If you’ve had an accident or illness abroad, you will want to claim on your health insurance. But when is the right time to do so? Some companies only refund, whereas others will pay upfront. And, if you have only had to pay a minimal amount, your insurance company may not pay at all! Here are some tips on how to know when to claim on your insurance.
Read your policy carefully
It’s important to know exactly what your policy includes when you buy it. If you read it carefully, it will tell you a lot of important things. These include:
Your excess – this is the amount that you must contribute up to. If you pay less than your excess, then your insurance will not cover it. You can generally reduce or even eliminate the excess by paying for a more comprehensive insurance package.
Whether the insurance pays upfront – for some things, you might be able to just give your insurance details. In other cases, you may have to pay and then the insurance will compensate you. Don’t worry – for very expensive things, you can normally just give your insurance details.
Speak to the admin staff when you arrive at hospital
If you are able to, contact the payment staff when you first get to the hospital. This is when you should make them aware that you have insurance and work out whether you will be paying upfront or if the insurance will pay them directly. Use this as an opportunity to find out roughly how much the total bill will be too – medical care can be very expensive in some countries and this will avoid any nasty surprises!
Make sure that you don’t leave without paying or signing
In some hospitals, it can be easy to walk out without paying. Make sure that you do make a payment or sign a form stating that your insurance will pay, otherwise you could be given a hefty fine.
If you know exactly what your mediclaim insurance policy entails, you should have a good idea of how much and when they will pay.