Should you buy family floater plan for elderly or separate one?

Realising the importance of health insurance after someone gets admitted to hospital is not wise planning. Health insurance should be a part of your financial planning. Illness doesn’t strike with prior notice. It can happen to anyone, anytime. Especially when you have elderly people like parents who are dependent on you, the need for insurance increases. In case of health insurance, people often get confused about whether senior citizens should be included in the family floater health plan or not, or, should a separate policy be taken?

As the name suggests, Family Floater Plan covers all members of the family. All members are equaly covered. Suppose there are four members and coverage is 10 lakh rupees. Then any one family member can avail treatment of up to 10 lakh rupees. If one member’s treatment costs 7 lakh rupees, then the remaining three members can avail treatment of up to 3 lakh rupees. In an individual policy, there is a formula of one person and one sum insured, the individual can use entire amount for his treatment.

Family Floater policies generally allow covererage of self, spouse, or children. Most policies do not permit children above 25 years to be part of the Family Floater plan. Additionally, most family floater policies cover only two adults. Some companies have designed policies to cover four adults.

The Family Floater plan can save you some money because it’s unlikely that all family members will need hospitalization at the same time. However, choosing between a Family Floater or an Individual policy can sometimes be difficult. It can become difficult especially when there is an elderly person in your home.

Premium of family health insurance plan depends on age of oldest member of the family. In such cases, the premium can also rise.  Let’s assume you’re 33 years old and your family floater policy covers you, your spouse, and your children. If you also include your elderly father, your premium will increase. you’ll have to pay it every year.

As age increases, the likelihood of contracting diseases also increases. Senior citizens are more prone to illness. If there’s a senior citizen in your family. If you have a family floater health insurance, the cover may be inadequate for the entire family, especially when your parents have old health issues. Because they might need repeated hospital admissions for treatment. It’s beneficial for senior citizen parents to take separate health insurance policies. It will provide them with a decent sum insured, it will cover only their treatment expenses.

Health insurance not only covers medical expenses but also saves taxes. For individuals or those who haven’t taken any kind of medical cover, the first advice for them is that they should get health insurance for their own and their family’s safety. If there is an elderly person in the family, then, he should get separate health insurance for them. At every stage of life, your elders have supported you. Now it’s your duty to keep them safe in their golden years. For this, there is no better option than health insurance!