Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Add Your Elderly Parents to Family Floater Plan

With ever amplifying medical inflation, every family needs an adequate health insurance. Nevertheless, it is the most perplexing thing to decide whether to take individual family health plan or a family floater.

Family floater health insurance is a cover that takes care of all medical contingencies and prolonged hospitalisation costs for the entire family under one single policy. Usually, the insurance companies allowed two adults and two children in a family floater plan, while some have designed their plans in a manner that it covers four adults, which adds your elderly parents as well. However, choosing a single floater plan for the family with your senior citizen parents has its own shortcomings.

However, opting for a single floater plan for family with elderly parents has its own drawbacks. Here’s why, you should opt for separate medical policy for senior citizens to enjoy maximum of health benefits. Here are some reasons why you should buy a separate health plan for your aged parents:

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          Only a few insurers offer such plans, making it difficult for the buyers to compare various features and benefits to stop in a good deal.

·        Floater plans have entry age limit, which is 65 years at the maximum case. If your parents cross 65, you cannot add them in the plan.

·       Also, the premium is based on the age of the members. In case of senior citizen, it is by any means is higher, So, including elderly people means paying a considerably higher premium.

·       Health insurance policies require you to serve waiting period of 2 to 4 years to cover pre-existing conditions. In case a senior citizen with severe pre-existing condition requires to claim the policy, the claim wouldn’t be accepted without serving the waiting period.

·       In addition, to avail a plan, your parents will be needed to undergo pre-policy medical health check-ups. Based on the report only, the insurer decides whether the person is eligible or not.

·         No Claim Bonus is awarded if there is no claim made by the policyholder. However, with elderly people, possibility is you need medical assistance and by making a claim you lose out the benefit of NCB.

·      The coverage may not enough for you. A cover of Rs 15 lacks may suffice the requirement of 4 people but may not suitable for 6 people. In case one of the members is unwell and requires to be hospitalised, the other member may not be left with enough cover for future use. Hereby, if you are planning to include your elderly parents in your family floater plan, make sure that you increase the sum insured at the same time.

The way out:

Finding a way out, we suggest you should buy separate health plans that are specially designed for senior citizens, rather including your aged parents in a floater plan. You can buy an individual health plan which cover your spouse and children and a separate plan for your parents. The most alluring part is, you can avail tax benefits for two separate health plans now, up to Rs. 25,000 on premium. According to Section 80D, you can avail tax benefit up to Rs. 30,000, in case your parents are senior citizen.

So, better avoid all the promotional traps. Do your own research, land on a good deal for your elderly parents and save more!

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