Understanding the Impact of your Family Size on Health Insurance Plans

A family health insurance plan is a type of insurance which protects your family from sudden and unplanned expenses due to the hospitalisation of any covered family member. It can protect you from heavy bills at the time of medical emergencies and unfortunate events.

 

However, before buying any family health insurance, you should understand the impact of a family's size on the cost of a family health insurance plan. This blog will discuss the same.

 

Understanding Family Floater Health Policies

A family floater plan is one which covers your entire family against unforeseen hospitalisation or any health emergencies, whereas, in individual healthcare insurance, you opt for a separate sum insured for every family member.

 

Benefits of Having a Family Floater Plan

• More Affordable - A family floater plan offers a large sum insured, usually at a much lower premium than individual health insurance plans.

 

• Reinstatement Value - Few insurers offer 100% restoration of the sum insured on floater plans. This provides you full coverage despite the fact that the sum insured has already been exhausted.

 

• Better Tax Benefits - These plans offer tax benefits under Income Tax Act's section 80D. It offers you a deduction of up to ₹75,000 on your annual income if you include senior citizens in the plan.

 

Impact of Family Size on the Cost of Health Plan

A large family does not necessarily mean higher expenses on insurance. This depends on the health condition of your family. A family of four might pay a higher medical cost because of the bad health condition than a family of six people who is leading a healthy life. The former might utilise the insurance multiple times a year as opposed to the latter, who might not use the insurance even once during the entire year.

 

However, the premium increases with every new member added to the family. This increases the cost of buying health insurance. Also, the age of the eldest member is one of the major factors in determining the cost, as the risk of developing health issues increases with the increase in age. This results in extra premiums for elderly people as compared to young ones.

 

In addition to the monthly premium, a health plan's cost may include deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance. Depending on age and health status, these costs may differ for each family member. For example, a child may have a lower deductible or copayment than an adult. 

 

Other Factors that Affect the Cost of Family Health Insurance Plan

Not just family size, there are various other factors too which influence the cost of a family floater policy. They are listed below:

 

• Past Medical History - If you have a pre-existing disease or have been suffering from any kind of illness, then your premium will be higher. But if you are leading a healthy life, the premium will be less.

 

• Occupation - Your nature of work also affects the premium charges. If you work in a risky environment like construction or a factory where the risk of being injured is high, then the premium amount will be slightly higher.

 

• Smoking Habits - Smoking increases health risks, and insurance companies consider smokers as high-risk insurance buyers thus, charge a higher premium. If you are a smoker, the premium will be higher than a non-smoker.

 

• Policy Duration - Policy duration is also a factor which affects the cost. If you choose a policy with a longer duration, the premium will be less than a shorter-duration policy.

 

• Location- Another factor that can impact the cost of a family's health plan is the family's location. Healthcare costs can vary widely depending on where the family lives. For example, healthcare costs in urban areas may be higher than in rural areas.

Protecting your family with the best family health insurance plans is one of the best and most useful gifts you can give your loved ones. You should compare the various plans available in the market and buy the best family health insurance.