Health insurance: factors to consider in order to make the best choice
Although it is optional, subscribing to a mutual insurance company allows you to enjoy a good supplement of coverage for your health expenses. Today, France has more than 500 organizations offering a mutual insurance service. To be able to make the best selection between these multiple offers, it is essential to go through a detailed prospection on the different suggestions on the market.
Novices in the field may have difficulty in this process due to the lack of information on the parameters to consider. Here is the complete guide to distinguish the right mutual insurance offer that will meet your needs !
Having a precise idea of one’s profile and health needs
It will be impossible for you to go in search of the best complementary health insurance without having any idea of your health needs and consumption. Indeed, these types of information are essential to be able to distinguish the best proposal. To do this, it is essential to take into account :
- age, employment and family situation;
- family health history ;
- past and present medical problems;
- useful preventive care;
- how often you see a doctor (general practitioner or specialist) each year;
- your needs in optical and dental care;
- your medication essentials (regular treatments, etc.).) ;
- The needs in complementary care (psychologist, physiotherapy, etc.) are prioritized in all the offers.).
All these elements will allow you to define your profile as a subscriber. Moreover, adding the members of your family in your health insurance contract is also quite feasible. As beneficiaries, they will enjoy the same coverage value as the signatory himself. Taking into consideration the main needs of all your siblings is therefore essential if you want to enjoy the best complementary health insurance !
Based on your profile and needs, you could already start requesting a mutual insurance quote to get an idea of the current rates. This initiative will also allow you to distinguish the offers that have the most interesting prices.
The guarantees offered by a mutual health insurance contract
To be able to evaluate the relevance and quality of the coverage of a complementary health insurance, the guarantees present in the contract are important parameters. In most cases, if the partial reimbursement of basic care (hospitalization, ophthalmic, dental, consultation, etc.) is not covered by your health insurance, you will have to choose the right one.) is a priority in all the agreements on the market, the additional guarantees will make the difference between the multiple proposals. The latter can largely influence your choice based on your secondary needs.
This could be services not reimbursed by the general plan or specific services such as alternative medicine, in-depth optical care (lenses, cataract or myopia surgery, etc.), or other services.) or foreign vaccines.
In addition to these guarantees, some mutual insurance companies go as far as to provide their subscribers with additional options and services to facilitate their daily lives. Among these additional services are: home assistance services (housework, childcare, etc.).), the remote consultation or the use of application for a follow-up of the care. These extra options must be particularly checked when choosing the best complementary health insurance.
To find your way around, using online simulations is a good method. This process gives you the possibility to easily compete and to distinguish the contract, the guarantees and the rates that will be the most advantageous for you.
To note The section on exclusions of guarantees visible in the general conditions of a mutual health insurance contract should also be considered to know the types of care that are not covered.
The reimbursement offered by the mutual health insurance
In addition to the guarantees, the level of reimbursement offered by a health insurance company should also be taken into consideration when making your choice. There are several possible levels of reimbursement depending on the health item requested. A 100% coverage rate guarantees full reimbursement of the co-payment. In such a case, the various additional expenses will be the responsibility of the subscriber.
In addition, reimbursement levels of 200% and above will allow the insured to enjoy a more consistent coverage.
The reimbursement period should also be checked. In most cases, the payment to be made by your mutual insurance company will have to be done after the social security payment is started. Despite this, this process should not take several weeks.
If the declaration is made by teletransmission, the reimbursement time can be greatly reduced.