Family Health Insurance in India: A Detailed Guide
With rising medical costs and an increase in the number of diseases and ailments, managing medical costs has become difficult for most people. While medical insurance can help manage these costs, you have to pay a premium to get coverage. If you are living in a family and decide to purchase a policy for all family members, then the total premium costs can be high.
Many insurance providers offer a family health insurance policy to help cover all members of your family under a single policy by paying a single premium. Today, we will talk about a family medical plan to help you find the best health insurance plan in India for your family.
What is a Family Health Insurance Policy?
In simple words, a family health insurance policy offers coverage to all members of your family under a single policy. This means that you can include your spouse, children, and parents under one health insurance policy. Some insurers also allow you to include your in-laws and siblings too. Insurers usually calculate the premium of the policy based on the age of the eldest member of the family.
Benefits of a Family Health Insurance Plans
Here are some benefits offered by a family health insurance plan:
- Coverage for your entire family against medical expenses.
- These plans cover a range of costs, including pre and post-hospitalization expenses, consultation costs, ambulance charges, and various other medical costs.
- Some plans also offer to cover the costs of medical checkups for your entire family.
- You don’t have to worry about tracking multiple policies for all your family members.
- Buying a family insurance plan helps reduce the overall costs of insurance
- If one family member falls ill, then the coverage of the family plan is available for their treatment.
- If one family member dies, then the rest of the family members can continue using the policy.
Most family insurance policies offer a more comprehensive cover than individual policies purchased for each family member. Also, under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act, you can avail of tax benefits if you are paying a premium for a policy for your parents if they are senior citizens.
How Does Family Health Insurance in India Work?
Let’s understand the working of a family health insurance policy with the help of an example:
Let’s say that Rama purchases a family health insurance plan for himself, his wife, and two children. He chooses a family insurance policy with coverage of ₹10 lakhs per year. During the year, Rama is diagnosed with typhoid and needs hospitalisation. By the time he recovers, the total medical costs reach ₹2 lakhs. The family insurance policy takes care of these costs. For the rest of the year, his family can use ₹8 lakhs of coverage for any medical needs.
Hence, while the policy offers a sum insured for the entire family, even one member can avail of the same for medical treatment.
Choosing Family Health Insurance in India
Before you buy a family health insurance plan, make sure that you assess the insurance needs of your family. Here are some points to keep in mind:
- Choose a policy with a sum insured that can help you manage healthcare costs with ease.
- If you include a family member who is older (or a senior citizen), then it can increase the premium of the family policy. Also, the senior member might take up most of the benefits of the policy. Hence, in such situations, you must ensure that you buy a separate policy for such a member.
- Look for a co-payment clause in the family policy.
- Know the deductible amount.
- Ensure that you are aware of the room limit. This is the maximum amount the policy will pay for the hospital room.
Summing Up
A family health insurance policy is a simple and hassle-free way of insuring the health of all the members of your family. However, it is important to understand the medical requirements of all members and choose a family insurance plan or individual plan based on their needs. Good Luck!
