Why Adding Parents to Existing Health Cover is not Advised

Are you thinking of adding your parents to your existing health cover? It might be best to take a step back and think about it again.

When you have an existing family health insurance, the common step is to include your parents on the cover. However, that might not be an ideal course of action for your parents.

As a child, you would want to do what is best for your parents. In this regard, the right step would be going for a separate health insurance policy that will provide them with the maximum coverage.

If you are confused about, not including your parents in your health coverage, here are some key reasons.

Key Reasons to Exclude Your Parents from Existing Family Health Insurance

You have responsibilities towards your parents. You must make the right decision, so they are well supported for the rest of their lives. One such way is by choosing the right health insurance policy for them.

Health insurance policies are dependent on the age of the insurer. Since most of your parents might belong to the 50+ category, including them in a family policy would not provide them with the coverage they need.

The primary reasons for not including them are:

• Increase in the Insurance Premium
• Presence of Pre-existing Illness
• Impact on the No Claim Bonus
• Less Coverage Amount

1. Increase in the Insurance Premium

One of the most important reasons is the increase in the health insurance premium. Family floater policies take into consideration the age of the eldest family member to calculate policy premium. Hence, when you add your parents, their age will be considered for premium calculation.

In such cases, the greater the age of the eldest member, the higher the premium will be Presence of Pre-Existing Illness.

Insurance companies generally increase premiums if any of the member has pre-existing conditions. Hence, choosing a separate policy for your parents is better to ensure that the premium does not increase.

You might be under the impression that you need to pay more premium due to multiple insurances. However, choosing policies like the ones offered by Niva Bupa would help you out in this aspect. You can have proper coverage both for your family and your parents without facing any financial burden.

2. Impact on the No Claim Bonus

No Claim Bonus or NCB is the bonus you receive from your insurance provider for not making claim in a policy year. A policy holder can get their sum insured doubled in 2 claim free years

Since the NCB is given for claim free year, chances are when you include your parents, the NCB might not apply to you since elders are more prone to hospitalization.

Hence, if you get a separate policy for your parents, chances of you getting 100% NCB is much higher.

3. Less Coverage Amount

A family floater policy provides coverage for all insured member and anyone from the insured can use from the pool of the sum insured. If your parents or seniors are also covered in that policy then they will end up using most of the sum insured and leave an insufficient amount for the others covered under the plan.  

4. Buy Individual Health Insurance for Your Parents

By now, you know that the best option for your parents would be to get separate health insurance.

When choosing the best plan for senior citizens, there are certain considerations you need to keep in mind.

• Check the coverage and health insurance benefits against the premium you are paying.
• See the amount that you need to give as co-payment. It is essential to look for policies that have the least co-payment amount.
• Go for health insurance policies that offer a lifelong renewal.
• The best health insurance for senior citizens should cover specific diseases like heart problems, diabetes, hypertension, and others.
• One of the major health insurance challenges is the waiting period. When looking for health insurance for your parents, make sure the waiting period is very less.
• The insurance you choose will cover not only hospitalization expenses but also medical check-ups, among other things. However, there should be flexibility in this coverage.

Endnotes

The importance of health insurance policies is known to everybody. This becomes crucial for your parents since they might need to spend more on hospital expenses.

Look for the right benefits in the policy like reduced co-payment, add-on services, cashless claims, and others. Finding the perfect senior citizen health policy would ensure a tension-free life for you and your parents!