The Pros and Cons of Banks’ Health Insurance

While there is no dearth of insurance firms in India, there are many public-sector and private-sector banks as well that offer health insurance to their customers, mainly to expand the customer base.

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The following are some of the biggest advantages of buying insurance from a traditional bank:

1. Low Premium

Banks usually offer insurance products for lower premiums in comparison to the private insurance companies. The difference is even higher if you compare the rates with premium or high-end companies such as Max Life, Excide Life, etc.

2. No Medical Tests

The majority of insurance companies require the applicants to pass a comprehensive medical examination. The reason behind this is that they want to see if the person has pre-existing illnesses. If the person is found to having so, then the insurance company may increase the premium cost or decline the application altogether.

With banks, however, there is no such condition. You can get a health insurance cover from your bank without undergoing a medical examination.

3. No Age-Dependant Premium

Insurance companies usually increase their premium with the age of the customers. So, a young person may get to enjoy a low premium, while a person above 50 years of age may have to pay a high premium. However, a lot of banks offer the same premium for people of different age groups.

The Flip Side

Clearly, obtaining health insurance from a bank has its advantages. However, there are some limitations too, which are:

1. To buy health insurance from a bank, you must have a savings account with it. However, you can’t just open an account with any bank as there are many things to consider such as penalties for non-maintenance of monthly average balance, annual charges, etc.
2. You may not get a lot of flexibility and add-ons with the insurance products offered by the banks.
3. Unlike insurance companies, customer support for insurance products is limited with the banks.