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With increasing age, the health needs of parents also change and in such a situation, a strong health insurance policy becomes their biggest support. In this era of modern lifestyle and rising medical inflation, it has become very important for senior citizens to have mediclaim. But often people buy any policy in a hurry without complete information, due to which they have to face huge problems during medical emergency. If your parents are above 60 years of age and you are thinking of taking an insurance policy for them, then it is very important to keep certain things in mind so that you can get complete financial cover in times of need.
Correct sum insured and transparency of medical history
The first and most important thing while taking a health policy for parents is that the sum insured i.e. the amount of insurance coverage should be sufficient. In today’s time, the cost of treatment in metros and big hospitals is very high, hence a small amount of cover may prove to be inadequate. Apart from this, while filling the policy form, information related to chronic diseases of parents like diabetes, blood pressure or heart disease should never be hidden. Many people hide medical history to reduce the premium, but at the time of claim, insurance companies check the documents and can even cancel the entire claim if information is hidden. So always be transparent and enter only correct information.
Understand the waiting period and co-payment clauses
While taking insurance for senior citizens, it is very important to read the terms and conditions of the waiting period in depth. Most policies have a fixed time limit (such as 1 to 4 years) to cover pre-existing diseases. Choose a plan in which this period is less or there is an option to reduce it. Along with this, also check the co-payment clause given in the policy carefully. Co-payment is a rule under which the policyholder has to pay a certain portion (say 10 to 20 percent) of the total hospital bill from his own pocket. A policy with high co-payment can become a huge financial burden at the time of treatment for the elderly.
Room Rent Capping and List of Network Hospitals
A limit is set by insurance companies on the room rent available during hospitalization, which is called room rent capping. If the room rent limit in your chosen policy is less and the patient is admitted in a more expensive room, then proportional deduction is applicable on other hospital expenses also. Therefore, always choose a policy which has no restriction on room rent or which covers actual expenses. Along with this, also check whether the best hospitals near your home or in the city are included in the network hospitals of that insurance company or not, so that in case of emergency, you can get the facility of cashless treatment immediately.
Avoid including elders in family floater
Often people include their entire family as well as elderly parents in a single family floater policy, which can prove to be a big financial mistake. In insurance companies, the premium is always calculated on the basis of the age of the oldest member of the family, which makes the premium of the entire policy quite expensive. Moreover, due to frequent medical claims of the parents, the benefit of that policy sometimes becomes risky for other family members also. It is wise to always buy a separate and independent individual health insurance plan for your parents, so that both their medical needs and your family savings are protected.
To protect the health of parents, one should avoid buying a policy without thinking just for the sake of saving tax or getting a lower premium. Take full advantage of the benefits of free annual health check-up every year and choose the right riders or top-up plan as per your need, so that this phase of retirement goes smoothly without any medical and financial stress.