Know How to Choose The Perfect Family Health Insurance Policy

Health Insurance

Health Insurance

One of your prime objectives is to ensure the safety of your loved ones. However, emergencies may strike without any prior indication. Have you safeguarded the interest of your family in case of a sudden illness or an accident?

With escalating healthcare costs, how do you ensure to meet such expenses if the need ever arises? One way to achieve this is to avail a health plan that covers your family as well.

Understanding health insurance

Health or medical insurance covers the healthcare expenses of the insured individual. The policy reimburses the medical expenses incurred due to a disease up to a certain limit known as the sum insured. The sum insured is the maximum amount you will receive under the policy benefits in case of a medical condition.

Family health insurance

When you buy an individual policy, only you are covered under the plan. On the other hand, when you purchase a family health insurance plan, all members of your family are covered under the same policy. Therefore, any one of the insured members is eligible to receive the policy benefits under a family floater cover.

Here is an example to help you understand. Assume that you purchase a family floater plan for INR 5 lakh and insure self, spouse, and two minor children under the same. The sum insured of INR 5 lakh is available if any one of the insured falls sick during the policy term. Assume that your spouse is diagnosed with an illness and you incur INR 2 lakh as treatment expenses. These are reimbursed under the family floater plan and the balance INR 3 lakh is available for your family during the remaining policy term.

Benefits of family floater

Health insurance plans for family have several benefits as listed below:

  1. Higher coverage

The possibility of more than one of your family members suffering from a medical condition that requires hospitalization during the policy term is very low. Therefore, higher coverage is available for each member in case the need arises.

  1. Convenient

If you choose an individual health plan for each family member, keeping track of multiple policies is inconvenient and time-consuming. In comparison, you only need to monitor one policy when you opt for a family floater.

  1. Affordable

You may need to pay more premium to avail of higher coverage for each family member under an individual plan. However, when you choose a family floater plan, the premium is affordable, which makes it financially a more efficient option.

  1. Tax benefits

You are eligible for tax benefits on the premium paid on the family floater policy under section 80D of the Income Tax Act. These tax benefits are available for self, spouse, children, and parents.

Having understood the benefits of a family floater health policy, here are some factors you need to consider while choosing one:

  1. Sum insured

The sum insured depends on several factors and it is important to ensure that you receive maximum coverage. Some of these include family medical history, current health condition, the age of the family members, and pre-existing conditions, if any.

  1. Network facilities

Most insurers offer cashless hospitalization facilities. It is recommended you check the network facilities of the various insurance companies before making your decision.

  1. Co-payment

Co-payment is the amount you need to pay through personal resources before the policy benefits become available. This reduces the premium and it is important to check if your chosen insurer offers such co-payment facility.

  1. Sub-limits

Health insurance plans offer multiple benefits such as hospitalization expenses, nurse and doctor fees, pre and post-hospitalization costs, room rent, and many more. It is advisable to check sub-limits for these various benefits to make an informed decision.

  1. Waiting period

Insurance companies do not cover pre-existing medical conditions for a certain time from the purchase date, which is known as the waiting period. If any of your family members is suffering from an existing illness, you must choose an insurer with the shortest waiting period.

  1. Claim settlement ratio

The most important objective of availing health insurance is to face no financial difficulties in case the need arises. Therefore, checking the claim settlement ratio of various insurers before you make the decision is recommended. This ratio will help you understand the number of claims that are successfully settled amongst the total claims filed during the year.

  1. No Claim Bonus (NCB)

Insurance companies offer NCBs as an incentive for filing no claims during the policy term. These benefits may be available either as a lower premium or a higher sum insured. Before you make your purchase decision, it is important to know how the NCB works.

  1. Renewal age

This is an important consideration because choosing a policy that offers lifetime renewal is advantageous. This ensures you and your family members have adequate coverage as you grow older and the possibility of suffering from medical ailments increases.

Checking these factors is necessary but what if you want more? What if you want a comprehensive health plan that covers serious ailments? Critical illnesses are on the rise, and more often than not, treating them may wipe out your savings. To safeguard your family members financially against serious ailments, go for a critical illness cover. These health insurance plans cover a wide variety of critical illnesses such as heart diseases and cancer.

Many people purchase online health insurance plans to reduce their tax liabilities. However, it is recommended you evaluate and analyze different options and make a choice that most appropriately suits the needs of your family. This ensures your loved ones receive the best treatment in case of an illness.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *