Things to know before buying senior citizen health plan

Naval GoelPolicyX.comMany young individuals are worried about their parents’ healthcare requirements, especially when the parents are senior citizens. Some employers offer to cover parents of their employees under group health insurance policies. This offers some respite to the young individuals looking for some solution to their senior citizen parents’ health issues. However, not all are fortunate to avail such a cover for their parents. Those who do not have access to such arrangement have to buy one for their parents. Also those who get covered under employer provided group health insurance scheme may find it insufficient and may want to buy one.Whatever be the case, buying a senior citizen health insurance plan is a task and many young individuals find it cumbersome to select one for their parents. Let us go through the important factors that should be kept in mind before going for a health insurance policy for senior citizensAge factor- Many insurance companies are offering health scheme for senior citizen between the age group 60-80 years, however, some companies limit the age of insured to 69 years only. Hence, after your 69th birthday it will be hard for you to get a health plan for yourself. Whereas some companies like Apollo & Max Bupa provide health insurance plans for senior citizens without any age limits.Renewal pangs: The policy is generally issued for one year and need to be renewed by paying premium at the end of the year. The age limits for renewal varies from one insurer to other. Usually it is 90 years.Pre existing diseases: If the senior citizen to be insured if suffering from any pre existing diseases, the insurance company will cover it after completion of one or two years of the policy. However, this also depends upon the company’s norms. There are some companies which do not cover pre-existing diseases at all; hence it is better to check before purchasing.Premium factor: The premium of senior citizen health insurance plan is very high as the risk related with the age is also high. Apart from the basic premium of the plan, you may have to pay extra amount for pre –existing disease.No claim bonus: In senior citizen health plan you will get no-claim bonus benefit when you don’t make a claim for two continuous years of the plan. Basically, no claim bonus increases the sum assured by 5%. Better to check the norms of the insurer. Sum assured: The sum assured amount is usually not high in case of public insurance companies which offers plans of Rs 1 to 2 lakh. You can get coverage of Rs 15 to 20 lakh from private insurers, but their premiums would be high also they ask for co-payments.Co- payment: This is the fixed amount which the insured has to pay at the time of hospitalization. The company will tell you about this at the time of purchasing the plan. The normal co-payment percentage is 10-20 per cent whereas some companies ask for 40 per cent.How to choose a health plan for senior citizen?-Choose a plan that allows you to renew the policy to the maximum age.-Choose a plan which offers good coverage at low prices. It will be good if it covers pre-existing and critical diseases.-It will be good to choose a plan which covers pre existing disease with a lesser waiting period-Choose a plan which has minimum co paymentSo now that you know the various facts related to the senior citizen health insurance plans, we are sure that as and when you decide to buy a policy, you will do it after carefully evaluating the various plans, comparing them on all the parameters mentioned above and only then chose the plan that is best suited for you or for the ones you are looking to get ensured.