Want to secure your family’s medical needs? Buying a family floater health plan is the answer. Unlike individual health plan, the family floater plan is a tailor made health plan that provides coverage for your entire family in a single plan. If any member of your family falls ill and needs hospitalization, this health plan covers the medical expenses up to the sum insured available under the plan.
Moreover, choosing a family floater health policy is quite a cheaper option than buying individual health plan for every member of your family. With this health plan, families can also get a higher sum assured. The family floater plan covers the individual, spouse and children. However, some insurers also cover dependant parents, siblings, and parent-in-laws under the plan.
Get QuotesThere are various factors listed below which will make it imperative to buy a Family Floater Health Plan.
Following are some of the key buying tips you can follow to buy the Family Floater Health Insurance Policy.
Buy Adequate Health Cover: When buying a plan, you need to choose the sum assured that can easily cover the medical expenses and is adequate for your family’s health treatment expenses. If you are under-covered, you need to pay bills from your pocket, and if over-covered, you need to pay high premiums for a health cover that your family don’t require. It is thus recommended to be prudent in choosing the right sum assured amount.
Co-Pay Clause: Under this clause, a specific percentage of the claim amount is borne by the insured. The higher the co-pay amount, lower will be the premium amount, but it is imperative to ensure that in order to save premium you do not have to pay the claim amount from your pocket that you can’t afford.
Sub-Limits: A Sub-limit clause under the health plan provides a monetary cap towards the amount of coverage available in case of health insurance claim. Usually, the sub-limits are available on room rent and certain illness or treatments. Due to health complications, if your medical bill costs Rs. 1 lakh and the sub-limit for that specific treatment is Rs. 45,000 then in that case you need to pay the remaining bill amount Rs. 55,000 from your pocket. The health condition of the insureds is a key factor you need to assess before opting the sub-limit under the family health plan.
Waiting Period: Waiting period comes into effect after the issuance of the health policy. It is a time period during which claim is not admissible by the insurer. It is thus advised to read through the conditions laid down under waiting period section of the policy.
Day Care Procedures: There are some medical treatments that don’t require 24 hours of hospitalization. Most of the insurers offer coverage for day care procedures. It is thus recommended to go through the list of day care procedures covered under the family health plan, you are going to opt for.
Opt for Plan with Auto Restoration Facility: Auto restoration facility health plans will restore your health cover in case the same is exhausted due to claims in the policy year without an additional cost. As the sum assured available under the family floater plan is used by every member of the family, so chances are higher that it may exhaust early and in this scenario, it would be a wise move to opt for plans offering Auto restoration facility.
Check the Network Hospitals: You should verify the list of network hospitals and make sure that those hospitals have specialty services and equipped with advanced technology, so that it can easily cater your and your family’s health care needs. You can also check the distance of listed network hospitals from your home, as it would be helpful in case of medical emergency.
Inquire about Insurer: Prior buying a health plan, it is quite essential to check the insurer’s background, servicing capability, and claims efficiency. The claim settlement ratio is a major factor to assess before buying a plan. It is recommended to choose the insurance company with higher claim settlement ratio and fastest claim settlement turnaround time.
Opt for Requisite Add Ons: Don’t rush into getting all add on covers under your plan. Every family member has a different requirement based on the health condition. Choose the requisite riders, providing adequate coverage.
Read Plan Reviews: Before buying a health plan, it is recommended to read customer reviews online. It helps you assess whether the plan you are going to buy would be the right fit to your family’s healthcare needs.
Consider Policies with NCB Benefit: NCB benefit is provided to the insured in case of a claim free year. It would be a better option to choose a health plan that offer NCB benefits, as it helps you lower the future premiums in case of a preceding claim free year.
Compare and Buy Online: It is prudent to compare family health plans from several insurers available online. Assess the benefits of health plans and then choose as per your family’s health condition. Buy a family floater health plan to ensure your family is having an adequate cover. Buying the plan online also offers you opt for discounts.
