How Much Health Insurance Is Required for an Individual and a Single Family?

Over the last few decades, our life expectancy has increased significantly due to advancements in medical sciences. Changes in lifestyle and other factors particularly in urban areas have made living longer but less healthy these days. Cases of accidents have increased. Consequently, there has been a significant upsurge in medical disorders owing to new-age lifestyles – merely known as lifestyle disorders. Every individual right from newborn babies to elderly people has become more vulnerable to hospitalization than ever. Which is why having the best health insurance policy is a necessity for everyone today.

The question arises ‘how much health insurance is required per month for a single person.’

The answer is simple.

A single person wanting to buy a health insurance policy during his/her early life stage should choose health insurance above 3 lakh. This will enable them to get the required covered and deal with the medical expenses incurred on hospitalization due to sickness.

Moreover, during an early age, the chances of falling ill and raising a health insurance claim is very low. That means you happen to reap the benefits of No Claim Bonuses (NCBs) or cumulative bonuses, thereby increasing your sum insured year on year up to a certain limit.

Now let’s discuss how health insurance is required for a family.

At a time when medical inflation has remained 15% annually, healthcare costs have been rising continuously for the last one decade or so. Given the steady rising in medical expenses, having the best and most appropriate health insurance is a must. If you don’t buy one just because you are young, you are putting your life at risk. Uncertainty enters a home without prior notice. You can never be sure when a disease or ailment will strike. If it happens, you will have to burn a big hole in your pocket, draining your well-calculated budget. So, have a Health Insurance Plan that covers your entire family members.

When choosing one, make sure to have an optimal mix of coverage in order to squeeze the most out of your health cover.

• For a family of two adults (you and your wife), family floater health insurance with a sum assured of 5-7 lakh can be ideal.
• For 2 adults and 1 kid, a family floater policy with the sum assured of 7-9 lakh is recommended.
• For a family of 2 adults and 2 children, go for at least a sum insured of 10 lakh in your a family floater health insurance plan.

Now, throw light on health insurance for senior citizen or parents

In this day and age, even a minor surgical procedure can easily cost up to Rs 9 to 10 lakh. When you go for bypass surgery in a reputable hospital, it will cost you around Rs 2 lakh. And this cost will increase in the next five years. A health insurance policy that properly covers you today may not be sufficient to cover your healthcare costs in the next 3 to 4 years.

It is therefore important to take into account the inflation factor before deciding to choose the health insurance Sum Insured. You need to be very realistic while deciding on the level of coverage and sum insured for your parents or senior citizen people. Your parents if they are senior citizens will need to buy the health insurance with a higher sum insured as per their age. But, without any doubt, the premium would not be too low

For elderly people up to the age of 65 years, the most suitable health insurance policy is one that comes with a sum insured ranging between Rs. 5 lakh and Rs. 1 Crore. This is because senior citizens need a higher coverage amount as they are more likely to fall ill and get treatment for major illnesses at their age.

Recommendation

Please note that there is no perfect sum insured for health insurance for an individual. In general, two rules are accepted in this quantum.

1. Your health insurance cover should be at least 50% of your annual income.
2. The health cover should at least provide coverage for the cost of a coronary artery bypass surgery in a hospital of your choice.

According to finance experts, a minimum health insurance policy of Rs 5 lakh is ideal. The best part is you are able to get a similar sum assured as a family floater to cover your family.