Getting health insurance isn’t the most glamorous thing in the world. However, it’s a modern necessity and by taking the time to find the best health insurance for your needs, you will save a lot of time and money. How to pick the right cover?

The best way to finding the right health insurance is to know what health insurance is and does. If you understand the basics, you’ll be able to start looking around and find the best cover for your needs.

The purpose of health insurance

Health insurance is there to help you offset some of the costs of needing medical care. It means you pay into your personal insurance plan, covering some of the costs that you would have to pay in the future. So, if you get sick and you need on operations, your health insurance will help cover some of the costs. This can help you manage the cost side of getting sick and not having to worry about your finances can help you recover faster.

Health insurance is a requirement for those in employment. It’s possible that you receive health insurance through your employer, but you also have the chance to get it yourself.

The key terms to understand

When you start looking for health insurance, you’re faced with different terms and health insurance plans. There are essentially four common types of plans and these are:

  • Preferred Provider Organisation (PPO) – You get to go in- or out-of-network for your treatment. Often higher monthly premiums and lower deductibles.
  • Exclusive Provider Organisation (EPO) – You need to use in-network providers. Often higher deductibles and lower premiums.
  • Health Maintenance Organisation (HMO) – You have to designate a primary care provider and visit them to get directed to other treatment. Often lower premiums and deductibles.
  • Point-Of-Service (POS) – You can go in- or out-of-network but you must have a designated primary care provider.

Now, you might have found some terms above confusing. The key things to know is that premiums refer to the amount you’ll have to pay for health insurance. This is often a monthly fee and you pay it whether or not you’re seeing a doctor.

Deductibles, on the other hand, are the amount you pay for services before your insurance will start covering it. This is the amount you’d have to pay for a hospital visit no matter what but anything above it would be covered by the health insurance plan.

If you have an in-network plan, you will only get to use those specific healthcare providers your insurer allows. So, you might be limited to which doctors or hospitals you visit. On the other hand, your health insurance plan might be out-of-network, in which case you can get help anywhere you want.

What if you’re never sick?

The big question is often the necessity of having a health insurance. Many think that if they are never sick now, then surely paying for health insurance is stupid. However, you don’t really get a choice. To work and live in UAE, you must have an adequate cover.

Besides, just because you’ve never been sick before it doesn’t mean you won’t get sick later. One accident or injury could leave you in financial ruin so it’s always best to get covered.

How to find the right insurance plan?

Now that you know the basics, you can start looking for the right health insurance. The market is full of insurance providers and navigating this can be difficult. The key is to make a note of what you want and need from the policy and then compare different health insurance plans to find the perfect match.

Think about how much money you can put aside from health insurance and how much you’d be able to pay if the worst happened out of the blue. You also want to consider what kind of lifestyle you have and how often you exercise and if you eat healthily. You could even think how often you’ve seen a doctor in the past.

This gives you a good idea of the kind of policy that might be right for you. Then you want to go and compare health insurance online, weighing the different options in front of you. Pick the one that fits your needs and you’ll be able to get back to enjoying life!