All you need to know about the best health insurance for parents

All you need to know about the best health insurance for parents

In today’s age when the cost of medicine has become prohibitive, having a health insurance policy becomes very important. An average middle-class man might not afford the high treatment costs which are linked to medical contingencies. In case of any medical eventuality, you might face financial distress in which case a health insurance plan comes in handy. The plan takes care of the medical costs freeing you from the financial burden. Especially in older ages, when medical assistance is more commonly and frequently required, having a health insurance plan is a must. That is why you should ensure that your parents are covered under a health insurance plan. Are they?

Top 5 Reasons to buy a separate health insurance plan for your parents:

When it comes to medical insurance for parents, many of you tend to include your parents in your family floater cover. This is, however, not wise. You should buy a separate mediclaim policy for parents because of the following reasons –

1. In family floater health plans, the premium is calculated based on the age of the eldest member. Since your parents would be old, their age would be considered in premium calculations increasing the premium rate unnecessarily
2. Your parents might require frequent medical assistance. In case of frequent claims, you would not be able to earn any claim bonus
3. The waiting period under your family floater plan might be too long. This would be unsuitable to cover the existing illnesses which your parents have
4. There might be restrictive coverage conditions for your parents which might not give them the best coverage solution
5. The premium that you pay for a separate health plan for your parents can be claimed as an additional deduction under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act. You can claim a deduction of up to INR 50,000 if your parents are senior citizens or up to INR 25,000 if they are not

Given these reasons, you should buy an independent mediclaim for parents.

Most Common Features of Health Insurance Plan for parents

Health insurance companies offer specially curated senior citizen health insurance plans which allow coverage for your parents. These plans are tailor-made to provide the best coverage benefits to older individuals and are considered to be the best solution for covering your parents.

Let’s look at the salient features of senior citizen health insurance plans –

1. Besides the common coverage benefits, medical expenses incurred by senior citizens are specifically covered under the plans. For instance, coverage for joint replacement treatments, cataract, etc. are commonly found in most plans
2. The sum insured is limited but the level is sufficient enough to cover the medical expenses incurred
3. The premiums are affordable
4. There is a co-payment clause under the plan. As per this clause, you are supposed to pay a portion of the claim from your own pockets
5. The waiting period for pre-existing illnesses is low
6. You get premium discounts or increase in the sum insured if no claim is made in a policy year
7. There are other types of premium discounts too. You can get a discount for buying a long term policy and also for adding both parents under the plan’s coverage
8. Medical check-ups might be required before the policy is issued. These medical check-ups are conducted on your cost. Later, when the policy is issued, you either get 50% or 100% of the cost reimbursed

6 Best health insurance for parents

Now that you know the meaning of senior citizen health plans and their features, it’s time to look at some of the best health insurance plans for parents which are available in the market. Have a look –

1. Apollo Munich’s Optima Senior Health Insurance Plan

Apollo Munich is a leading health insurance provider and its Optima Senior is a popular senior citizen health insurance plan. The features of the plan include the following –

• There is no coverage limit on domiciliary treatments and organ donor expenses
• If your parents suffer from any critical illness during the policy tenure, you get free medical e-opinion from the company’s experts
• If there is no claim in a policy year, a 5% premium discount is allowed. If both parents are added, there is a discount of 5% and you can also enjoy another discount of 7.5% if a two-year policy tenure is selected

Plan parameters of Apollo Munich’s Optima Senior Health Insurance Plan:

Entry age	61 years onwards
Sum insured	INR 2,3 and 5 lakhs
Co-payment ratio	15% for twin sharing room or lower room rent 30% for a single private room or higher room rent 30% for specified illnesses 15% for daycare treatments
Pre-existing waiting period	3 years
Policy term	1 or 2 years

2. Bajaj Allianz Silver Health Plan

This plan is another senior citizen plan which has the following benefits –

• 130 daycare treatments are covered under the plan
• The sum insured increases by 10% after every claim-free year up to a maximum of 50%
• You get a premium discount of 5% for adding both the parents under the plan

Plan parameters of Bajaj Allianz Silver Health Plan:

Entry age	46-70 years
Sum insured	INR 50,000 to INR 5 lakhs
Co-payment ratio	20%
Pre-existing waiting period	1 year
Policy term	1 year

