Health Insurance Plans Exclusively for Parents

Healthcare continues to remain a crucial lifeline for elderly parents who need attentive support as they age. Currently, healthcare costs are on the rise in India with medical inflation at approximately 15%. Moreover, as they age, they might not be able to afford healthcare costs without health insurance. Since medical costs are rising steadily, meeting elderly persons’ healthcare expenses might put a strain on your finances. That is why it is ideal to health insurance plan for parents.

It may seem like a good option to add a single parent or both to a family floater plan. However, family floater health insurance premium is calculated based on the age of the eldest insured member, so the overall premium amount for the entire family unit increases a lot if the plan includes elders. Additionally, the sum assured required may be significantly higher because senior citizens are at greater health risks and might need more specialized and expensive treatment. Aging people have different medical expenses and requirements than younger family members which may not be covered in a family floater plan. Also, there could be an age limit (usually 60-65 years) beyond which a parent's entry may not be allowed under a family floater. Therefore, it is best to buy individual plans as early as possible that cater to your parent’s specific health needs.

Benefits of purchasing plans exclusively for parents are many:  
Age-oriented Health Cover: The main purpose of these plans is to offer cover against health issues during old age and exclusively cater to senior citizen health needs (the health conditions covered differ depending on insurer and plan).
Stress-free Future: It is a good long-term investment as you will not have to worry about future medical expenses. The anxieties that the elderly feel about healthcare costs also reduce greatly.
Additional Benefits: Several policies for senior citizens include features like lifetime renewals, which is critical so that there is no issue in the future with renewals. However, this is mainly applicable when there is no break between policy years.
Cashless Facility: Another convenient feature to remember is modern health insurers offer cashless treatment and claim settlement. Having easier processes for senior citizens would make it hassle-free for them.
Tax Benefit: The government offers tax benefits for senior citizen medical insurance. If your parent is older than 60 years, a rebate of up to Rs. 50,000 is given on your total taxable income. If they are less than 60 years of age, you can claim a rebate of up to Rs. 25,000.

As we get older, more health conditions or ailments spring up. So, understanding what to look for when purchasing senior health insurance is a life saver. We are here to give a simple breakdown!


These are the important factors to consider while purchasing health insurance for parents above 60 in India:

PED Waiting Period: Check the waiting period for pre-existing diseases and any other ailments so that you know when you can expect your parents to be covered for them.
Exclusions: Ensure that there is a smaller exclusion list for the selected plan, to be able to have wider coverage and inclusion of health conditions.
Wider Medical Treatment: To provide them with great coverage, the plan should cover a wide range of medical expenses with enhanced benefits. These can be pre-and post-hospitalisation cover, illnesses that you may be at risk due to your family history, home care treatment, daycare expenses, etc.
Pre-acceptance Medical Check-up: Senior citizens may be asked to go through a medical check-up before the insurance policy is offered. Remember to provide current information about their health while applying for health insurance, so that there is no issue with future claim settlement. This would mean declaring past medical history such as undergone surgeries and pre-existing diseases such as high blood pressure or cholesterol.
Co-payment Clause: Most senior citizen health plans come with a co-payment ranging from 10% to 30% depending on the treatment availed by the policyholder. This means that a certain percentage of expenses has to be paid out-of-pocket. Choosing a plan with a less co-pay percentage is advantageous.
Lifetime Renewability: Some health policies only allow plan renewals till the age of 65-70. Therefore, to ensure continuous coverage, it is important to check the lifetime renewability option for elderly parents. Certain plans also provide a bonus for loyalty in the form of an increase in sum assured upon renewal.
Value-Added Services: Many plans offer free health check-ups which allow aging members to keep track of their health at regular intervals. Additionally, some senior citizen plans cover non-allopathic treatments too.  
Installment facility: There is now a growing trend that installment facilities are offered for monthly/quarterly/half yearly payments for premium, which reduce the ongoing premium payment burdens for older people.

Our folks have looked after us all our lives! Now it is our turn to do so, and we should secure their health properly so that they can continue to enjoy their golden years stress-free.

We invite you to visit SANA insure to receive customized suggestions for the most suitable health insurance for parents, your family and yourself. We analyze your family details, prevailing health, future medical needs as well as expectations to provide you the best plans tailored to your requirements. Sana.insure is a website that helps you compare various health insurance plans in India in an easy-to-understand manner and provides support for claim settlement too.

Wish you a healthy and happy life!

FAQs:

Q-How much health insurance is enough for parents?
Ans-There’s really no such thing as “too much” health insurance, especially for the aged! It would be best to opt for adequate sum insured that will take care of expensive and regular hospital treatments year-on-year according to the city your parents live in. The plan should also offer good benefits like health checkups, reinstatement benefit etc. which will be of great value to senior citizens.

Q- Can I pay for my parents’ health insurance?
Ans-Yes, you can definitely pay your parents health insurance premiums. What’s more – the premium is eligible for tax benefits , too.

Q- Which health insurance is best for parents?
Ans-Nearly all insurance companies in India have a lot of options for health insurance plans for parents and senior citizens. Ideally, you should look for a plan that has low co-payment, good value adding features such as day-care procedures coverage, no-claim bonus and OPD cover, and add-on benefits such as health checkups.

Q- Is it cheaper to get insurance with parents?
Ans-If you plan to add your parents to your family floater health insurance plan, please remember that this might mean a significant increase in the overall premium amount, since it is calculated based on the age of the eldest insured member. It would be more beneficial to take an exclusive health insurance plan for your parents that caters to their age-related medical requirements and considers older age-at-entry.