The exciting trend of health insurance plans with multiple or unlimited restorations has been gaining popularity in recent years. An increasing number of insurance providers are now offering these benefits, which come with many attractive features. In addition, these plans often come with a lower premium than more comprehensive options with higher coverage, making them a great value for many people.
However, it’s important to keep in mind that there are different types of restoration benefits, and the way they work can vary depending on the specific health condition of the insured. Therefore, it’s essential to carefully consider these factors before purchasing one of these plans. You can calculate your health insurance needs with the help of health insurance premium calculators and choose the best health insurance plan for you and your family.
What is the Restoration Benefit?
A restoration benefit is a feature that helps to restore the sum insured of your health cover to its maximum limit once it has been utilised after making a claim. This restoration benefit in health insurance plans is available for individuals and families. It’s also known as a “refill benefit,” It is an add-on taken for extra coverage to your existing policy. This benefit is handy in cases where you need to be hospitalised a second time within the same policy year. In addition, it is an extra safety net for times when you need it the most.
For example, you have a health insurance policy with a sum insured of ₹1,00,000. You have a severe medical condition that requires hospitalisation, and you claim ₹70,000. After processing the claim, you now have ₹30,000 remaining of your original sum insured. But with a restoration benefit, your sum insured will be restored to the actual amount of ₹1,00,000 after the claim. You have the same coverage available even after making a claim.
What Are The Restoration Benefits of Health Insurance?
The restoration benefit is a valuable and beneficial feature of a health insurance policy. Some key advantages of choosing a health plan with this benefit include
- The ability to access an additional sum insured under your policy within the same policy year.
- The opportunity to receive extra coverage without paying any additional premium, particularly for health insurance plans that have the restoration benefit built-in.
- Peace of mind comes from being prepared for medical emergencies, knowing you will always be well-spent when meeting a health insurance claim.
- The coverage of all family members under a family floater plan with a sufficient sum insured for everyone.
What Is The Difference Between Recharge And Restore In Health Insurance?
Recharge and restore are terms used to describe similar benefits in health insurance policies, but there is a subtle difference between the two.
Recharge benefit refers to restoring the sum insured of a health insurance policy after a claim has exhausted it. The sum insured is restored to the original amount, and the policyholder can again claim up to the original amount.
On the other hand, the Restore benefit is similar to the recharge benefit but includes restoring the no-claim bonus (NCB), if any. That means if a policyholder has not claimed for a policy year, the policyholder gets a no-claim bonus in the form of an increase in the sum insured. Although in normal circumstances, the bonus is lost in case the claim is made, with a restoration benefit, it is restored along with the sum insured.
In summary, the main difference between recharge and restore is that the latter also restores the no-claim bonus, while the former only restores the sum insured.
Example: let’s say you have a health insurance policy with a sum insured of ₹5,00,000 and a no-claim bonus (NCB) of 10%. If you don’t make any claims in a policy year, your sum insured will increase to ₹5,50,000 for the next year. However, if you claim ₹3,00,000, your sum insured will be reduced to ₹2,00,000, and the NCB will be lost.
With a recharge benefit, your sum insured would be restored to ₹5,00,000 after the claim, and you could make claims again up to that amount. However, the NCB would not be restored.
With a restoration benefit, your sum insured would be restored to ₹5,00,000, and the NCB would also be restored to 10%. So, the next year, you would have a sum insured of ₹5,50,000 again.
In short, the recharge benefit restores the sum insured only, while the restore benefit restores both sum insured and the no-claim bonus after the claim. Often, health insurance providers offer free restoration benefits, but recharge benefits generally cost additional premiums.
Summing Up
Having a health insurance plan with a restoration benefit is a smart choice for many people. These plans offer a wide range of attractive features, including access to an additional sum insured within the same policy year and the opportunity to receive extra coverage without paying an additional premium. Most importantly, restoration benefits can provide peace of mind.
FAQ
What is restoration coverage in health insurance?
In health insurance, a restoration cover refers to a feature or an add-on that allows the policyholder to restore their sum insured to the original amount after making a claim. The actual sum insured is the maximum coverage the policyholder is entitled to under their policy. When the policyholder makes a claim, the sum insured is reduced by the claim amount. The restoration cover helps to bring the sum insured back to the original amount so that the policyholder can make claims again up to that amount. It is also known as a refill benefit or recharge benefit.