3. New India Senior Citizen Mediclaim Policy

New India is a leading public sector general insurance company with a variety of health insurance solutions. Its senior citizen policy offers the following salient features –

• Coverage is available until 90 years of age
• 10% premium discount is allowed if you cover both parents
• 10% additional discount can be availed for choosing a voluntary deductible of INR 10,000

Plan parameters of New India Senior Citizen Mediclaim Policy:

Entry age	60-80 years
Sum insured	INR 1 or 1.5 lakhs
Pre-existing waiting period	1.5 years
Policy term	1 year

4. Universal Sompo Senior Citizen Health Insurance Policy

Universal Sompo’s plan is quite popular among individuals because of the following features –

• Free health check-ups are allowed after every three claim-free policy years
• A daily hospital cash benefit of 0.1% of the sum insured is allowed for each day of hospitalisation
• Expenses of the accompanying person are also covered under the plan
• There is an optional critical illness cover which can be opted
• The sum insured is increased by 5% after every claim-free year
• Family discount and long term discount lower the premium

Plan parameters of Universal Sompo Senior Citizen Health Insurance Policy

Entry age	60 to 70 years
Sum insured	INR 1 to 5 lakhs
Co-payment ratio	10% for all claim 20% for pre-existing illnesses 15% for daycare treatments
Pre-existing waiting period	2 years
Policy term	1 to 3 years

5. Star Health Senior Citizens Red Carpet Insurance plan

Star Health is a standalone health insurance provider which is reputed in the Indian insurance market. The company’s senior citizen plan offers the following benefits –

• No pre-entrance medical check-ups are required. However, if you submit medical reports, you can claim a 10% premium discount
• Outpatient consultations are covered under the plan
• Annual free health check-ups are allowed

Plan parameters of Star Health Senior Citizens Red Carpet Insurance plan

Entry age	60-75 years
Sum insured	INR 1 to 25 lakhs
Co-payment ratio	30% for claims which are not related to pre-existing illnesses 50% for pre-existing illnesses
Pre-existing waiting period	1 year
Policy term	1 to 3 years

6. TATA AIG MediSenior Health Insurance Plan

TATA AIG’s MediSenior is also a best-selling senior citizen plan which has the following salient features –

• 140-day care treatments are covered by the plan
• 5% premium discount is allowed if no claim is made in a policy year

Plan parameters of TATA AIG MediSenior Health Insurance Plan

Entry age	61 years onwards
Sum insured	INR 2,3 or 5 lakhs
Co-payment ratio	15% for twin sharing room or lower room rent 30% for a single private room or higher room rent 30% for specified illnesses
Pre-existing waiting period	4 years
Policy term	1 or 2 years

These are some of the plans offering the best health insurance for parents and you can choose any plan as per your suitability. However, before choosing a medical insurance for parents, the following points should be kept in mind –

• The policy should have a low waiting period so that the pre-existing conditions get covered at the earliest
• The sum insured should be optimal to cover the medical expenses sufficiently
• The co-payment ratio should not be very high otherwise it would increase your out-of-pocket expenses
• The plan should offer the best discount rates for the lowest premium
• Check for the coverage restrictions under the plan as many plans limit the amount of coverage for specific expenses

How to buy the best health insurance for parents?

Mediclaim policy for parents can be bought online as the process is quite simple and quick. You can choose to buy online through Turtlemint which is tied-up with leading health insurers. You can compare the available plans and then choose the best health insurance for parents. When comparing, keep the above-mentioned points in mind and then buy the most suitable plan. Besides gives you a convenient platform to buy medical insurance for parents, Turtlemint also offers various value-added benefits like the following –

• A choice of the best health insurance plans for parents offered by leading insurance companies
• Personalised assistance in buying the product
• Resolution to all your queries associated with the product
• A safe and secured payment gateway which allows you to pay online premiums
• Quick issuance of the policy
• Complete assistance at the time of claims

To buy the best health insurance for parents from Turtlemint, you can take the following steps –

