Nominating Family for Different Insurance Policies

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Sep 26, 2024
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In the realm of insurance, nominating a family member as a beneficiary is a crucial step that ensures financial security and peace of mind. Whether it's health insurance, or motor insurance, having a nominee guarantees that the policy's benefits are transferred smoothly to the rightful person in the event of the policyholder's demise. This article delves into the importance of nominating family members for different insurance policies, the process of selecting a nominee, and the specific considerations for various types of insurance. Additionally, we will explore how SBI General Insurance simplifies this process, making it more accessible and efficient for policyholders.

A nominee is an individual designated by the policyholder to receive the benefits of an insurance policy in the event of the policyholder's death. The nominee acts as a trustee, ensuring that the policyholder utilises the insurance proceeds as intended. Typically, nominees are close family members such as spouses, children, or parents. The nomination process involves providing the nominee's details, including their name, age, and relationship to the policyholder, when purchasing the policy. In the context of family health insurance, the nominee ensures that the benefits of the health insurance policy for family members are directed towards their medical expenses, providing them with financial support during critical times.

Selecting a nominee is a critical decision that requires careful consideration. Here are some key factors to keep in mind:

  1. Relationship: Choose someone who is closely related to you, such as a spouse, child, or parent. This ensures that the benefits are transferred to someone who is likely to act in the best interest of your family. This is particularly important in the case of family members' medical insurance, where the nominee will be responsible for managing significant financial benefits.
  2. Trustworthiness: The nominee should be someone you trust implicitly. They will be responsible for managing the insurance proceeds, so it's essential that they are reliable and capable of handling financial matters.
  3. Age and Health: Consider the nominee's age and health. It's advisable to choose someone who is likely to outlive you and is in good health to avoid complications in the future.
  4. Legal Capacity: Ensure the nominee can legally receive the benefits. For instance, if you are nominating a minor, you must appoint a guardian to manage the proceeds until the nominee reaches adulthood.

The concept of 'beneficiary nominees' was introduced to address potential disputes among legal heirs. According to the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Act, 2015, immediate family members such as spouses, parents, and children can be designated as beneficiary nominees. This means that the policy's benefits will be paid directly to the beneficiary nominee, and other legal heirs will not have any claim over the proceeds. This provision ensures that the policyholder's intentions are honored and the benefits are transferred smoothly to the intended recipient. This is crucial in the context of family health insurance, where ensuring the proper management of health insurance policy for family benefits can prevent financial disputes during emotionally challenging times.

Motor insurance policies also allow for the nomination of a beneficiary. However, the concept of beneficiary nominees does not apply to motor insurance. In the event of the policyholder's death, the claim amount is paid to the nominee, who then acts as a custodian of the funds. The legal heirs can subsequently claim their share of the proceeds from the nominee. It's important to regularly update the nominee details in your motor insurance policy, especially after significant life events such as marriage or the birth of a child. This is similar to health insurance policies, where keeping nominee details current ensures that medical insurance for family benefits are appropriately allocated.

Policyholders have the option to assign multiple nominees for their insurance policies. This is particularly useful if you want to distribute the benefits among several family members. When assigning multiple nominees, you can specify the percentage of the sum assured that each nominee will receive. This ensures that the benefits are divided according to your wishes and reduces the likelihood of disputes among family members. It's essential to clearly document the distribution percentages and update the nomination details as needed. This approach is particularly beneficial for family health insurance, where the benefits of the health insurance policy for family members can be allocated according to their specific medical needs.

SBI General Insurance is pivotal in making the nomination process straightforward and hassle-free. Here are some ways in which SBI General Insurance enhances the experience for policyholders:

