Family health insurance policy is a type of health insurance plan that covers the entire family in exchange for a single annual premium for a fixed assured sum. Such a policy includes the spouse, children, parents and parents-in-law.
The insurance needs to be chosen in a way so that it benefits the entire family and is cost-effective as compared to an individual health insurance plan.
Before you buy a family health insurance plan, here are the basic things that you would need to know.
What Does the Family Health Plan Cover?
A family health insurance plan covers several benefits for all the members under the insurance plan.
- Pre and post hospitalization expenses
- Ambulance costs
- Inpatient hospitalization
- Daycare treatments
- Hospital cash
- Restore benefits
- In the case of unrelated claims, one can restore benefits by reviving the basic coverage if it used up
There is a waiting period for availing the benefits of Family Health Insurance Plans. The waiting period for the plans vary from 30 days to 90 days; in some cases, the policy commences immediately in case of the accident-related medical cost. You need to know all the aspects of the family health insurance plan before purchasing one.
What Points to Consider Before Buying Family Health Plan?
There are a few pointers that one needs to compare before finalizing the family health insurance plans.
- Comparing the Basic Coverage of Family Health Plans:
When comparing the health insurance plans, it is paramount to check the coverage offered by the plans. Almost all health plans have similar coverage benefits, which may change if you are planning to have a baby. In such a case, the plan should cover the insurance of the newborn baby, or you would be required to add the baby as a beneficiary in your existing family floater health plan.
- Claim Settlement Process
The claim settlement process for all companies is similar, except the difference in thefunctionality. Still, one needs to explicitly understand the claim settlement process to have a hassle-free experience. To avoid any hassle of carrying documents, most of the companies offer a cashless settlement for the policies.
- Facility to Increase the Sum Assured
Our cost of living keeps growing,and so does the medical expenses, which would require youto upgrade your assured sum of the policy. Most insurers give you the facility to upgrade the sum assured while few companies award an increased sum in case of No Claim Bonus and timely renewal of the policy.
- Age of The Renewal Policy
Most of the policies allow policy renewal till the age of 60-65 years, while in some cases companies have lifelong renewal system. So before choosing the family health insurance plan, one should select the age when protection is needed the most.
There also some additional criteria for having a family health insurance policy
- A new member can be added at the cost of the additional premium
- The policy expires automatically when the eldest member in the list of the beneficiaries reaches the maximum covered age
- As the age of the dependent child crosses the specified age limit, he/she is excluded from the benefit
In a nutshell, any family can choose a family health insurance plan and set the budget according to the need. Also, if the number of beneficiaries in the policy is more, the sum chosen for the family health plan should be more.