Hospital Cash Insurance

The hospital cash plan insurance is a cash benefit provided for each day of hospitalisation, if you are admitted for more than 24 hours. The amount may either be a percentage of the sum insured or a fixed amount as per the policy terms. The hospital cash provided can be utilised towards miscellaneous expenses as per the needs of the policyholder.

Sometimes, the hospital cash insurance can be a part of the basic health insurance plan, and at times, you can include it as an optional cover to your base insurance plans. In any case, you can utilise the cash benefit to pay for the expenses that you may incur during hospitalisation.

The benefits of the TATA AIG hospital cash policy are as follows:

• **Financial Support**- Hospital cash benefit provides financial support during medical emergencies. Using the daily cash amount, you can pay for various miscellaneous expenses without draining your savings.
  

• **Unrestricted Usage**- There is no restriction on how you can use the hospital daily cash. Thus, you can take care of any expenditure, whether related or unrelated to hospitalisation.
  

• **Serves as an Income**- You may be unable to work while being hospitalised. Hence, the daily cash benefit serves as your income replacement, enabling you to meet the day-to-day expenses without any worry.
  

Also Read: Pre- and Post-Hospitalisation Expenses in Health Insurance

The main purpose of hospital daily cash allowance in health insurance is to cover the expenses that remain uncovered under the health insurance policy. The daily hospital cash plan provides coverage for inadmissible expenses like surgical accessories, family expenses, hiring a personal attendant, food, transportation expenses of visiting family members, etc.

Under any circumstances, you are entitled to receive the daily cash benefit without submitting any proof, provided your hospitalisation is admissible under the insurance policy.

Under some circumstances, the daily cash coverage may be reduced to 50%. For example, under TATA AIG plans, if on the day of discharge, you complete less than 24 hours but more than 12 hours, you will receive 50% of the daily cash benefit for that particular day.

You can enjoy the benefits of a daily cash allowance as part of some of our insurance plans, such as Criti Medicare, Medicare Premier, etc. And if your insurance plan does not have a provision for the same, you can include it as a separate rider, available under the name of TATA AIG Flexi Shield.

A notable feature/coverage of the TATA AIG hospital cash benefit rider is that it covers global treatment, too (Worldwide Hospital Cash Benefit Rider). Thus, if you are going abroad for treatment, you are still eligible to receive the daily cash benefit as an inpatient as per the terms of the policy. You can also opt for the rider to receive in-patient hospital cash, ICU hospital cash, accidental hospital cash benefit, accidental ICU hospitalisation cash and prolonged cash benefit.

Also Read: Daily Hospital Cash benefit in Group Health Insurance

On average, the daily hospital cash benefit is available for 15 to 45 days, depending upon the terms of the policy. The information is mentioned in the policy, and it is essential to read the policy carefully so that you know the exact tenure for which the benefit can be availed if you are hospitalised for more than 24 hours.

Just like any other insurance plan, the daily cash allowance benefit also comes with an upper limit, as specified in the terms of the plan that you choose. Thus, you must check the policy documents to find out the exact limit and amounts.

Secondly, the hospital cash benefit is available only if you get admitted after the waiting period of your policy is over, if applicable to your health condition. Thus, if you get admitted to a hospital for a disease whose waiting period is not over, you will not receive the cash benefit.

Another limitation of this cash allowance is that you must complete 24 hours to be eligible to receive it. So, if you are discharged from the hospital within 24 hours or get admitted for day procedures, this benefit is lost.

With a hospital daily cash policy, you can pay for the medical expenses that are not covered under your base health insurance policy and meet the additional expenses that you incur at the time of hospitalisation.

The limit of daily cash provided under this plan is fixed, so even if the cost incurred by you is lesser, you do not have to pay the money back to the insurer. For example, if the limit of daily cash provided to you is ₹900, and you incur daily expenses of ₹600, the insurer will pay you ₹900. So, it acts as a financial cushion when you are hospitalised and need money to handle everyday expenses.

Moreover, if the insured is admitted to the ICU, insurers usually offer double the hospital cash benefit as the expenses incurred by the insured are higher. For example, if the limit of daily cash provided to you is ₹1200, the insurer will pay you ₹2400 if you are admitted to the ICU.

