Private Health Insurance in South Africa
What considerations should you think about when looking for private health insurance for your family?
- Look at your family’s present needs
- Consider your family’s future health needs?
- See what exactly the policy covers
- Check out the claim procedures
- Make sure of any excess payments
- Establish whether the policy caters for overseas treatment
Value for money private health insurance
In this age of economic difficulty, you want to be sure that the money channeled into your health insurance policy reaps maximum rewards. For you to do this you have to know all you and your family’s present health needs and verify that the policy in question will cover all these needs.
If one of your parents, for instance, suffers from a chronic ailment, will treatment for it be covered? In this vein you 
need to confirm what the maximum age limit for beneficiaries covered by the policy is. Also find out if the policy is liable to premium increases. In some countries, this is prohibited by law.
In case of emergency
It should not matter if an injury happens at home, at your workplace or on the road; your policy should provide you with compensation. Should you or your child suffer injuries from a sports-related incident, you should get treatment without having to get into your savings. Before you sign the dotted line, ensure that the private health insurance policy in question covers all these bases.
What do I really need?
It would not be prudent to go for a cover that provides all sorts of benefits for children while you are single and have just started working. If you are in good health, all you need is basic outpatient cover. You can get cover that will pay for you to see your GP or a specialist as well as drugs prescribed for you and nothing more. Such cover will be less demanding in terms of monthly premiums, allowing you to save for other things.
What are my health insurance options in South Africa?
There are many options available to South Africans today as many players have come into the market over the past few years. Providers range from established multinationals like Old Mutual to relatively small operators like Clientele. In order to beat the competition, health insurance providers have had to come up with innovative packages that ordinary citizens can afford.
In a bid to offer the option of lower premiums, healthcare cover providers have availed the options of partial and limited cover, besides comprehensive cover. They have also created products with the co-pay feature in which they pay a percentage of medical expenses and the policyholder pays the rest. For instance they could pay 85% of your hospital bills and you go with the remaining 15% in cash.
In summary, to get the best value from your health insurance policy, you need to identify your healthcare needs. Once you have done this, shop around for a provider who meets these needs at the most reasonable cost. After finding a product that best matches your needs and your budget, be sure to read the fine print in the contract. This will help you avoid nasty surprises when it comes to processing claims.
All info was correct at time of publishing