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Factors to Consider When Buying a Health Insurance Policy for Parents

Health

Factors to Consider When Buying a Health Insurance Policy for Parents

In today’s day and age, health insurance is no longer a luxury in 2021. It has become an essential element of your financial planning. With the rise in the different ailments that may grip an individual, it is necessary not to overlook, more so for elderly individuals as age rises, the probability of a disease affecting increases. Several treatments may be required to tackle these ailments, resulting in an outflow of savings. Although not when you purchase a health insurance policy.

Health Insurance Policy for Parents

Health insurance plans do not adopt a one-size-fits-all approach. Different methods are designed keeping in mind the factors that impact other age groups. Hence, when it comes to parents’ health, you should not ignore it. Elderly parents can be covered under a family floater policy. Still, since these plans charge premiums based on the age of the eldest beneficiary, it ends up increasing the dividend for your policy. Instead, health insurance for senior citizens is a specially designed policy that covers the common ailments arising with increasing age. This article mentions some factors to consider when ensuring your parents’ health. Let’s have a look.

Policy features

When buying health insurance for parents, it is essential to know about the benefits covered under your insurance plan. Since not all policies are the same, a few of them can be shortlisted based on the utmost critical features required. For instance, selecting a policy with pre and post-hospitalization cover is essential. In addition, day-care procedures, in-patient hospitalization, domiciliary treatment, coverage for alternate forms of therapy like AYUSH are some of them to consider in your policy’s scope. If your parents have a medical history of life-threatening ailments, critical illness insurance can also come in handy. * Standard T&C Apply

Adequacy of the coverage amount

The sum insured for health insurance plans needs to be sufficient. An appropriate amount of coverage must be bought considering the future cost of treatment. These long-range estimates help purchase a policy that can tackle the increasing medical inflation without purchasing additional insurance top-up plans.

Cover for pre-existing ailments

As age increases, the human body is prone to health risks. If your parents have certain underlying medical conditions at the time of application, a policy with coverage for pre-existing diseases is essential. Coverage for such pre-existing ailments brings certain conditions like a waiting period until the policy covers these specified diseases, whereas some insurers, in addition, levy additional premiums. You need to check for a plan with a lower waiting duration to cover existing ailments. * Standard T&C Apply

Co-payment clause

The co-payment clause in health insurance plans implies that you, the policyholder, are required to bear a certain percentage of the claim amount; in return, the insurance company lowers the policy premium. These co-pay terms are generally defined as a percentage of the claim amount. Opting for a policy with co-pay terms requires a higher out-of-pocket expense. * Standard T&C Apply. So, make sure you purchase a policy that has minimal co-pay requirements.

Tax benefits

Health insurance premiums are eligible for deduction in your income tax computation. So, if you are paying premiums for your parents, a consequent deduction can be availed up to ₹50,000 for senior citizens. Else, a maximum amount of ₹25,000 can be claimed. You must note that tax benefit is subject to change in tax laws.

With the considerations to remember when selecting health cover for parents laid down, make sure to choose a plan considering all your requirements. Also, insurance is the subject matter of solicitation. For more details on benefits, exclusions, limitations, terms, and conditions, please read the sales brochure/policy wording carefully before concluding a sale.

Susan M. Davis

Tv expert. Proud web nerd. Friend of animals everywhere. Hipster-friendly coffee trailblazer. Spent college summers short selling clip-on ties in Hanford, CA. Spent two years developing jack-in-the-boxes for fun and profit. At the moment I'm merchandising human growth hormone in Prescott, AZ. Spent several years implementing birdhouses for the underprivileged. Had some great experience lecturing about spit-takes worldwide. What gets me going now is building chess sets in the aftermarket.

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