In India, people live with their parents and financially assist them in their old age. They look after their health, meet their fundamental needs, and take advantage of health insurance coverage against unforeseen medical expenses. However, experts believe that including parents in existing health insurance policies is not a good idea, as whenever there is a generational gap, it is prudent not to include your old agent parents in your family floater health insurance plans. Let’s understand how not including your parents in your family floater plan will save you financially.
Don’t Include Your Parents in the Family Floater Health Insurance Policy
You must reassure them that their health is secure and that you have their best interests in mind. In fact, it is your duty to offer them sufficient health insurance. But what we really meant was that you ought to get them their own health insurance.
If you have previously been looking for a family health insurance floater policy to protect the health of your partner, kids, and parents, you must be aware of some insurers who permit you to do the same. Health insurance companies inform you about various health insurance plans that, if you don't already have one, give you the option to enroll your parents as additional insureds. Don’t add your parents to these insurance plans.
You'd better get your parents their own policy. Here are some main arguments against covering your parents under your health insurance plan.
The Eldest Family Member's Age Affects the Cost of a Family Floater Health Insurance Plan
Your current state of health is one of the important factors that more or less influence the premium you must pay in order to obtain coverage. It is clear that you are less likely to get diseases or a pre-existing medical problem at age 25 than you are at age 40.
For this reason, it is advised to purchase health insurance early in life.
Additionally, the premium you must pay to obtain health insurance at the age of 25 will be significantly lower than the premium you must pay at the age of 40.
Therefore, if you believe that your parents should be protected by your family's health insurance plan even though you are the oldest person covered by the policy, you are about to make a bad choice. The premium could surge by twice or thrice from the current level.
Consider this example-
You have a family health insurance plan with a sum insured of INR 10 lakh, and the insured people are you (30 years old), your spouse (28 years old), your daughter (2 years old), and your parents (Father 60 years and Mother 60 years). As previously mentioned, there will be a large rise in the premium for your current coverage. The coverage will also expire when your father, the oldest family member, reaches the oldest age it will cover.
In this instance, each member of the family will have to get separate health insurance coverage, each at a different cost. This results in the loss of the claim history as well as cover for pre-existing disorders, which would renew automatically every year. The same is applicable to children, who can be covered under a family floater plan until they reach the age of 25 in most cases. When the coverage expires, they must also purchase individual health insurance plans while foregoing the benefit of their existing claim history. There are policies that make no special provision for the survival of family members following the death of the family's senior member.
As a result, you should acquire different health insurance policies for your parents.
Any Pre-Existing Condition Will Increase the Cost of Family Insurance
It is preferable to buy a separate health insurance policy for a member of your family who has a pre-existing condition since, as you are surely aware, the premium for a health insurance policy to be given to a person with a pre-existing ailment is comparatively high. If you add a person (such as one of your parents or your spouse) already affected by a disease or two to your family floater plan, the premium for the anticipated level of coverage will be loaded for your complete family.
Chances of Losing NCB Benefits are Huge with the Addition of Old Parents
In the case of a health insurance policy, if you do not file a claim during the policy year, you are entitled to a no-claim bonus in the form of a hike in the sum insured on renewal. However, in the case of a family floater health insurance policy, the NCB is forfeited immediately if a family member files a health insurance claim.
It is obvious that as your health deteriorates, you become more susceptible to diseases. As a result, your chances of being hospitalised rise dramatically. The scope for hospitalisation remains the maximum in the case of an old aged person.
Your Coverage May be Limited When You Need It
You may have coverage worth INR 10 lakh under your family floater insurance, which is sufficient for a family of four. However, the same coverage may not be sufficient for a family of six after including your parents. If you or a family member frequently require hospitalisation due to a chronic medical condition, your coverage may not be adequate when you actually need it.
Conclusion
Given the aforementioned information, it is clear that you should buy your parents' separate health insurance plans because adding them to your family floater health insurance policy would almost certainly result in a higher price.
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