Apollo Munich Optima Restore Health Insurance plan
Apollo Munich health insurance is synonymous with Optima Restore. Optima restore seems to be one of the most sought after health insurance plans. It is not only popular among the plans available from Apollo Munich, but also among the many plans available from other companies. There are several reasons for the popularity of this unique and value added health insurance plan.
Restore and multiplier benefits
Though several health insurance schemes are available in India, most of these policies do not offer the restore and multiplier benefits. This plan is very similar to an earlier one offered by the same company by name Apollo Munich Easy Health plan. But, there are added benefits under the new Apollo Munich Optima Restore Health Insurance plan.
First to understand this plan, you should know more about the restore as well as multiplier benefits.
The restore benefit:
If you have sum assured for Rs.10 lakhs or any other amount, which is exhausted due to health emergency, the company will restore the same amount in your policy so that it can be used again for any other illnesses. You may wonder that you may not use up the amount for two different diseases in the same year, but the fact that this restore benefit is available in family floater plans is the important advantage. Even if a family member who is covered by the plan gets sick in the same year, they will also be covered under this plan because of the restore benefit.
The multiplier benefit:
Every Indian who has taken out a health insurance policy might have benefited from the No Claim Bonus or the No Claim Benefit. Most of the companies offering health insurance plans will provide a No claim benefit of 10% or some companies may reduce the premium paid. The multiplier benefit provided by the Apollo Munich Optima Restore Health Insurance plan ensures that you have a 50% No claim benefit in the first year of no claim. This doubles and becomes 100% for the second consecutive year of no claim.
The benefit that you obtain is that your Sum assured is doubled for the same premium amount. So, there is no need to pay any additional premium for the double sum assured that you get within 2 years of the policy period. This means, if you have a 5 lakh policy, with 2 years of no claims, your sum assured will be 10 lakhs!
What is covered under Apollo Munich Optima Restore Health Insurance plan?
1. Pre and post hospitalization: This is available for the policy holders for a period of 60 days and 180 days. This is more than enough in most instances.
2. Lifetime renewals: You can do renewals for lifetime.
3. Renewal premiums are available without any loading.
4. If you pay the premium for two years at the same time, you will be able to obtain an additional discount of 7.5%.
5. Upgrades: You will be able to upgrade the plan when you renew it.
6. Parents and children: Children above 91 days will be covered. Even parents are covered under this plan and this makes it more beneficial as children and elderly parents are the ones who get sick often.
What is not covered by the Apollo Munich Optima Restore Health Insurance plan?
1. Pregnancy: If you are starting your family, this may not be the right plan for you. Pregnancy is not covered.
2. Dental: The Apollo Munich Optima Restore Health Insurance plan does not cover dental treatments also.
3. Preexisting diseases: Any disease that exists at the time of buying the policy will be covered only after 3 years.
4. Diseases like hernia: Hernia, Cataract and some other specified diseases will be covered only after 2 years of the policy starting.
Major Limitations of the Apollo Munich Optima Restore Health Insurance plan
The Apollo Munich Optima Restore Health Insurance plan may seem to be the best plan available. It is not without shortcomings. The major limitations of the plan are as follows
1. Restore benefits start: Your restore benefits will only commence when the sum assured is completely exhausted. This may not occur in many cases and so becomes inapplicable.
2. Restore benefit on other illnesses: If you become sick with another disease, then only the restore benefits will kick in. If you need additional funds to treat the same disease which caused the sum assured to be exhausted, you will not benefit from the restore scheme. This is why the restore benefit is more beneficial in family floater policies than in individual policy.
3. Multiplier effect can wear off: The NCB or multiplier benefit of doubling of the sum assured falls by 50% with the first claim itself. The sum assured will also reduce to only 50% above the original sum assured.
Other minor limitations
1. Carryover of restore benefit: There is no possibility of carrying over the restore benefit to another year.
2. Restore benefit only once: The restore benefit applies only once in a policy year. This is not a major limitation since the restore benefit itself is a unique one. It cannot be expected of the company to provide the benefit twice in the same year!
Read more about health insurance plans:
1. Religare Health Insurance Care Plan
