How to use your family health insurance effectively: Tips for maximizing benefits

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Summary: Family health insurance not only provides financial safety but also peace of mind, allowing the patient and their family to focus on the treatment. But do you know that by using simple tips and strategies, you can maximise the benefits your family health insurance plan? For instance, many health insurance plans offer preventive care, wellness programs, and telehealth services, but few people are aware of them. Read on to know how you can decode the nuances of your health insurance coverage to derive more benefits, save money, and make informed decisions about your family’s healthcare needs.

Introduction

Family comes first, and therefore, to secure the health of the family members, a health insurance policy with adequate coverage should be at the top of your priority list. During medical emergencies, a health plan provides you the freedom to opt for the best healthcare facility available without thinking of the finances. But merely buying any plan won’t really help your cause. At a time when medical inflation is a growing concern, your policy should offer you various benefits while staying well within your budget. So, let’s dive in and discover how you can make the most of your family health insurance coverage.

What is Family Health Insurance?

Family health insurance is a type of healthcare policy that provides financial assistance to you and your family members during medical emergencies. It covers the medical expenses of all the insured members and ensures they have access to quality healthcare services. In view of the rising medical expenses, having a comprehensive family health insurance policy is non-negotiable as it saves you from financial distress during an unplanned hospitalisation.  

In family health insurance, all the members are covered under a single plan, and the sum insured gets shared amongst all. You can include your spouse, dependent children, parents, and parents-in-law in the family floater. 

Tips for using your family health insurance effectively

To get the most out of your family health insurance plan, it’s important to understand how they work and how to use them. Here are some tips for using your family health insurance effectively —

1. Understand the plan: The first step is to know your health insuranceplan inside out, which includes your premium, co-payments, deductibles, and what treatments are covered and what are not. These details will help you to make well-informed decisions and avoid out-of-pocket expenses. 
2. Choose the right sum insured: For maximum protection during a crisis, selecting the right sum insured is crucial. For a family of 4 members, experts recommend a sum insured of at least Rs 7 lakhs. 
3. Make use of added benefits: Many health insurance plans come with added benefits such as preventive care like regular check-ups and vaccinations, wellness programs, discounts on fitness classes, etc. Check the insurer’s website regularly for new benefits and make use of the benefits to maintain your health and prevent potential health risks. 
4. Use No Claim Bonus: While renewing the family plan, check for No Claim Bonus and avail of the discount on the premium or increase your sum insured with no extra cost.
5. Use network hospitals: To make the most of the plan, go for network hospitals wherever possible so that you can avail of cashless treatments. You don’t have to pay anything except the deductibles. Keep the list of network hospitals handy for emergencies. 
6. Avail tax benefits: Under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act, you can avail of a tax deduction on the premium paid towards the family plan. 
7. Go for top-up plans: If the sum insured by your family plan is not adequate, consider getting a top-up plan instead of buying another policy. A top-up plan will cost you less. Once the sum insured by your regular policy gets exhausted, the top-up plan will take care of the additional medical expenses. 

A family health insurance plan is meant to ease your financial burden by covering your and your family's medical expenses and help avail of seamless healthcare facilities. However, just buying the plan is not enough; you should know how to use the family plan effectively to get maximum benefits from the plan.  

Disclaimer: The above information is for illustrative purpose only. For more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales.

Moneycontrol Journalists were not involved in the creation of the article.