With rapidly rising healthcare costs and the increasing prevalence of several serious health problems, buying a good health insurance plan has become more important than ever. While everyone understands the significance of being insured, there have been plenty of conversations about when’s the right time for buying a health insurance policy.

To answer this question, the general consensus is that it’s always a good idea to buy a health insurance plan early on in life. The earlier you get yourself insured, the better the returns. All in all, the best time to buy a health insurance policy is as soon as you turn 18 and before reaching the age of 30. Read on to learn more about the benefits of getting health insurance at a young age.

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Why Should You Buy Health Insurance Before Turning 30?

Here are the major benefits of getting a health insurance policy before you turn 30.

1. Affordable Premiums

When it comes to determining your health insurance premium, your age plays a major role. This is because insurers believe that younger people’s good health makes them less of a liability. Contrarily, older people are more susceptible to various health conditions, making them a greater liability to insurers. Consequently, the premiums are considerably lower for younger people as compared to older people.

2. No Pre-policy Health Screening

Those who apply for health insurance early on in life are not required to undergo a health screening before purchasing the policy. This prevents the insurer from discovering any pre-existing medical condition that can increase the premium. However, those over the age of 45 rarely receive the option of skipping pre-policy medical check-ups. So, the amount of their premium is determined depending on the report of their medical screening.

3. Easier to Surpass the Waiting Period

All health insurance plans have a waiting period of 15 to 30 days initially. When you are younger, you are more likely to get through the waiting period without having to raise a claim as your probability of developing a serious health problem is lower. This makes waiting out the initial waiting period significantly easier. However, this is not the case with elderly people as they are more likely to face a medical emergency within the waiting period.

4. Opportunity to Earn Cumulative Bonus

The majority of health insurance policies offer a cumulative no-claims bonus in the absence of claims during a year. This bonus can enhance the sum assured without any additional charges. Since younger policyholders are more likely to be fit and might be more capable of getting through the policy year without filing any claims, they can easily earn cumulative non-claims bonuses over the years.

5. Waiting Period Linked to Pre-existing Diseases

In case of pre-existing diseases, policyholders are required to go through waiting periods of 2-4 years to file a claim for the treatment of these conditions. Since suffering from pre-existing diseases is very common for those over the age of 55, they have to wait out a long waiting period to enjoy the full benefits of their health insurance. Buying a health insurance policy early on helps you overcome the waiting period.

6. Enjoy Tax Benefits

While this advantage is not really specific to younger policyholders, tax rebates can be claimed by anyone against the money spent on health insurance premiums. You can claim up to Rs 25,000 for exemption under Section 80D every year. Buying health insurance at an early age just allows you to enjoy these tax benefits for a longer period.

With so many benefits of buying a health insurance policy early on in life, it has become clear that the right time to get yourself insured is as soon as you can. After all, the sooner you get health insurance, the more benefits you can enjoy.

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