"That's when the rising health costs hit me," says Saraswathi. She now plans to take her own medical policy worth 4 Lakhs, which will total her overall cover to 5 Lakhs.

Why You Need Health Insurance?

In case of a medical emergency, cost of hospital room, doctor's fees, medicines and related health services all add up to a huge sum. In such times, health insurance provides the much needed financial relief.

Most health policies available in the market today cover major risks. Some of the existing health insurance schemes currently available are individual, family, group insurance schemes, senior citizens insurance schemes, and long-term health care.

However, not all include specific illnesses or risks, such as pregnancy related complications, diabetes, women's cancer etc.

This is where women's health insurance comes into the picture.

"A general mediclaim may give you the much needed cover, but when it comes to specific illnesses especially women related illnesses, most don't cover them under their policies," says Financial Advisor Sandeep Shanbag.

Women Specific

At present only three women's specific policies exist in the country.

These are:

1. ICICI Prudential

ICICI Prudential offers you an entire suite of health insurance plans for chronic ailments such as breast cancer, organ transplant, kidney failure, bypass surgery, heart attack etc. There is also a special policy on diabetes.

These plans are: Health Assure, Health Assure Plus, Cancer Care, Diabetes care and Diabetes Care Plus.

The cancer plan specifically includes cancers that commonly affect women.

These policies allow to insure yourself for as low as Rs. 1, 50, 000, and up to a limit of Rs. 10 Lakhs. The policy provides reimbursement of medical treatment expenses like hospitalization, doctors' fees, medicines, diagnostic tests and drugs.

2. Birla Sun Life Insurance

Birla Sun Life is another private player in the market. The policy is called the "Critical Illness- Woman Rider ".

The policy for women up to the age of 65 years, allows to insure yourself for as low as Rs. 50,000 and up to a limit of Rs. 10 Lakhs.

The policy covers illnesses like heart attack, stroke, cancer, kidney failure, ectopic pregnancy, congenital disease of the new born etc.

3. LIC

LIC is the sole government insurance policy in the women's health insurance market.

Jeevan Bharati offers coverage on critical women's illness like cancer, surgery, heart attack, pregnancy related complications, congenital diseases etc.

The policy for women up to the age of 65 years, allows to insure yourself for as low as Rs. 50,000  and up to a limit of Rs. 25 Lakhs.

How Do These Plans Work?

The first thing that you need to remember is that the overall cost of treatment involves not only the actual cost of treatment (direct cost), but also incidental expenses (indirect cost) such as transportation, lodging, temporary loss of income (if working) etc.

These additional costs can bloat your actual treatment cost to a great extent. The above plans offer a cover on both direct and indirect expenses incurred by you. So, if you happen to be diagnosed by any of these ailments you can claim the benefits of the chosen plan through a claims procedure.

Benefits

Some other benefits include:

• Cash payment in lump sum or installments for surgery and treatment.
• Tax benefits
• Free diagnostic tests and consultation every year

Strings Attached

These policies stand terminated if you:

• Have HIV
• Fail to follow medical advice
• Self-inflict injury
• Abuse alcohol or drugs
• Follow alternative therapy over allopathy. Also, the list of diseases may vary from one health policy to another.

Considering the large sum spent on acquiring a good medical treatment, health insurance is a must have. It ensures that you remain financially healthy.

Choose the one that suits you best and insure your health.