Things to Know Before Buying Senior Citizen Health Plan
Any person who is more than 60 years of age qualifies as a senior citizen. These individuals have worked really hard throughout their lives and contributed a major part in the growth of the country. While they are generally ignored by the young generation, fact of the matter is that there is a lot that can be learned from their experiences. Old age is a time which requires care and support, both in terms of emotional as well as financial. Health insurance is one such thing which becomes extremely critical at this stage of life as it provides freedom from worries related with health issues.
There are various plans and schemes created for promoting the overall well-being and health of senior citizens. The government of India has also come out with many plans and policies aimed at safeguarding the health of senior citizens and offer tax benefits as well.
The National Policy for Older Persons was introduced in 1999 keeping in mind the requirements of old and senior citizen. It lays down guidelines related with their social well being and care and motivates individuals to care for older people in their families. The main aim of this policy is to make old age people fully independent.
Let us go through the important factors that should be kept in mind before going for a health insurance policy for senior citizens
Age factor- numerous insurance companies are offering health scheme for senior citizen between the age group 60-80 years, however, some companies limit the age of to 69 years only. Hence, after your 69th birthday it will be hard for you to get a health plan for yourself. Whereas some companies like Apollo & Max Bupa provides health insurance plans for senior citizens without any age limits.
Renewal procedure: basically the age limits for renewal varies from one insurer to other. Usually it is 90 years.
Pre existing diseases: normally if you are suffering from any pre existing diseases, the insurance company will cover it after completion of 1 or two years of the policy. However, this also depends upon the company’s norms. There are some companies which do not cover pre-existing diseases; hence it is better to check before purchasing.
Premium factor: basically the premium of plan is very high as the risk related with the age is also high. Apart from the basic premium of the plan, you may have to pay extra amount for pre –existing disease.
No claim bonus: in senior citizen health plan you will get no-claim bonus benefit when you don’t make a claim for two continuous years of the plan. Basically, no claim bonus increases the sum assured by 5%, but the same depends on company’s norms.
Sum assured: the sum assured amount is usually not high in case of public insurance companies which offers plans of Rs 1 to 2 lakh. You can get coverage of Rs 15 to 20 lakh from private insurers, but their premiums and co-payment charges would be high.
Co- payment: this is the fixed amount which the insured has to pay at the time of hospitalization. The company will tell you about this at the time of purchasing. The normal co-payment percentage is 10-20% whereas some companies take 40 percent.
How to choose a health plan for senior citizen?
-Choose a plan that allows you to renew the policy to the maximum extent
-Choose a plan which offers good coverage at low prices. It will be good if it covers pre-existing and critical diseases
-It will be good to choose a plan which covers pre
existing disease with a lesser waiting period
-Choose a plan which has minimum co payment
So now that you know the various facts related to the senior citizen health insurance plans, we are sure that as and when you decide to buy a policy, you will do it after carefully evaluating the various plans, comparing them on all the parameters mentioned above and only then choosing the plan that is best suited for you or for the ones you are looking to get ensured.
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