Mr. M, 33 year, was taking for a health insurance cover for his family that is him and wife and one child. He was very surprised when his insurance advisor gave him two quotes: one was the total cost of individual covers for the three family members and the other a family floater policy, covering all of them — him, his wife and his 5 year-old daughter.
Mr. M didn't know the difference between an individual plan and a floater policy. The advisor said the premium for a family floater plan with a sum assured of Rs 3 lakh would be nearly Rs 7,750 while the total cost for individual covers would workout to be Rs 12,150 for a cover of Rs 3 lakh each. Needless to say, Mr.M why was confused.
To avoid confusion, one must understand the difference between an individual cover and a family floater cover. An individual plan covers only the policyholder, where as a family floater covers the entire family, usually comprising self, spouse and two dependent children. Some plans also covers dependent parents.
Usually a family discount of up to 10% on the total premium when the husband, wife, dependent children.
A Family floater health insurance policy is a better option if you want your entire family to be covered under a single health insurance policy, the reason is that you get a higher cover at a lower cost and all the family members are covered for a much larger cover as compared to an individual policy. A Family Floater Policy is usually less expensive as compared to Individual Health Policies. In comparison to an Individual health insurance policy, a family floater will cost at least 25 to 30% lower.
Advantages of a floater plan
* The main advantage of a floater plan is the flexibility that comes with it. Any family member can lodge multiple claims. the sum assured, in a year. So, any member of family can claim up to sum assured. But in an individual cover, only the individual who has taken the policy can make a claim and that too for the amount he/ she is covered for. In case of only one claim in a year, the family member gets a greater claim amount compared to what he might have on an individual cover
* A family floater policy is also easier to manage than an individual plan. While renewing, you just need to remember a single date, instead of three or four dates in the case of individual plans.
* One more point which goes in favor of Family Floater is that, you have only one document to manage, but if you buy an individual policy then for every member you have separate documents to manage.
* In a floater plan , it is easy to add a new family member, like your spouse and kids.
But, with individual cover, a fresh policy needs to be taken every time there is an addition to the family.
* In case of the unfortunate dead of the senior member of the family, other members of the family can continue with the floater without losing any benefits.
* It is great for younger families with members having low health risk.
Disadvantages of a floater plan
* Individual policy is available for people above 60 years, but you cannot cover a person above 60/65 in a family floater health policy.
* If a family has a floater plan for a sum assured of say Rs 3 lakh, and if the entire family (example 4 members) suffers medical emergencies in an accident, for instance, then in such a case the cover would be inadequate for the family, as each of them may require about Rs 2 lakhfortreatment. The individual will then have to shell out money from his/her pocket for treatment. In such a scenario, an individual cover will score better . If there is a medical cost of Rs 2 lakh on each individual due to an accident, each of them can claim Rs 2 lakh, provided they are insured for that amount, and they will not have to shell out from their pockets.
* Age would be one of the important parameters to look at. If your parents are above 60, then it is likely that they could have higher claims. Hence, they would be better off with individual plans.
* The Policy is expensive for the families with low health risk.
Some noted points:
* If you are covered by your employer , experts recommend that you buy your own family floater also, to add to the one offered by your employer, as it helps take care of interim periods between job switches.
* If you need to have higher medical insurance as your age increases, you can take a floater plan.
No comments:
Post a Comment