How To Choose Health Insurance For Parents?
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Our parents support us throughout our lives and take responsibility for every small need of ours and stand beside us as a strong pillar, but with time and as they grow older they need our attention and care too. Also, with growing age, a medical emergency can arise anytime, that’s when it becomes important to secure them with health insurance policy so that the medical emergency would not become a financial emergency.
Also Read:- Reasons Why You Should Purchase Retirement Plans
Tips To Choose Health Insurance For Parents
There are so many companies and policy options available in the market but to choose the right one which fulfills all our needs is a task in itself. So here we present some tips to choose the best insurance plan for your parents.
1. Individual Policy
First thing to note is that for parents and aged people it is very important to buy a separate policy of their own, that means an individual plan and not floater plan or family plan because with older age it is most likely that the insurance would be claimed.
2. Age-based Plans
Companies offer different plans for different age groups and the premium increases with the age. So, do consider that.
3. Claim Settlement Ratio
It is the ratio of insurance claims settled by the insurer and the number of claims received. Do check it before buying the plan, it would be advisable equal or above 90%.
4. Choose Zone A Cover
Most of the plans available in the market are divided into two zones that is Zone A which includes cities such as Mumbai ,Kolkata ,Chennai ,Delhi ,Bengaluru ,Hyderabad and Pune and Zone B which includes other parts of the country. The premium would be higher in Zone A cities because of high healthcare costs in these cities and then it would be less in Zone B but these cities provide good health care facilities and that’s why it is advisable to choose Zone A rather than B even if u reside in Zone B because if u choose A u can claim the insurance in both the zones. Also, you can consider the company which gives zone upgrade policy so that you can upgrade zone later even if you reside in zone B.
5. Check for Co-payment
Some companies offer a co- payment policy that is on time of claim some part of the cost would be covered by the insurer and some part would be covered from your pocket.
6. High Cover Amount
It would be better to go for high cover plans in case of aged people as there is a high chance of medical emergency and it would be waste to buy insurance policy if it wouldn’t be able to cover the whole amount at the time. With increase in cover the amount of premium also increases, so choose the plan with the highest cover and also the premium you can afford.
7. Choose Long-term Policy
Long term policies bring many benefits with it. Some companies offer discounts in premium in long term plans, after 2-3 years the amount of premium may decrease.
8. Alterable Sum Assured
It is advisable to opt for a flexible plan in which there is an option to increase the amount of cover with time as required.
9. Cashless Facility
It is advisable to opt for companies offering cashless facilities at the time of claim. Companies have their network of hospitals and health care institutions in which they can provide cashless facilities that means at the time of claim you need not to pay anything it will be settled by the company itself. So, prioritize the company which has a huge network.
10. OPD Facility
Try searching for plans which include OPD facilities too that means they will cover the cost of OPD too.
11. Pre-existing Diseases
There are plans in the market which may cover the treatment cost of already existing diseases such as diabetes. Do check out that list before buying a plan.
12. Waiting Period
You cannot claim the insurance just after buying it, there is a waiting time period of around 1 year or more to claim the insurance. Also, there is a separate list of waiting periods of all the facilities provided by the insurer. Do check it before investing your money.
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