Starting a family is one of the most crucial and life-changing decisions you may make. Once you have arrived at it, now comes the concern of guarding it against uncertainties.
One quick remedy to do this is buying a health insurance plan. But you want to have it best for your family, right? Therefore, you need to choose the right health insurance plan that would adequately cover you and your family during medical emergencies.
If you agree with this fact, read further to know about choosing the right health insurance plan to secure your family’s health.
Individual Health Insurance vs Family Floater Plan
Individual health insurance policies tend to have a higher premium. If you buy a family floater plan, the premium per head is much less. It’s a good idea to go for a family floater plan for the entire family.
What Should You Look For?
1. Coverage
You can look for a policy that covers the specific needs of your family. Furthermore, the policy should have a good maternity cover.
Most health insurance policies include newborns only after they turn three months old. However, there are some which cover newborns right from
Then it would help if you looked at the insurance needs of both of your parents. Do they have any pre-existing conditions like diabetes, hypertension or cardiac conditions?
Most health insurance policies have a waiting period for these conditions. Waiting periods can be 2-3 years or more. The policy covers these conditions only after the waiting period for these conditions have elapsed. The waiting period is calculated from the date of buying the original policy.
Look at the waiting periods in the policy for these conditions. Preference should be given to policies that have fewer waiting periods for these conditions.
2. Network Hospitals
Pay attention to the list of network hospitals of a policy. Network hospitals are hospitals where cashless hospitalisation is offered to the insured person. Pick a policy that has good network hospitals in your area of residence.
3. Co-payment
A policy having a co-payment clause needs you to pay part of the hospitalisation expenses.
For example, the co-payment clause of a policy may specify 20% co-payment. If the hospitalisation expenses are ₹10 Lakhs, you will have to pay ₹2 Lakhs out of your own pocket in this case. And the insurer will pay the rest.
Generally speaking, you should opt for policies with zero co-payment. However, policies with co-payment come at a lesser premium. You can make a tradeoff between co-payment and premiums that suit you best.
4. Inclusions and Exclusions
Look at the inclusions and exclusions from a policy very carefully. Some policies may include added benefits like periodic consultations with health specialists. Some may include an attractive discount on gymnasium memberships. Ambulance services and oxygen provisions are also included in some policies.
Look carefully at all the conditions and diseases that are covered. Also, check if the conditions that your family is prone to contract are covered.
Also, look carefully at the exclusions. Which diseases or conditions are excluded? Is your family prone to them?
Go for policies that have inclusions and exclusion best suited to your family.
5. Premium
Pay attention to the premiums charged by the policies under consideration. All other things being equal, you should prefer a policy with a lower premium.
6. Claims Settlement Ratio
This is the ratio of the total claims settled by the total claims received by an insurer. You can opt for schemes providing a higher ratio.
7. Renewability
Family floater health insurance policies tend to have age limits on admission and renewability. Check the age of both of your parents and choose policies that can accommodate them. Some policies allow lifetime renewability for family members. These should be given preference.
Put your worries to rest with the right health insurance policy. Let yourself concentrate on your various family goals with adequate health insurance cover to take care of your finances during medical uncertainties.
Read Guide to Buying Health Insurance for New Parents and factors to be considered