MAM
Advertising picks up in 2012: Nielsen
MUMBAI: Advertising spending across television, newspapers, radio, outdoor, Internet and cinema see an increase in the beginning of 2012 compared to last year, according to Nielsen’s quarterly Global AdView Pulse report.
Though TV continues to attract the majority of ad dollars, Internet advertising sees the biggest increase, with advertisers spending 12.1 per cent more in Q1 2012 than one year prior. During that time, ad spend overall increased 3.1 per cent globally.
Across the regions, the findings are markedly different as each media has taken root and evolved uniquely.
Television: Dollars devoted to TV advertising grew 4 per cent in North America, second only to outdoor, and 7.5 per cent in Latin America. In the Middle East and Africa, TV ad spend grew a whopping 33.8 per cent.
Internet: Online ad spend was a bright spot for the industry, with growth around the globe. Growth was particularly notable in Europe (12.1 per cent), Latin America (31.8 per cent) and the Middle East and Africa (35.2 per cent).
Print (Magazines and Newspapers): Magazines saw a minor decline compared to last year, but newspapers grew by 3.1 per cent. In Latin America and Asia Pacific, both media grew by 7.6 per cent and 10.3 per cent respectively in Latin America, and 3.6 per cent and 5.4 per cent in Asia Pacific. North America saw nominal declines in print ad spend.
Radio: Radio saw increases in every region around the globe, including a 2.6 per cent increase in North America and 2.8 per cent in Europe. In emerging markets in Latin America and Middle East and Africa, those increases were much higher. Radio grew 18 per cent in Latin America and 21.1 per cent in the Middle East and Africa.
Cinema: In the Asia Pacific, cinema grew by 27.1 per cent, offsetting the declines seen in Latin America and the Middle East and Africa.
Outdoor: Still a nascent industry, outdoor is growing rapidly. In the past quarter, outdoor ad spend increased by 6.4 per cent globally. This included gains of 4.4 per cent in North America, 45.3 per cent in the Middle East and Africa and 21.1 per cent in Asia Pacific. Only Europe experienced a decline.
Buying family medical insurance online in India has become a common option for individuals who want to secure health coverage for multiple family members under a single policy. However, many buyers are unsure about the exact steps involved in selecting and purchasing the right plan online.
In this guide, you will know the step-by-step process of buying family medical insurance online in India, along with the key factors to review before purchasing a suitable policy.
Step 1: Assess Your Family’s Healthcare Needs
Before buying online health insurance, check the healthcare needs of all family members. Check age, existing illnesses, regular medicines, and the likely need for hospital care later. This helps in selecting a suitable sum insured, policy type, and level of cover. It also reduces the chance of buying a plan that appears suitable but does not meet actual medical needs.
Step 2: Visit the Insurance Company’s Official Website
After understanding the family’s needs, visit the insurer’s official website and read the plan details carefully. Use the official platform to review eligibility, policy wording, waiting periods, cover details, exclusions, and renewal terms.
This step gives a clearer understanding of how the policy works before payment is made. It also helps avoid confusion caused by incomplete summaries on other pages.
Step 3: Compare Available Family Health Insurance Plans
A family medical insurance policy should be compared on factors beyond the premium. Review the sum insured, hospital network, room rent limits, pre- and post-hospitalisation cover, daycare treatment coverage, and waiting periods. It is also important to check treatment sub-limits and specific policy conditions.
Careful comparison helps determine whether a plan provides balanced coverage and whether its terms are suitable for the healthcare needs of the entire family.
Step 4: Choose the Right Policy and Start the Online Purchase
Once the options have been compared, select the policy that best fits the family’s medical needs and budget. Before starting the application, review the covered members, policy term, benefits, and main conditions again. This is an important stage because errors here can lead to the wrong cover amount, an unsuitable variant, or missing details that create problems during policy use.
Step 5: Calculate the Premium Using an Online Calculator
Use the online premium calculator before making the final choice. Enter the correct details, including age, city, number of insured members, and selected cover amount. The result helps in understanding the expected premium and whether the policy fits the annual budget. This step is useful because it allows cost and coverage to be reviewed together, instead of choosing a plan only because the premium looks lower.
Step 6: Fill in Personal and Medical Details
When filling in the proposal form, provide accurate details for each insured member. This includes name, date of birth, contact details, medical history, ongoing treatment, and previous insurance information if required.
Every answer should be complete and truthful. Incorrect or missing details can create difficulty later. Before you submit the form, read every section again and correct any mistakes.
Step 7: Make Payment Through the Secure Payment Gateway
After checking the form, go to the payment page and complete the transaction through the secure payment gateway. Review the premium, policy term, and entered details once more before confirming payment.
After the transaction is completed, save the receipt, reference number, or confirmation message carefully. Keeping this record is useful if you need to track the purchase or follow up on policy issuance later.
Step 8: Download and Keep Your Policy Document Safely
Once the policy is issued, download the policy document, schedule, and any related papers without delay. Read them carefully to confirm member names, policy period, sum insured, and major terms. Save a digital copy in a secure folder and keep a printed copy if needed. Proper record keeping makes future renewals, document checks, and policy servicing easier and more organised when information is required quickly.
Conclusion
Buying health cover online becomes easier when you handle each step with attention. From checking your family’s needs to reading the final document, every stage helps you make an informed choice. A careful approach can reduce mistakes, improve your understanding of policy terms, and help you choose coverage that matches your household’s medical needs, financial capacity, and long-term healthcare planning in a reliable way for your family over the long term.
