Health insurance is generally designed to protect a person’s health by providing financial assistance for expenses incurred during medical treatment, ranging from routine checkups to more critical surgeries or hospital stays. People buy insurance to reduce the risk of having to pay higher out-of-pocket rates for this care, but in return, health insurance companies also measure the risk of covering a person.

To calculate this risk of covering an individual, insurance companies analyze stored data to create risk profiles to decide whether or not to provide coverage and at what cost. If coverage is provided by the insurance company, there are some obvious factors that companies take into account when deciding premium costs that typically include physical, medical, lifestyle, and personal risk factors.

Some of the physical and medical risk factors that can play a role in health coverage include:

• body mass
• tobacco use
• Gender
• age
• Pre-existing medical conditions
• Family history

In general, people with high body mass indexes must pay higher premiums than those with normal levels. Obesity can lead to diseases such as diabetes, sleep apnea, and heart and joint problems. Insurance companies may not take advantage of this and charge a person more for their health insurance due to the increased risk of these diseases and medical problems.

The particular gender and age of the client also play a role. Women tend to pay higher medical premiums than men because they tend to have more reasons to visit the doctor regularly, tend to take more prescription medications and are at higher risk for certain chronic diseases. Younger people tend to have lower premiums because they tend not to need to visit the doctor as regularly, have fewer diagnosed conditions, and are less likely to develop health problems.

Pre-existing medical conditions and family history can also play a role in health insurance premium costs. When the insurance company sees a pre-existing condition in a person’s risk factors, they know it can be costly for them. The insurance company may not cover the condition, but because the person is more likely to have additional problems related to the condition, the insurance company may increase premium costs. People who have a family history of cancer or other inherited diseases will likely have higher premiums.

Other factors generally considered are lifestyle that impact insurance costs. What the client does for a living can impact coverage. For example, if you work in a factory or laboratory where you are exposed to dangerous chemicals or have a higher risk of injury, your health insurance will be more expensive than if you have an office job that has limited risk to your health.

Insurance companies duly take into account statistics on health trends in specific areas, which means that where you live can affect the costs of your coverage. If your data shows that people are healthier in your area than in others, then the cost of your health coverage may be less than if you lived in an area that was considered high health risk.

If you’re shopping for health insurance coverage for the first time and haven’t previously had insurance, your rates will likely be higher. Research shows that people who are married live longer and are healthier than those who are not married, which is why married couples see a drop in their premiums.

CONCLUSION:

Here are some of the general factors that can affect your health insurance premiums. When sitting down with your local independent health insurance agent, you should ask about these factors and how they might affect your various coverage options. HDFC ERGO health insurance policies ensure to provide more benefits at affordable prices.