If you have a health insurance policy, most of the expenses will be borne by the insurer if you are hospitalised, but there are some expenses that the medical insurance plan does not cover. The daily hospital cash benefit insurance plan provides coverage for inadmissible expenses like surgical accessories, visiting family members, etc.

Also, if you are hospitalised for more than 24 hours, you do not have to provide any bills as proof to get the benefit from the daily hospital cash policy. But, the daily cash insurance plan gets activated only if the hospitalisation is admissible.

If you are hospitalised for a specific medical treatment, then the insurer will provide the daily cash as a benefit, and the money can be utilised by the insurer as per their needs.

Moreover, if there is a loss of income due to hospitalisation, you can compensate for it using the daily cash benefit that will be provided by the plan.

Generally, the daily hospital cash benefit provided under the plan ranges from ₹100 to ₹10000, but it differs from insurer to insurer. Therefore, it is advisable to check the policy document to know the information about the limit of daily cash that is provided under the plan.

If the hospital cash policy comes un-built in your base health insurance policy, the coverage provided to you will be a certain percentage of the sum insured. This also depends on the insurer, and you must check the policy wordings to know more about this.

On average, the daily hospital cash benefit is available for 15 days to 45 days, depending upon the insurer. The information is mentioned in the policy, and it is essential to read the policy carefully so that you know the exact tenure for which the benefit can be availed if you are hospitalised for more than 24 hours.

This is all the information that you need to know about the daily hospital cash policy. The plan is advantageous to cover the daily expenses that you incur at the time of hospitalisation of more than 24 hours. Therefore, it is essential that you read the policy carefully to know all the benefits provided under the plan.

Also, along with this plan buying a comprehensive health insurance policy is essential as it can help you take care of huge medical expenses that you incur in case of a medical emergency and with the danger of the pandemic still looming, medical insurance has become prudent now more than ever.

With the Tata AIG health insurance plan, you will have access to a network of 12000+ hospitals where you can claim cashless health insurance and a range of policies like Covid-19 insurance to choose from. So, analyse your requirements, compare health insurance plans, and choose a plan that optimally suits all your needs.

Medical emergencies bring along various expenses, which may or may not be covered under your health insurance. In such a case, you may have to spend money out of your pocket to meet the extra expenses.

However, with TATA AIG health insurance plans, you get a hospital daily cash allowance, which acts as an extra cushion for you. Using the cash benefit, you can take care of miscellaneous expenses that you incur, such as hiring a personal attendant, food expenses, traveling charges and so on.

Most of our plans come with a hospital daily cash allowance, such as the TATA AIG Medicare Premier, TATA AIG Criti Medicare, etc. Additionally, we offer a hospital cash benefit rider, which provides support in various circumstances.

Apart from the hospital cash benefit, you can also avail of a cashless health insurance facility to
your benefit. By using the cashless claim method, you can get treated in any hospital of your choice, and we settle the bill directly with the hospital.

If you wish to buy health insurance from TATA AIG, you can utilise our online platform to make the purchase in a hassle-free manner without visiting any of our offices. To get further information on our insurance plans, you can contact our customer care team!

Is there a minimum or maximum age for the hospital daily cash policy buy online?

The minimum and maximum ages to avail of the daily cash benefit are similar to the age limit applicable to the base plan. For instance, if the minimum age for an insurance plan is 3 months, the same will be applicable to the hospital cash allowance.

Should I pay an extra premium to take advantage of the hospital cash allowance?

If the daily cash allowance benefit is a part of your base insurance plan, there is no need to pay an extra premium to avail of it. However, if your base plan does not cover the benefit, you must pay a nominal charge and purchase an add-on rider for the same.

Are there any restrictions on using the hospital cash allowance?

No, there are no restrictions on using the hospital cash benefit. You can use it for any expense you want.

Can I get hospital cash benefits if I am admitted to the hospital after an accident?

Yes, you are eligible to get the hospital cash allowance benefit if you get admitted to the hospital, provided you are admitted for the specified time and meet the other conditions specified in the policy.