A healthy physical and mental body is likely to deteriorate when you grow old. So, it becomes important for you to take care of the emergency hospitalization of your parents during this age. One seamless way you can do this is by buying them health insurance while making your financial plan.
A single-family floater health plan that can cover four adults (you, your spouse and either set of elderly parents) – might appear to be profitable at the get-go. Many health insurance companies can provide you with the benefits of including your parents in the family floater plan you have chosen. Regardless of how many benefits they are offering, don’t opt for it.
The Downside of Adding Parents to Your Existing Health Plan
You should not include your senior citizen parents in your existing health cover. Do you know why? Due to the following drawbacks:
- Coverage Amount: The coverage benefits you get for a family of 4 might be insufficient when adding parents to the equation, thereby making up the number to 6. The more coverage members to your family health insurance plan, the less coverage amount will reach the member.
Your parents will require more hospitalization, so the remaining coverage might come down to be insufficient for others. You must, hence, increase the sum insured by your health insurance plan if add parents to the policy.
- Pre-Existing Illness in the Elders – Health insurance companies comparatively charge a higher premium to people with pre-existing diseases. It is although more ordinary to have pre-existing disease in the senior members of the family. Hence, if you choose to add your parents or parents-in-law to the existing policy, it will increase the premium and affect the coverage availed by other family members.
It is therefore wise to bunk all decisions of including parents in your family health insurance otherwise the premium increases once either of your parents gets diagnosed with pre-existing disease. What else? Go for a policy for those members with pre-existing disease.
- Effect on Premium – If you have an existing family floater policy or you are looking for one to add parents to it, it will increase health insurance premium a lot. The reason being, such products are subject to the eldest member age. And the moment the eldest member reaches the maximum age covered under the policy, the plan will get terminated. In that case, you will end up buying a separate policy for each member each at a separate cost and with no claim history or coverage for pre-existing diseases.
Furthermore, a young person is certainly not as prone to illness as a 60-year-old person. So, try you buy a policy when you are young as the premium you pay will be less and also you get to enjoy the coverage for a longer duration.
- No Claim Bonus: No Claim Bonus, popularly known as NCB, is a saving you obtain in the premium when renewing your plan. However, NCB is only offered in a claim-free policy year. The point is in the case of more than one member in a health insurance plan, you can’t direct where and when one insured member to make a claim. In this situation, you will lose the No Claim Bonus. This is true with parents who might need hospitalization due to pre-existing illnesses. When you buy them separate health insurance, your plan will not get affected due to their hospitalization. And No Claim Bonus will stay intact.
- Employers Group Health Insurance Plan: Your employer may have offered a cosy ideal with comprehensive coverage for you and your family. They may also add parents to the plan. But, it is good to have free medical expenses for your family in return for your work. Learn that the longevity of the insurance facility is subject to your employment with the employer. As soon as you quit the job, the insurance will get terminated.
- What to Do Then: The best way is to choose a plan from many online health insurance plans designed for senior citizens. Choose a policy that covers all needs required even over the age of 60. Opt for one with lifetime renewal guaranteed and a longer tenure. The benefits of choosing a separate health plan for your parents over adding them to your regular family floater multiple.
- You can reap tax benefit on the premium against medical insurance and enjoy a free-look period etc.
- You can renew the plan while still getting coverage for domiciliary hospitalization cover
- Some insurance companies will cashless treatment and daily allowance
- In addition, you get a reload of the sum insured whilst availing health medical-ups every year
- You’ll have options to get treatment and medical care across many hospitals with the cashless benefit
Takeaway
Trust, you are now aware of the drawback of adding your senior citizen parents to your existing health insurance plan. You can now make an informed decision and choose a plan that provides coverage for your medical needs – if not all as least the basic requirements of your parents.