• Visit Turtlemint’s health insurance page at https://www.turtlemint.com/health-insurance
• Choose ‘Buy new policy’ whereupon you would have to enter the following details –
• • Gender
  • Members to be insured
  • Age
  • History of pre-existing illness
  • PIN code of your locality
  • Income level (for getting the ideal coverage level)
  • Contact details – name, number and email ID
• Once the details are entered you would be able to check the different health insurance plans available in the market
• You can compare and buy the best policy suitable for your needs
• Pay the premium online, fill up an online form and the policy would be issued

Documents required to buy mediclaim for parents

To buy a mediclaim policy for parents the following documents would have to be submitted –

• Identity proof of the insured
• Address proof
• Age proof
• Photographs
• Medical reports, if required
• PAN Card and/or Aadhar Card

Along with the documents the proposal form for insurance should also be filled and submitted to successfully buy a senior citizen policy.

Making a claim under mediclaim policy for parents:

Claims under your parents’ health insurance plan can be made on a cashless or reimbursement basis. Cashless claims are allowed if you seek treatment at a hospital which is partnered with the insurance company. Reimbursement claims, on the other hand, are settled in case of treatments in non-networked hospitals. To make a claim you would have to follow the below-mentioned steps –

• Inform the insurance company immediately of your claim
• In case of cashless claims, fill up a pre-authorization form and submit it at the hospital. The form should be submitted within 24 hours of an emergency hospitalisation or 3-4 days prior to a planned hospitalisation
• Based on the form, your cashless claims would be approved
• You can avail treatments and the insurance company would settle your bills directly with the hospital
• After you are discharged you should collect all the medical reports and submit them with the insurer along with the claim form
• If it is a reimbursement claim, take treatments and bear the medical costs. Thereafter, once you are discharged, submit all the medical bills and reports to the insurance company for claiming reimbursement of the expenses that you incurred.

If the process seems like a challenge, you can also contact Turtlemint for your claims. Turtlemint has a dedicated claim handling department which helps you in getting your claims settled at the earliest. Simply contact Turtlemint at 1800 266 0101 or send an email to claims@turtlemint.com. Once intimated, Turtlemint’s team would handle your claims and you can relax.

Your parents also need quality healthcare and when they are covered under a health insurance plan you don’t have to worry about the costs of such healthcare. So, buy the best health insurance for parents so that you don’t face any financial dilemma in case of their medical needs.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is a voluntary deductible?

The voluntary deductible represents the amount of claim which you choose to pay for yourself. You can opt to share the claim burden with the insurance company by choosing a voluntary deductible. When you do so, you get a premium discount.

2. Are senior citizens plans available on a family floater basis?

Yes, many senior citizen health insurance plans allow coverage on floater basis. However, under a floater plan, the husband and wife can only be covered.

3. How does the tax benefit on health insurance plans?

If you buy a health insurance policy for yourself and your family, you can claim a tax deduction of up to INR 25,000. This limit increases to INR 50,000 if you are a senior citizen. Moreover, if you buy another policy for your dependent parents, you get an additional deduction. This deduction is up to INR 25,000 if your parents are aged below 60 years and up to INR 50,000 if they are senior citizens. Thus, you can claim a maximum deduction of up to INR 1 lakh if you buy two health insurance policies, one for yourself and your family and the other for your senior citizen parents.

MUST INSURANCE, Pimple Saudagar is a client focused insurance agency which does Insurance Counselling / Advisory / Consultation to clients to first carry clients NEED ANALYSIS. Only post this stage, we recommend you a right insurance solution which we think is a MUST for your INSURANCE need.

MUST INSURANCE Pimple Saudagar, Pune, provides you insurance covering the following types: life insurance in Pimple Saudagar, insurance industry in Pimple Saudagar, insurance coverage in Pimple Saudagar, homeowners insurance in Pimple Saudagar, boat insurance in Pimple Saudagar, renters insurance in Pimple Saudagar, types of life insurance in Pimple Saudagar, private health insurance in Pimple Saudagar, insurance law in Pimple Saudagar, insurance programs in waked, insurance journal in waked, pet insurance in Pimple Saudagar

Contact us at: 8080496661

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/HealthLifeVehicleGeneraralInsuranceLoansPunePCMC/?view_public_for=109514340630802

Courtesy Article: Supramind / October 21, 2019 mintpro.in