  1. User-Friendly Platforms:SBI General Insurance offers user-friendly online platforms and mobile apps that allow policyholders to update their nominee details easily. This digital approach simplifies the process and ensures the information is always up-to-date. This is especially useful for managing health insurance policies for family members, ensuring that the best health insurance for family benefits are directed correctly.
  2. Dedicated Customer Support: SBI General Insurance provides dedicated customer support to assist policyholders with any queries or concerns related to nominations. The customer service team is available round the clock to provide guidance and support, which is invaluable when managing the complexities of medical insurance for family members.
  3. Awareness Campaigns: SBI General Insurance conducts awareness campaigns to educate policyholders about the importance of nominating a beneficiary and the process involved. These campaigns help increase awareness and encourage policyholders to make informed decisions. Such initiatives ensure that families understand the importance of selecting the best insurance policy for family needs.
  4. Seamless Claim Processing: SBI General Insurance ensures a smooth and efficient claim processing experience for nominees. The company has established a robust system for verifying and processing claims, reducing the turnaround time and ensuring timely disbursement of funds. This efficiency is crucial for family health insurance, where timely access to benefits can significantly impact the family's financial stability during medical emergencies.
  5. Nominating a family member for different insurance policies is a vital step in ensuring financial security and peace of mind. Policyholders can ensure that their loved ones are protected during their demise by carefully selecting a nominee and keeping the nomination details up-to-date. Introducing beneficiary nominees has further streamlined the process, reducing the likelihood of disputes among legal heirs. SBI General Insurance enhances this experience by providing user-friendly platforms, dedicated customer support, and efficient claim processing. By taking advantage of these services, policyholders can navigate the nomination process with ease and confidence, ensuring that the best health insurance for families and other policies are managed effectively to provide comprehensive financial protection.

    Disclaimer: The above information is indicative in nature. For more details on the risk factor, terms and conditions, please refer to the Sales Brochure and Policy Wordings carefully before concluding a sale.

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Health Insurance

How to File a Health Insurance Claim?

With the rising medical expenses and changing lifestyles, it has become imperative to purchase a comprehensive health insurance plan in today‘s time. Additionally, the recent COVID-19 pandemic has further established the importance of health insurance even firmly. A health insurance policy is the finest way to receive the best medical treatment without burning a hole in your pocket.

Be it an unforeseen medical emergency or a planned treatment, a health insurance policy can always come to your rescue. However, to avoid any last-minute hassle, you must be well aware of the process to file a health insurance claim beforehand. Below is a quick guide on how to file a health insurance claim.

But firstly, let‘s understand what a health insurance claim is.

Health Insurance Claim

A health insurance claim is a request that a policyholder must submit to the insurer for getting the services that are covered in their health insurance policy. Depending upon their convenience, policyholders can either opt for a cashless claim settlement option or reimbursement for the availed medical services.

Cashless Claims

For cashless claims, the insurance provider settles the hospitalization bills directly with the hospital. However, to get the benefits of a cashless claim, the policyholder should be hospitalized only at a network hospital of the insurer.

Reimbursement Claim

In case of reimbursement claims, the policyholder pays for the hospitalization expenses and later requests for reimbursement by the insurance company. The reimbursement facility can be availed at both network and non-network hospitals.

Now that you are well aware of the types of health insurance claims, let‘s understand how to file a health insurance claim

How to File a Health Insurance Claim?

1. Get in touch with the insurance help desk at the hospital

2. Show the ID card of the insured provided by the insurance company

3. The hospital will verify the insured‘s identity and will submit the pre-authorization form to the insurance company

4. The insurance company will then review all the documents submitted and process the claim as per the terms and conditions of the health insurance policy.

5. For reimbursement claims, you will also have to submit original bills to the insurance provider. The insurer will then evaluate the claim and make a payment to the insured. In case the treatment is not covered under the health insurance policy, the claim will be rejected.

Make sure that you have the following documents readily available with you before filing a health insurance claim.

Documents Required to Make a Claim

  • Valid photo ID cards such as Aadhaar, PAN, and Driving License

  • Copies of prescription for diagnostic tests, treatment advice, and medical references

  • Original set of investigation reports

  • Original hospital and pharmacy bill

  • Original discharge card or discharge certificate

It‘s always advisable to opt for an insurance company with a high claim settlement ratio and a large number of network hospitals. This makes the claim settlement process completely hassle-free.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. When can my health insurance claim be rejected?

