How many times do you need to visit a hospital to finally realise that you require a health cover? It just takes one medical emergency to make you understand how vulnerable you are when you have to foot the hospital bills. Whether you are rich or poor, young or old, being diagnosed of an illness that requires hospitalisation could be one hell of an ordeal. Diabetes, stroke, heart ailments, renal failure and similar other lifestyle diseases are increasingly becoming common these days. Medical science, thankfully, has improved in leaps and bounds and there are now super-speciality hospitals where many life-threatening diseases can be treated. But it all involves huge cost. The wealthy may be able to afford these expenses but what about the average middle-class people? Where do they get the money to meet the costs?

For illnesses that call for surgery or hospitalisation, the medical expenses may easily run into six digit figures. Now imagine having to pay a huge amount within a few hours' notice. That surely can make you paranoid. This is exactly where a health insurance policy, commonly known as mediclaim in India, comes in to cover your expenses to a great extent and help you retain peace of mind.