Choosing the right health insurance policy has become a necessity in this age of rising costs for healthcare to get access to affordable and quality treatment. As age progresses, individuals face health conditions that might lead to a significant chunk of the expenditure and savings spent on health maintenance and treatment.
In India, various health Insurance providers have taken this into consideration to provide insurance plans for citizens above the age of 60, to cover the cost of medical treatment and maintenance of health. However, to pick the right one that suits individual needs, there are some critical factors that need consideration:
Age criteria: Understanding what is the entry age for availing the health insurance is important as even the best insurance features cannot be availed if the entry age would have a restriction. Looking for health insurance providers that provide a longer coverage tenure along with a longer renewal age would be the most beneficial.
Sum Insured: With the increase in age, there are health risks that senior citizens are in higher need of a health insurance cover that provides higher protection.
Coverage: The best health insurance policies offer coverage for a wide range of illnesses, including critical illnesses that might increase with age. Reviewing the terms and conditions of the policy along with gaining an understanding of the exceptions i.e illnesses that the policy does not cover due to pre-existing medical conditions etc. There might be hereditary medical conditions that need to be taken into consideration while choosing a policy that allows maximum coverage with minimal exceptions.
Pre-Existing Medical Condition: There is a waiting period that would be defined for health insurance for senior individuals with pre-existing medical conditions. Understanding this is an important factor as there is a higher risk of illness and hospitalization due to these conditions for senior citizens.
Hospital Network: A well-planned senior citizen health insurance policy must be equipped with a network of a broader network of hospitals including ones in the immediate vicinity of the insurer. As the age range of the insurer in this category are at risk of greater hospitalization and might be in greater need of emergency care.
Premium: Health Insurance premiums can vary from individual based on factors like illness, and health risk level. Insurance companies generally charge a higher premium for senior citizen health insurance programs due to various factors, therefore making comparisons on the options available is imperative.
No Claim Bonus – For every claim-free year the insurer is rewarded with a higher sum assured up to a certain percentage, understanding these factors and features will allow a better comparison of the options available.
Some Senior Citizens Health Insurance Policies
Bajaj Finserv offers Senior Citizen Health Insurance Policy that provides medical coverage for citizens above 60 years. The policy is intended to provide support in terms of medical emergencies and includes critical illnesses as well as pre-existing medical conditions. The policy covers costs incurred pre and post-hospitalization and allows cashless treatment at their network hospitals. Transportation costs i.e Ambulances etc are also cover in this policy. Availing and renewal of the policy are hassle-free with online facilities available. The coverage sum assured can be chosen by the insurer and the premium paid for the policy is exempt from tax. Insurers can avail from the no-claim bonus benefit after every claim-free year.
Star Health Senior Citizens Red Carpet Plan offers health insurance coverage to individuals over 60 years to cater to their medical needs. The plan doesn’t require pre-medical test to conduct and for every claim-free year, plan covers cost of health checkups. The policy offers coverage for up to 75 years of age and includes some advanced treatments like deep brain stimulation, robotic surgeries etc.
Care Senior Health Insurance Plan has a holistic health care plan with a wide network of around 15,500 network hospitals and cashless hospitalization facilities that are available to the insurer along with benefits like no claim bonus, co-payment waiver and so on. This policy is available from 61 years without an upper entry age limit.
TATA AIG Medisenior offers health insurance coverage to seniors above 61 years. Some of the benefits available in this policy are home treatment, and family discounts, among others. The maximum coverage in this policy is up to 50 lakhs.
Bajaj Allianz Silver Health Plan is curated with the healthcare needs of seniors in mind and is available for insurers between 46 and 70 years. This policy offers a 10% cumulative bonus on the sum assured every year for every claim-free year (up to a certain limit, 50% of the sum assured). There are family discount options also available and a maximum coverage of 5 lakhs.