Your claim can be rejected if you file a claim for an ailment that isn‘t covered by your health insurance policy. Moreover, your claim can also be rejected if you fail to submit the necessary documents or file a claim during the waiting period

2. What is the minimum time limit for hospitalization to make a health insurance claim?

You can file a claim if your hospitalization is for more than 24 hours. However, for certain treatments, such as dialysis, chemotherapy, etc., the stay could be less than 24 hours

3. What is claim settlement ratio?

The claim settlement ratio is the ratio of number of claims paid to the number of claims received

Health Insurance

All About Adding Spouse To Health Insurance After Marriage

Marriage brings a lot of changes in your life. Not only does it affect your lifestyle, but it also requires you to switch your investments in a way that are better suited for a family. You will now want to include your spouse to your financial world by adding them as a nominee in your banking accounts and other investment assets. Amidst all these personal and financial changes, do not forget to add your spouse to your health insurance plan. Adding spouse to health insurance after marriage is quite easy and can be done in three ways.

  • Buying a new family floater plan

    If you do not have an existing health insurance plan, now would be a great time to invest your money in a family floater health insurance plan. Health insurance plans for family members cover your spouse, parents, and dependent children. The family floater plan allows you to pay a single premium to cover all named family members for medical expenses.

    When buying a family floater plan, do ensure that it offers adequate coverage for you and your family. It is also important to keep in mind that the coverage amount is directly proportional to the health insurance premium you need to pay. This means that a family health insurance plan that offers a sum insured of Rs 10 lakh will require you to pay lower premium as compared to a family health insurance plan that offers coverage of Rs 20 lakh. However, it is advisable to opt for a higher sum insured if you have senior members in the plan.

  • Adding spouse to insurance after marriage

    If you already have an existing health insurance policy, you can extend the cover to your spouse by adding their name to the policy after marriage. Upon adding you spouse, the individual health insurance plan will be transformed into a family floater plan. Since the coverage amount will increase, the premium of the policy will be recalculated. You can also add your spouse to your existing health insurance policy at the time of its renewal. You will need an application form and a few KYC documents like identity proof, residence proof, marriage certificate and photographs, to get this process started. You can easily get the application form from the insurer’s website.

  • Adding your spouse to the health insurance plan offered by your employer

    There are many companies that offer health plans to their employees. These plans usually extend the coverage to the immediate family of the employee. However, this condition varies from one insurer to the other. Hence, it is better to check with your insurance company if they allow you to add your spouse to the existing health insurance plan that is issued by your employer. Here, it is important to remember that the health insurance policies offered by employers are group insurance plans and may, therefore, have certain limitations to coverage. Still, these plans offer a great option for coverage in case you don’t have health insurance of your own.

It is quite important to avail the health insurance cover for your spouse after marriage. This can help the both of you to securely plan your financial future.

Disclaimer: The above information is indicative in nature. For more details on the risk factor, terms and conditions, please refer to the Sales Brochure and Policy Wordings carefully before concluding a sale.

Health Insurance

Steps of adding spouse to health insurance after marriage

Marriage is a huge step in everybody’s life. And personal finance has a big role to play for a successful married life. Therefore, it is important to update the financial records, including the health insurance plan, post-marriage.

In case you did not have an individual health insurance policy before the wedding, you can invest in a family floater plan for yourself and your spouse. In case you already have an individual health insurance policy at the time of wedlock, then you do not need to buy another one for your partner. Instead, you can add your spouse to the plan and convert it into a single policy. It is a feasible and simple way of ensuring that you and your partner are adequately covered.

Porting health insurance after marriage is also important. When one of the partners already owns a plan, you simply need to add another partner to the current policy as the spouse. There is no specific rule which specifies who can add the partner. The process of adding the spouse to health insurance after marriage is simple. The one who owns the policy can start this process with the submission of KYC documents such as identity proof, proof of age, photographs and marriage certificate.

The change will come into effect in the next policy renewal by just submitting the additional form and paperwork. Once you do this, the premium will be calculated and pro-rated. It will become a family floater insurance policy that covers all the members of the family for a single premium. You will not have to worry about paying separate premiums for each member of the family. It will cover the entire family at the lowest premium based on the age of the members in the family. Let us take a look at the benefits of a family floater plan.