Read the Policy Wordings Carefully: You may get excited to buy the cheapest plan offering a bundle of benefits, but don’t forget to read the terms & conditions and inclusions & exclusions of the policy contract carefully before buying, to avoid any issues later. Your insurer also provides you with a free look period during which if you are not satisfied with the plan, you may get it cancelled.
Add-on covers attached to your family floater health plan simply help you enhance the protection level. Listed below are the options.
Critical Illness refers to illness, disease, or sickness which even after the treatment drastically affects the lifestyle of the patient. With Critical Illness add on the cover, the insured is provided with an immediate fixed amount plus the rider cover expenses incurred during the medical procedure as well. By having critical illness cover, you and your family are covered for a wide range of critical illnesses. Critical Illness can also be taken as a stand alone policy. Many insurers have separate Critical Illness plans under their health portfolio.
Hospital cash rider provides for the daily cash that you may need for compensating the medical expenses during the stay in the hospital. Typically, you can claim benefits an amount depending on the nature of your stay. You can also claim a higher payout in case you are admitted to ICU. You will be eligible for the rider payout in case you or any other insured under the plan is hospitalized for a minimum of 24 hours.
This add-on cover enables you to enjoy higher sub-limits for room rent in case of hospitalization. A basic family health plan typically provides a defined sub-limit on room rent. With the help of a room rent waiver cover, you can choose a better room for your hospitalization which would not eat the sum insured available in the family floater health plan.
Many insurers have this as an inbuilt rider in their health plans. With this add-on cover, the insureds under the plan are covered against the risks that may arise due to the total or partial disablement or death caused by accidents. Personal accident plans are typically offered as an add on cover by paying an additional premium amount. The Personal Accident Plan can also be taken as a stand alone policy. Many insurers have separate Personal Accident Plans under their health portfolio.
A top-up health policy provides additional coverage to those who have a running health plan. This plan covers the medical expenses that may arise due to an illness/injury over and above the limit of the actual cover. A top-up health plan works by ‘single incidence hospitalization’, however, a super top-up plan looks at the aggregate claim. A super top-up health plan puts together several incidence of hospitalization to cover the medical bills. It covers a total/aggregate of the medical bills in a year, not just the single instance of hospitalization.
In case the insured is hospitalized for undergoing surgery for a period of at least 24 hours, a lump sum benefit is paid subject to benefit limits and conditions mentioned under the rider. The benefit amount varies depending on the grade of the surgery and the plan opted, so it is advisable to read through the fine print.
It is one of the most important add-on covers for your family floater health insurance policy. This rider covers maternity expenses related to the delivery of a child and it also includes treatment of mother and child till the discharge from the hospital, provided the mother is an insured person under the plan. Expenses related to pre & post hospitalization and pre & post-natal care is also covered as applicable under the rider benefits.
Several health insurers cover the newborn right from the birth. The medical expenses incurred in the treatment of the new born baby of the insured for a maximum period of 90 days from the date of birth.
(Note: The rider benefit, conditions, and eligibility criteria may vary from insurer to insurer)
Get QuotesFollowing are the conditions/exclusions that are not included in your Family Floater Health Plan.
• All pre-existing diseases (Any illness that had symptoms or received medical treatment within 4 years of commencement of the first policy).
• Any claim arising with-in the first 30 days from the commencement of the health policy is not covered, except accidental injury claims.
• During the first year of your policy, some specific illnesses such as Cataract, Hysterectomy for Menorrhagia/Fibromyoma, Hydrocele, Benign prostatic hypertrophy, Hernia, Congenital Internal diseases, Fistula in anus, piles, sinusitis and related disorders are not covered.
• Circumcision unless for treatment of a disease.
• Cost of hearing aids, specs, and contact lenses.
• Pregnancy or childbirth related treatments.
• Naturopathy treatment.
• Dental treatment/surgery.
• Convalescence, congenital external defects, the use of intoxicating drugs / alcohol, intentional self-injury, general debility, expenses for diagnostic tests related to the disease for which the insured has not been hospitalized.
(Exclusions may differ from one insurer to another and plan to plan.)