As a thoughtful business owner, you may have purchased a group insurance for your employees and members. Like individual health insurance, it provides cover to employees for their health risks.
Its basic purpose is to provide financial security and stability to its employees against the unforeseen risk and costs of hospitalization. This is a wise decision considering that employees are one of your biggest assets. A health insurance could help increase their loyalty towards your company. But are you sure you haven’t forgotten anything else? Wait! Have you got yourself insured?
Let’s understand this with an example.
38-year-old Viren Saxena is the owner of a food-trading company in Mumbai that employs 20 people. His company offers group health insurance of up to Rs. 3 lakh to each employee. Saxena was also covered by the group health insurance . However, it did not cover critical illnesses. A year later, Saxena was diagnosed with one. And without any appropriate health insurance, he had to pay from his own pocket. This put tremendous pressure on his business too—he could not reinvest his profits into the business, but used them to pay his medical bills.
Get an Individual Health Insurance Plan
This is why it is important that business owners buy an appropriate health insurance irrespective of the company’s group policy. Considering the rising stress levels in today’s corporate life, it could be a sound investment for the future – for you and your company!
Assess Your Need For Health Insurance
As a business owner, you have a dual responsibility when it comes to buying health insurance – one towards your employees and another towards your own self. You need to analyse and understand your priorities and those of your employees. This is imperative when you decide to buy group health insurance as well as your own health policy.
Find answers to questions such as:
Q. What is your budget?
Q. Whom will this plan cover? You, your family, your employees, their dependents?
Q. Which benefits will the plan provide?
Q. Which benefits are must-have and good-to-have?
Q. Do you want to sponsor the plan fully or share the cost with your employees?
Q. How much cost can my company withstand?
Q. How are the needs of my family and me different from those of my employees?
Q. What kind of a plan do I and my family need?
What to Do After Procuring the Health Insurance?
It is advisable to buy a group insurance first. Then, once all the formalities are complete, and you and your employees get the insurance cards, consider your own needs. How much extra cover do you and your family need? Decide between individual, joint and family health insurance. Do you need any special coverage like critical illness, accidental cover, specific disease coverage (like diabetes), etc. It is only when you are clear about what you want, should you go ahead and buy your health insurance.
Consider Top-Up Health Insurance
Top-up health insurance plans allow you to exceed the maximum limit of your insurance cover, without having to buy a new policy. Suppose your business has a certain budget for buying health insurance. This means you and your family get a specific coverage amount under certain conditions. But if your expenses exceed this coverage, it means the insurance amount is not sufficient; you will need extra coverage. For this purpose, you can buy a top-up plan for the amount you need, by paying separately and not burdening your business. Importantly, even your top-up plans are eligible for deductions under Section 80D when you file your returns.
Bottomline:
Your health is very important for running a business. Protect yourself against unforeseen medical emergencies that may burn a hole in your pocket and, thus, affect your business. So, limit your personal liability and get health insurance that benefits you as well as your business.
Remember, you have worked so hard to build this business. You are vital to your organization, which may not be able to thrive without you. So get yourself covered from financial troubles for your business to survive and grow!
