With the growing demand and varied needs of individuals and entities, insurance companies have designed various types of insurance plans. And one of the most important insurance you cannot do without in the current time is health insurance.
Now, before you proceed with looking for an excellent health insurance policy, if you don’t have it already, you should first gather information about the types of health insurance available in the market.
A little online research will introduce you to the group and individual health insurance, the two most popular and common types of health insurance dominating the market. Let’s explore more about each of these insurance types, so you can purchase the best health insurance as an informed buyer.
Also Read – Why Having Family Health Insurance is the Best Solution to Safeguard Your Family?
What is Corporate Health Insurance?
As the name suggests, corporate health insurance is a popular health insurance that covers multiple people working for the same organization. Companies offer corporate insurance as a means to attract and retain employees for an extended period. Also known as the group health insurance, it provides decent coverage to employees that includes and is not limited to accidental hospitalization, critical illness cover, psychiatric benefit, maternity benefit for female employees, daily hospital cash cover, and much more.
What is Comprehensive Health Insurance?
A comprehensive health insurance policy offers standard coverage and allows you to maximize the same by purchasing relevant add-ons. It can best be described as customizable health insurance that provides you the best coverage during the policy period.
Comprehensive health insurance safeguards you against expenses arising from accidental hospitalization, illness-related hospitalization, annual health checkup, and much more. In addition, this policy covers pre & post-hospitalization expenses, psychiatric benefits and gives you access to their network of partner hospitals for cashless treatment.
Also Read – Premium & Features of Individual Health Insurance
Difference between Corporate and Comprehensive Health Insurance
With so many health insurance options floating in the market, it is natural to get confused. Many young adults get hired by good companies that offer them coverage under their corporate group health insurance plan. If the employer already provides health coverage, should the employee take individual health insurance, if he hasn’t taken one already, or remain satisfied with the corporate coverage?
Many young employees face this dilemma, and we are here to help you steer clear of it. The primary difference between corporate and comprehensive individual health insurance has been listed below for your clarity, so go through all the points before taking any decision.
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| Basis of Differentiation | Comprehensive Health Insurance | Corporate Health Insurance |
| Who is it for? | Any individual looking to safeguard self against sudden medical emergencies in the future can purchase a comprehensive health insurance policy on own name. | Employers take corporate health insurance to secure their employees against medical emergencies in the future. It is like a group plan that covers multiple employees working for the same company. |
| Are Dependants Covered? | Individual comprehensive health insurance plans primarily cover the insured who has purchased the plan on his/her own name. To include dependents in the policy, you can switch to a family floater plan that covers you and your family under a single policy. | The employee can also cover his dependent spouse, children, and parents by talking to HR and paying an extra premium for their coverage. However, it should be noted that not every company will let you cover your dependents under corporate insurance. |
| Coverage Terms | You can choose a health insurance policy that offers maximum coverage, and no third party can alter or interfere with your coverage terms. | The policy coverage terms are controlled by the employer, and they can be altered or terminated at their will. |
| Flexibility & Control | You have full control over your comprehensive health insurance policy. | The full authority to make changes to the insurance policy lies solely with the employer; hence, there is no flexibility and control from the employee’s side. |
| Premium | Premium is on the higher side than the corporate insurance | The premium cost is way less than that of individual insurance |
| Waiting Period | Comprehensive health insurance plans usually come with a waiting period of 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, or more, depending on the insurance company you’re taking the policy from. | Most corporate health insurance plans don’t have such a waiting period. If the employer is taking corporate insurance for at least 50 people or more, the insurance company can waive off the waiting period, and the insured can claim for medical expenses without having to wait for a certain period. |
| Add-Ons/Riders | Comprehensive insurance lets you purchase riders you deem fit for maximum coverage against additional premium amounts. | You cannot purchase add-ons of your choice in corporate insurance, as most of the coverage terms are pre-decided between the insurance company and your employer. It means employees will have to remain content with whatever coverage is being offered in the corporate insurance. |
| Cumulative Bonus | If you don’t file any claim with your insurance company for a year or two, or more, you can become eligible to take benefit of cumulative bonus. It can lower your premium amount in the following years. | Unfortunately, employees covered under corporate insurance cannot take advantage of cumulative bonus. It means, your premium amount will not lower in the coming years, even if you don’t file for a claim during your policy period. |
| Policy Duration | A comprehensive insurance plan will remain valid till the policy term, provided you routinely renew your policy without fail. Besides timely payment of premiums, no other factor can affect your policy duration. | A downside of corporate health insurance is its insurance or coverage period. Since the corporate insurance is drawn on your employer’s company name, you can only avail of its benefits until you are a part of that company. Once you decide to resign and join another company for any reason, corporate health insurance will no longer cover you. |
Having a comprehensive health insurance plan other than the corporate health insurance policy will be a safety measure for you. The former continues to benefit you even when you change the company. Buying health insurance, be it of any type, has got easier because it can be purchased online.
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