Looking for the Best Health Insurance Plan for Senior Citizens? Read This

Health insurance is a must-have to protect you during medical emergencies. Today, many good health insurances are available in India with better schemes and benefits. But if you are looking for an insurance policy for your parents or elders, you must choose senior citizen plans. There are plenty of things to consider while looking for senior citizen health insurance. We will help you find the best health insurance for senior citizens.

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Best Health Insurance for Senior Citizens

Usually, you cannot enroll in an insurance plan after 65 years of age. But Senior Citizen Health Insurance Plans are specifically designed for 65+ people. They also have many extra taxation and premium cost benefits, that are meant to cater to retired people. The best health insurance for senior citizens is the one that caters to age-specific medical requirements. The following are some important features a good senior citizen insurance plan must have.

Premium Amount

Premium amount is one of the first things you must consider in a health insurance policy. Sometimes, people may choose plans with high premiums for higher insured sums. Such increased premiums might become a burden later in life, especially during retirement.

Insured Sum

It would be best to keep an insured sum that will cover the treatment costs for most common and fatal diseases. It will help you remain worry-free on financial matters whenever such incidents occur.

Additional Covers

Additional benefits in health insurance are available as free and paid covers. These additional covers include day-care, food & accommodation of relatives, cover restoration, and lifetime validity.

Entry Age and Renewal Age Limit

The entry age for senior citizen health insurance is before 65 as per IRDA regulations. So, it would be best if you enrolled your elders before this age. It is also possible that they won’t get insurance after this age or pay increased premium amounts. Most insurance providers keep a renewal limit at around 80. See that there is no such renewal age limit in your policy.

Tax Benefits

Health insurance already has income tax exemption as per Indian Income Tax Rules. But always look for extra senior citizen tax benefits in a new policy.

Family Floaters

It is always better to have a family plan instead of an individual plan. The more insured persons in a policy, the more will be the premium amount savings. Almost all senior citizen health insurance policies have floaters for couples.

Surplus Returns

The interest rates given to regular adults and senior citizens are different. Senior citizens get more interest rates in insurance and investments schemes. Also, senior citizens enjoy extra maturity and mortality benefits. So, verify if the insurance policy has increased interest rates and extra benefits.

Pre-existing Conditions

All senior citizen health insurances have a waiting period before claiming on pre-existing conditions. These include diabetes, cholesterol, high/low blood pressure, kidney diseases, and other lifestyle diseases. Usually, the waiting period is between 2 and 4 years, so select a policy with the least waiting period.

Co-Payment

The policyholder must provide a percentage of treatment and medical costs due to the co-payment clause. It will become a burden if some fatal accidents or illnesses occur. Always choose an insurance plan without a co-payment clause. It might increase the premium amount, but in the long run, it is beneficial as you won’t have to pay for any expenses.

Hospitals

Hospitals are an important thing to consider in an insurance policy. Always choose an insurance policy that is claimable at any hospital. But, if this feature is not available, go for the policy with the highest number of network hospitals. A network hospital has a tie-up with the insurance provider to give cashless treatment to the policyholder.

Now you know what to look for in the best health insurance for senior citizens. These details will assist you in selecting insurance with the best possible amenities for your elders. Care Health Insurance is a major provider of senior citizen health insurance plans. It is a premier insurance provider and a subsidiary of Religare. With the help of these ten points, you can find out the best policy from Care Health Insurance. Check out Care Health Insurance Official Website for more details.

Source: https://www.policyholder.gov.in/seniorcitizens.aspx