Now that you have decided that you want a health insurance policy you are wondering about the best way to secure your family. In India, Family Floater Policy and Individual Health Insurance Policy are the options in front of you and here’s what they provide.
Family Floater
family floater is a policy which covers more than one family member for a fixed cover. Here the fixed cover is shared by all the family members, i.e. if Shah Family of four take a cover of 4 lakh, the entire family can claim up to Rs. 4 lakh together. Generally two adults and two children are covered in a general family floater policy.
The plus points
- It is less expensive than Individual Policy.
- It is great for younger families with members having low health risk.
- You can add your immediate family members like your spouse and kids.
- Another benefit is that in case of only one claim in a year, the family member gets a greater claim amount compared to what he might have on an individual medical cover.
Ex: Mr. Shah and Mr. Mishra are good friends. Both of them realize the importance of health insurance and have bought it for themselves. Mr. Shah has gone ahead and bought a cover of Rs. 3 lakh for his family too.
In a freak car accident, Mr. Shah and Mr. Mishra were injured badly. The cost of the medical expenses came up to Rs.2.5 lakh for both of them. Mr. Shah and Mr. Mishra both had a cover of Rs.1 lakh in individual policy; Mr. Shah had additional cover of Rs. 3 lakh in his family floater so he did not have to pay a single penny while Mr. Mishra had to shell Rs 1.50 lakh from his pocket.
Thus, Mr. Shah had doubly secured himself and thus saved from financial troubles.
The Downers:
- The greatest disadvantage of a floater is that if there is more than one claim in a family in a year, the other family members are left with little cover like the case with Mr. Shah’s family.
- The policy is valid till the proposer turns 60 or 65 or the maximum age of renewability depending on the policy.
- Generally, you can only cover your immediate family members, not even your parents and siblings except in the Oriental’s ‘Happy Family Floater’ where you can cover your parents.
Individual Health Policy
Individual medical insurance Policy is a policy where each of the insured members is entitled to the entire amount separately.
The plupoints:
- The policy exts ends to family members like Parents, in-Laws.
- The Individual medical insurance Policy is great for older families and when the health risk is more.
- There are no age restrictions on the maximum age for the members for renewable.
- You can avail the benefits of Loading and Discounts until the policy lapses.
The Downers:
- The Policy is expensive for the families with low health risk.
