Getting Your Whole Family Insured Smartly Using Health Insurance Policy

Your family means the world to you. Therefore, it is important to safeguard them against medical contingencies. Given the ever-rising medical inflation, you may have to make huge out-of-pocket expenses in case of hospitalization of any family member. Financial advisors, therefore, recommend covering your family members under a health insurance plan.

With numerous options available in the market, you may either purchase an individual insurance policy for each of your family members, or you may invest in a family floater plan. As the name suggests, a family floater insurance plan covers numerous members of your family under a single plan. You may choose the sum assured amount and each member may utilize this amount as and when the need arises. Individual plans, on the other hand, is exclusively designed to cover the needs of a single individual.

In order to make the right choice between individual plans and family floater policies, it is imperative to analyze the features and benefits of both the options. You may consider the below-mentioned three factors while making a choice.

1. Family needs

It is necessary to assess your family’s needs while buying a health insurance policy. Each individual may have different needs. If a family floater policy does not satisfy the needs of a particular individual, then you may consider a mix of individual plans and family floater plans. For example, Mr. Sharma wanted to buy a health cover for his spouse and his younger brother. Given that both of them were in the younger age bracket, he invested in a family floater plan. Mr. Shah, on the other hand, wished to cover his aging parents along with his spouse and children. Such an option was a costly one as the risk liability was higher due to his parents’ old age. He, therefore, purchased individual policies for his parents and invested in a family floater plan for his spouse, dependent children, and himself.

2. Sum insured

Another point to take into consideration while insuring your whole family is the sum insured amount. Individual plans have a certain ‘sum insured’ amount for each member. In a family floater plan, if a certain family member utilizes the entire sum assured amount, the remaining members will be left with no insurance. In order to overcome such a limitation, it is imperative to determine the best sum insured amount. Alternatively, you may consider buying a family floater plan if you are a smaller group of people; else, you may opt for individual plans.

3. Cost

The good news is that family floater health insurance plans are cheaper than individual plans. Insurance companies offer the benefit of discount as a larger number of individuals are covered under a single plan. Hence, if you wish to seek coverage under a tight budget, you may opt for a family floater health plan.

You may, therefore, assess these factors while purchasing a health insurance policy for your family. The bottom line is that you need to understand the needs of your family while taking a final call. In order to enhance the coverage for your loved ones, you may consider a mix of family floater and individual plan based on the number of family members and the individual health condition of each member.