  • A major perk of the floater plan is that you can cover yourself and your entire family in one policy. The policy is easier to handle and you do not have to worry about handling separate individual plans

  • You enjoy additional benefits like a newborn cover, maternity benefits, etc. It will be highly effective for young married couples who are on the road to starting a family. You must ensure that you choose a plan that covers yourself and the spouse and invest in one right after marriage

  • You must also get maternity cover at the earliest. It has a waiting period between 0 to 4 years and if you buy the cover on time, you will be able to enjoy the maximum benefits

  • With a family floater plan, you enjoy the same tax benefits under Section 80D as you do on individual health insurance

  • Many plans come with a reinstatement feature where you enjoy the reinstatement of the entire coverage after it is exhausted in the policy period. This is only applicable to unrelated claims but it is very useful.

If you do not have a policy and are looking to buy one, consider a joint life policy. It will work on the same lines and will provide coverage to your children in future if anything unfortunate happens to the parents. The main reasons couples should think of joint life insurance are premium reduction and waiver benefits. In this case, if one partner dies due to an unfortunate event, the spouse will not only be entitled to enjoy the full sum assured on the cover but will also be absolved of the responsibility of the payment of premium. Alternatively, the spouse may have to pay premiums only applicable for their own cover for the remaining period of the policy.

After your marriage, it is your responsibility to ensure the safety and adequate coverage of your spouse. You must include your spouse in the decision and speak to them about the coverage you wish to buy. Only then proceed with the decision. The right health insurance plan will offer acomplete protection and peace for the future.

Disclaimer: The above information is indicative in nature. For more details on the risk factor, terms and conditions, please refer to the Sales Brochure and Policy Wordings carefully before concluding a sale.

Health Insurance

Advantages of Group Health Insurance

As the name suggests, group health insurance is aimed to offer health insurance cover to a group of people, usually employees, and if offered by an employer. It can also be offered to members of a professional association or a society. As compared to individual insurance, group insurance has many benefits for the employee as well as the employer who offers the insurance.

  1. Comprehensive cover: Group health insurance plans offer wide coverage and can be customised by the employer. It comes with many benefits like cashless healthcare services at network hospitals. There is no waiting period which means the employee is covered from day one. Besides personal accident cover, some group health insurance plans offer cover to family members of the employee.

  1. Guaranteed cover: All employees and in some cases their dependants are covered, even if they have existing medical conditions. A group insurance policy doesn't require a separate medical check-up. As long as an employee is working for the organisation offering group health insurance, he or she shall remain covered under the plan.

  1. Low premium: As group health insurance plans are bought for a larger group of people, they offer comprehensive cover at affordable rates. The costs are much lower than individual health insurance plans. Group health insurance plans can be customised as per the employer’s budget and requirements.

  1. Tax incentive for the employer: Besides safeguarding employees from health issues, group health insurance plans also provide tax benefits to the employer. Under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act, tax relief is offered to businesses that give their employees the benefit of group health insurance.

  1. Happy employees: When companies offer health insurance plans to their employees, they help retain and attract good talent. A Group Health Insurance plan is a significant part of the employees’ total compensation. A group health insurance plan provides employees with financial security against accident and illness.

  1. Rider options: With a nominal extra payment, employees can take advantage of other additional benefits. The employee can also opt for a corporate plan along with the base plan offered by the employer. The riders may differ from one organisation to another.

Provide your employees SBI General Group Health Insurance

Group health insurance is a very important benefit that makes employees feel like a valued part of an organisation. It helps companies retain as well as attract talent. SBI General Group Health Insurance plans offer multiple coverages: Individual, family floater. It offers wide coverage from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 7.5 lakh. The group health insurance plans offer pre- and post-hospitalisation expenses. With SBI General group health insurance plans keep your employees happy.

Disclaimer: SBI General Insurance Company Limited I Corporate & Registered Office: 'Natraj', 301, Junction of Western Express Highway & Andheri - Kurla Road, Andheri (East), Mumbai - 400 069. | The information in the advertisement is indicative in nature. For more details on the risk factor, terms and conditions, please refer to the Sales Brochure and Policy Wordings carefully before concluding a sale. * ‘Tax benefits are subject to changes in tax laws’ I 'For SBI General Insurance Company Limited IRDAI Reg. No. 144 dated 15/12/2009 | CIN: U66000MH2009PLC190546 | SBI Logo displayed belongs to State Bank of India and used by SBI General Insurance Co. Ltd. under license. | Website : www.sbigeneral.in,Tollfree 18001021111 | UIN: SBIHLGP21330V022021 | ADDIG/20-21/AUG/652