In today’s world, rising health conditions have become a serious concern. Various factors such as unhealthy food habits, sedentary lifestyle and lack of physical activity have made chronic conditions like obesity, diabetes, and hypertension more prevalent. Health issues can not only take a toll on your physical and mental well-being but also prove to be financially distressing due to the high medical expenses associated with them. Therefore, having a health insurance policy has become the need of the hour. Health insurance policiessafeguard you from the financial liabilities that may arise due to an illness or disease. While purchasing a health insurance policy, you will have to decide if you should purchase an individual health plan or a family floater health insurance plan. In order to make a well-informed decision, it is essential that you understand both these health insurance plans in detail.
Individual Health Insurance Plans
- The individual health insurance planispurchased in the name of each individual, could be both spouses, children, parents, etc.
- Therefore, the premium will depend upon the individual’s age and respective sum insured.
- However, insurance companies give a 10 percent discount on the total premium if more than one member of the family is insured simultaneously. If a claim is made by one member, the sum insured of other members will remain intact.
Family Floater Health Insurance
- In a family health insurance plan, more than one member can be covered under the same insurance plan. For example, both parents and their children can be covered together and only one single premium is to be paid.
- The entire sum insured can be availed by any or all members of the family and is not limited to one individual.
- This type of health insurance plan takes advantage of the fact that the probability of all family members falling ill at the same time or within the same year is verylow.
- A family floater health insurance can be purchased by an individual who becomes the proposer along with the spouse, dependent children, widowed daughter, and dependent parents.
- Instead of buyingan individual health plan for each member of a family, availing a family floater plan would be a better decision. This is becausefloater plans offer better coverage for a lower cost as compared to multiple individual health insurance plans.
Families with no major history of chronic health conditions should opt for family floaterhealth insurance.However, if you have a family history or if one member has an adverse health condition, purchasing individual health cover will prove to be beneficial in the long run. When you buy health insurance, it is advisable to read the terms and conditions of the policy set by the insurance provider carefully.This will help in understanding the various health insurance benefits your policy offers and make use of your policy to the fullest.