?
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On this page
  • Intro 🍁
  • Features ✨
  • Limitations 👎
  • Verdict ⚖️

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  1. FAQs
  2. Insurance

Do I need my own health insurance? Employer already has group policy

Yes, you should. Employer provided group policy might have lower cover, or co-pay, or a cap on room-rent. You should get one on your own, to decouple your insurance from your employer

PreviousUp to what age should I take term cover?NextShould I take top-up policy or super top-up?

Last updated 3 years ago

Was this helpful?

Intro 🍁

According to IRDA (Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority) of India

A group insurance policy gives you advantages of standardized coverage and very competitive premium rates

The risk for a group insurance provider is spread over a larger population, hence making the premiums cheaper.

Group covers have lot of benefits.

Features

Salient features of Group health insurance:

  • PED’s (pre-existing diseases) are generally included from day one, with some exclusions.

  • An option to increase Sum Insured (SI) as well as insure your parents/in-laws by paying an additional premium.

  • TPA (Third Party Administrators) services are comparatively better in group insurance schemes due to higher absolute premiums paid by the group.

  • You can port to another policy of the same insurer, to avoid having to wait out the exclusion periods for pre-existing conditions.

    However, you’ll have to start the porting process at least 30 days before you leave the organization, and the new policy will provide fewer benefits, as it’d no longer be a group policy.

Limitations 👎

Limitations of Group health insurance are as follows:

  • Sum assured is generally lower than Individual or Family floater policy options.

    Due to the lower sum assured, they may have a room rent/ICU capping clause.You will end up paying more if your stay is in a more expensive room, since all major hospital expenses are linked to the room rent.

    Imagine if your medical bill is 2L, and room-rent cap in the group policy is 8k / night; but your actual rent for room in the hospital was 10k / night. Then all your bills would be scaled down by a factor of 0.8, by insurer, and not just the room rent.

    Out of 2L, insurer would at most pay 1.6L (= 2L x 0.8).

  • Group policies could have a co-pay clause. Even if they don’t have it this year for your policy, they might next year when policy is renewed. It's common in most firms, or corporates, to negotiate for better rates with new insurers, every year. TPA for the insurance remains same, but actual underlying insurer changes frequently. New insurers come in with new clauses.

  • The coverage of the group policy ends immediately, if the employee resigns or is terminated. You and your family will be without coverage in the transition period between jobs.

Verdict ⚖️

Group health insurance is adequate when you’re starting out in your career, do not have dependents, and are relatively healthy (confirmed by an annual health check) or less likely to fall ill.

You can have two options here:

  • Continue with the group cover alone, hoping that you won’t need additional health insurance in the near future.

  • Buy an additional individual/family floater plan, in personal capacity

Biggest risk in depending solely on the group cover, is that any illnesses that you or your family members later develop could result in a significantly higher premium for a floater plan or an insurer declining to underwrite your policy.

If you have an additional individual/family floater policy:

  • You can use the group cover for minor hospitalizations.

  • After 3-4 years, the waiting period for any pre-existing illnesses would be over and subsequent hospitalizations due to these PED’s will be covered in your personal Individual / Family floater plan.

  • You and your family will have a health cover if you decide to take a sabbatical or during a transition period in-between jobs.

  • You can also buy a super top-up plan using the floater plan sum insured as a deductible.

✨