Family health insurance provides protection for the whole family and means you can avoid lengthy delays in public medical facilities, allowing you to receive treatment promptly in a private facility of your choice.

Depending on your cover type you may also be offered a private room, allowing you and your family some privacy.

To access these benefits, you will usually be required to pay a monthly or annual premium and the policy will then cater for hospital expenses, up to the specified cover limits, for any treatment you or your family might need.

The different cover levels available?

In-patient Level: This is the basic mandatory level of family health insurance which covers inpatient treatment, where you stay in a hospital bed for the day or overnight.

Out-patient Level: This caters for walk-in treatment services, where you receive treatment or see a consultant, but do not need a hospital bed. The amount you can claim for outpatient treatment is usually capped with the cover limit.

In-patient & Out-patient: This is the most comprehensive health cover level that offers both in-patient and out-patient cover benefits and is the most ideal for a family.

Key benefits of family health insurance;

• Your policy may include hospital accommodation for a parent when a child must stay overnight.
• Access to a private ambulance.
• After-care and home nursing, and post-hospitalization review expenses.
• Dedicated medical helplines and easily accessible doctor consultation.
• Access to countrywide hospital network.
• Some plans include free funeral cover.

How to get the best deals at an affordable price.

If you are thinking about purchasing family health insurance but you are unsure about how much it will cost, here is some tips on are several steps you can take to keep the price down:

• Review, assess and choose: some health plans allow one to choose certain aspects of a cover as extra benefits, such as outpatient treatment, dental or eye care. Keeping these “extras” to a minimum will help lower the cost.
• Opt for middle level hospitals: if your policy does not have restrictions, the amount you would have to pay out in the event of a claim in a high-end hospital is higher than the other facilities, think about choosing good affordable facilities – just make sure you would be able to get the right service that does not cost an arm and leg.
• Pay annually: this is usually cheaper than paying monthly
• Add a co-payment: agreeing to pay a co-pay to be treated at a facility limits the number of unnecessary visits and reduces the cost of insurance.
• Live a healthy lifestyle: some insurers offer cheaper premiums to those who can prove they live a healthy lifestyle; lower claim experience may get you a discount on cover renewal.
• Join as a group like with your employer or chama: some employers offer private health insurance for their employees at a negotiated rate than you would pay normally, and you can usually add family members to the policy.

Bima Hakika Wiz;

Remember, prevention is better than cure; like any other insurance policy, you must buy health insurance before the risk happens, do not wait until it is too late. If you want to purchase a health insurance policy comparing your options with BimaHakika.com and our preferred partners is the best way to find a perfect deal.