There is no argument that can justify health as your single most vital asset in your life. Good health is a fundamental aspect in life since without good health; you cannot achieve any important goal. It is therefore important to select a medical cover for your family.
There are many insurance companies in Kenya selling medical insurance covers and selecting the ideal cover for your family can be a challenging process. Additionally, you need to select the best package for your family which will cover your needs.
You have to go through jargon cover wordings full of exclusions and conditions, overcome cultural perception of medical insurance cover as a luxury and correctly consider the glaring trust-gap between the insured and insurer to purchase a simple and the best medical cover in Kenya.
There are various fundamental considerations you need to make before deciding the medical cover plan to purchase which are discussed below:
Prioritize Your Family Health Needs
You need to consider the current needs and concerns of your family before selecting and purchasing the best medical cover. Age is the most considered factor by the insurer since most medical premiums are linked to age of your family members.
Additionally, you need to consider the current illnesses of your family members if any, together with the medical history of the family.
Health conditions like diabetes, asthma and hypertension should be considered when you are selecting medical cover. These ailments are categorized as chronic conditions since they are permanently curable and need to be considered when selecting your medical cover.
You also need to examine any pre-existing illnesses and conditions like tumors, cancer or any surgery that leads to infections and risk of reoccurrence to your family member.
Favourable Benefits and Limits of Medical Cover
When you are selecting the medical cover for your family, you need to choose the amount of the cover wisely. This is because it covers your medical expenses for a whole year. The ideal medical cover should be driven by your family health needs more than your budgetary capacity.
Selecting a lower limit medical cover puts you at risk of depleting your amount due to the ever-increasing cost of standard of care. It is therefore to select a medical cover with a higher amount to suit your family needs.
Most medical cover benefits have sub-limits of bundled benefits like pre-existing, cataract and first-ever emergency caesarean section. The medical covers put these benefits on a comparative scale when finalizing your selection benefits.
Claim Process of Medical Cover
You need to select a medical cover which will have a faster and simpler process of settling your claims. Additionally, look for customer support of the insurance companies you are purchasing the medical cover for excellent customer service.
It is advisable to get referrals from trusted people and do wide research on the insurance company suitable for your medical cover.
Consider Vital Maternity Benefits
It is vital for women to purchase a medical cover plan that provides maternity benefits. You need to look at the waiting period appropriate for claiming maternity cost and consider the sub-limit.
The medical covers all your maternity expenses and checks for exclusions related to your policy.
Focus at Post Hospitalization Features
You need to consider expenses which come after hospitalization like medicines to be taken and follow up with the doctor. Your ideal medical cover to select should include these aspects in your policy.
This requires you to search keenly for the best insurer which is going to provide these aspects without difficulties the moment you require them.
Medical Cover Renewal
You need to look for a medical cover plan which will offer you a renewal option past retirement age. This is because most illnesses are probably going to occur at your old age compared to your age.
The old age illnesses may come after your retirement thus considering your medical cover providing senior age coverage is vital when selecting your medical cover plan.
Evacuation Choices
When selecting your medical cover in Kenya, you need to ensure the insurer covers both road and air evacuations. Nevertheless, evacuation costs occupy a higher sum assured of your medical cover before hospitality costs.
You need to examine an evacuation cover which is affordable to acquire and does not deplete your medical cover limits when required most.
Budgetary Considerations
A medical cover is your best help during medical emergency times either illness or accidental. Thus, budgeting for your medical cover is the best practice for you to make. You should not break the bank to get medical cover once you consider this aspect.
You can have a payment plan if the whole amount is not affordable to make at a go. Cheap is always expensive so do not rush into purchasing an offer before examining the medical cover by only checking the premium. You need to inquire of any other costs that you may be needed to pay in addition to the premium.
When selecting a medical cover for your family, you need to consider the two main categories provided by insurance companies in Kenya:
In-patient cover
This type of medical cover provides compensation for charges associated with hospitalization and comes into effect when you are admitted in the hospital. This type of medical cover is more expensive than other types since it covers your liabilities connected to accommodation charges in the medical facility.
Some insurers require you as the medical cover policyholder to obtain clearance ahead of accessing inpatient facilities. In this scenario, the insurer seeks to make sure the case needs hospitalization, and is not just a time-wasting hospitalization request.
Outpatient cover
This is the most common type of medical cover which protects you from liabilities connected with access to outpatient facilities. That is, treatment without staying there overnight. Under this medical cover, you can also buy extra cover specifically for dental and optical treatment.
The joining age for most medical covers in Kenya new members is from new born babies to 75 years old which depends on the insurer you opt for. You are eligible to select either inpatient and outpatient medical covers or even both.