- How not to get cheated by a health insurance company
For the people who are from the middle class, it is necessary to have health insurance in this age when the medical bills for any illness can completely ruin the financial health of the family. Though people are not much aware of the benefits of medical insurance, companies also face many problems due to low client base. The lack of awareness in society about the medical insurance also benefits those companies which can play with facts and figures to scam people in general. This is one of the reasons why people are not much keen to go for health insurance even if it is much beneficial.
How are people cheated?
Primarily there are two options for an individual to take the benefits of health insurance. One can go for an individual plan or a floater one. In the individual plan, the person who takes the policy is only covered while in floater the family with various members can be covered. In floater the sum assured is provided in total and hence it can be available to anyone in the family until the sum assured is there. However, the premium in this plan may be higher than the individual plan.
The methods of cheating:
- Fake policies: In this method, usually, third parties are involved where they target a person by an ad, fake phone call, or email and lure him to provide documents and transfer money. They also offer fake policy documents of some recognized health insurance company so that the client can trust them. Once the amount is paid, the communication is stopped, and the policy vendor is also gone. This is one of the most methods by which many people are scammed across the market. The scammers also use the name of leading insurance companies so that the people believe them and easily opt for the scheme.
- Fake companies: In some cases the scammers show themselves as a legal insurance company and sell some policies which are not in existence at all. They are sold under the name of big companies only so that the buyer can trust the seller. They take the payment and also offer fake policy documents which are not caught until the claim is there. The moment one wants to claim he comes to know that he has been scammed. It is a method with which many people are scammed, and the victim does not come to know about the scam for a long term also so that the scammers can keep on their activities of scamming others.
- Scheme with a limited period offer: Many times the scammers use this trick. They offer a policy with ample benefits at a cheap rate and ask the person to act instantly as the scheme is for a limited time. They show that after that time there will be more charges levied and hence the same policy will be costlier. Hence they take the benefit of human mindset which runs for saving money, and in such a case one is scammed with the right amount.
- Additional benefits: Some of the scammers use this trick also. They show various benefits to the buyers with the purchase of health insurance, which may be in the form of additional commission and fixed income. To get these benefits, people get trapped in the scheme of such scammers and lose their hard-earned money. Usually, such scammers use the name of IRDA and other known agencies to build trust and get money from the people.
These are some of the known methods by which people are scammed in different areas.