Why Should You Take A Separate Health Insurance Plan For Parents?

Health insurance plays a major role when planning family finances. Health has become the top-notch priority for all people these days. In case of emergencies and mishaps, the charge of hospitalisation can cost a fortune. Therefore, for secure health, you must get a health insurance policy for yourself as well as for your family. 

A health insurance policy covers the medical expenses for you and your family that may arise due to an illness or an accident. It covers hospitalisation costs, medical bills, and the cost of medicines. There are various types of plans and services available with different insurers, out of which you must choose the best-suited one for yourself.

Why Should You Take A Separate Health Insurance Plan For Parents?

Ideally, you should not add your parents to an existing health insurance cover or the add ons that you supplement your plans with. Always go for choosing a separate health insurance cover for your parents. The primary drawbacks of including your parents into the existing health covers are:

• Effect on Premium

Family floater health insurance plans are subjected to the age of the eldest member of the family. Adding your parents to the plan can increase your premium. The moment the eldest individual in the plan reaches the maximum age covered by the plan, the policy will terminate. Then, you will have to buy a separate policy for each of the family members which can cost a lot.

Speaking facts, a 50-year-old is more vulnerable to getting ill than a 25-year-old. Therefore, this case scenario is bound to happen. Hence, buying a policy when young is the right choice to do. This way the premium will cost less and you get a long duration of coverage. 

• Pre-Existing Ailments

A Premium of a health insurance policy issued to a person with pre-existing disorders is comparatively high and increases the cost of your monthly premiums. Therefore, it is advisable to go for a separate policy for a person with pre-existing conditions. And usually, with the increase in age, our parents are more prone to get ill, therefore, they should be insured with a separate health insurance cover. 

• No Claim Bonus(NCB) Affected

In a health insurance policy, the NCB is received as a discount at the time of renewal of the policy or add-on benefits. But it can only be availed if you do not make a claim in a policy year. Therefore, in a family floater plan, with multiple members of the family, the NCB gets canceled even if one of the members makes a claim. In the case of aging parents, they might need an urgent hospitalisation due to pre-existing illness or age. Therefore, you must have a separate plan for them. 

• Less Coverage Amount

In a family floater plan, the coverage is sufficient for 4 members of the family, but if you tend to add your parents, which adds up to 6 members, then the cost of individual coverage decreases. If the policy is claimed for the parents once, then the remaining amount might not be sufficient for the rest of the family members. 

• Employers Insurance

A company usually offers insurance for its salaried employees. It is important that you read the policy papers thoroughly to understand the type of coverage offered, etc. as most of the firms insure the employee and their spouses. Therefore, do not depend on such insurance and get a separate one for your parents. This will insure them better treatment in any unforeseen circumstances. 

Conclusion 

The above mentioned cons make it crystal clear that one should have a separate health insurance policy coverage for their parents. Including the parents in a family floater plan increases the cost of premium, which comes as a burden on your finances and budget.
Because of the huge age gap between your parents and other family members, there is a possibility that they suffer from pre-existing disorders, which will again increase the premium cost. 

FAQs

Q1. What is a family floater plan?

A family floater plan allows you to have a single sum insured for multiple people. This way, any one of your family members can use the insurance policy up to the sum insured. A family floater plan reduces the paperwork; otherwise, you must do it for each family member. 

Q2. What should you think about when buying a health insurance cover for your parents?

Consider the following things while buying separate health insurance coverage for your parents:

• The plan must cover the diseases and procedures your parents may need. While figuring out your parent's needs, also consider their family history. 
• The sum insured must be enough to cover their hospitalisation; this depends on how likely they get hospitalised. If your parents are less immune to diseases, you might need a higher sum insured. 
• The waiting period must also be small enough; this also depends on your parent's likelihood of hospitalisation. 
• The insurer must cover a hospital in your locality; parents might need urgent care, and visiting hospitals without cashless functionality is inconvenient. 

Q3. Are complimentary health checkups beneficial?

Purchasing a plan with complementary health checkups is excellent since you can catch diseases early. Discovering diseases in advance allows you to treat them at a lower cost, making it more likely to stay within your sum insured. A complementary plan is especially significant when you purchase a policy for your parents, who are more likely to suffer from health problems. 

Q4. Should you buy a critical illness cover for your parents?

Critical illness cover gives you the sum insured as a one-time payment, which might benefit your parents. Beyond medical care, your parents may need other facilities for recovering from a terminal illness. The lump received during a critical illness claim will help you with that.