Health insurance for senior citizens is essential as it ensures that their hard-earned money stays intact. Here’s how you can get the right senior citizen mediclaim policy
Buying health insurance for senior citizens requires a thoughtful approach and should be based on their needs and health condition. There are some useful tips that can help one find the right senior citizen mediclaim policy in the market today. Continue reading to find out how you can ensure that senior citizens are insured appropriately and in line with their requirements.
Factors to Consider When Determining Health Insurance Coverage
There are quite a few nuances that you would have to understand and take into account when trying to determine the right amount of coverage you need from a senior citizen mediclaim policy. Let’s take a quick look at a few of them:
- The right time to get it is now!
Do not delay investing in a senior citizen mediclaim policy as the premium only increases with age. Plus insurers are adamant about providing a policy if the individual has certain PEDs (Pre Existing Diseases) or have long waiting periods ranging between one to four years. So, it is vital that you get a policy without any further delay to avoid paying high premiums and before you develop any ailments or diseases. Also, it is crucial to opt for the longest possible tenor. This will ensure that the individual stays covered for as long as possible.
- Choose the right partner
Most of us stay focused on the policy features, benefits, tenor, and premiums. What we fail to see is the performance of the insurance company providing the senior citizen mediclaim policy. Thus, it is important to consider the claim settlement ratio and the claim settlement process of the insurance provider before investing in a policy. If these factors are in line with our requirements, then our claims will be settled faster, or else the chances of claim settlements are quite low.
- Renewability Factor
Not all senior citizen mediclaim policies can be renewed for a lifetime, which is why you must ascertain well in advance that your policy has the option of lifetime renewability. It is definitely advisable to opt for a plan with a lifetime renewability feature as it is more cost-effective than buying a new plan every few years.
- Sum Insured with a Critical Illness Cover
We often choose a policy with a minimum sum insured to save ourselves from paying high premiums. What we fail to realise is that with an increase in age, the possibility of ailments and diseases also rises that can be quite expensive. Therefore, it is important to calculate how much sum insured you need based on the possible medical assistance one would actually require in their old age.
Additionally, with the rising medical expenses, it is advisable to get a critical illness cover that is usually provided by insurers as an add-on cover. Hence, to be financially protected, it is logical to opt for a critical illness cover for a slightly higher premium.
- Network Hospitals
This is another factor that a senior citizen mediclaim policy must take into account. Claim settlements can be a stressful process for senior citizens as they have to arrange for funds and documents, follow up with the insurance company, and more. But all of this can be simplified if the individual is admitted to one of the insurer’s network hospitals for treatment as they can enjoy a cashless claim benefit. This is because the insurance company directly settles the claim with the hospital without putting any stress on the senior citizen or their family. Hence, it is advisable to choose an insurance provider that has the widest range of network hospitals within your area.
- Inclusions and Exclusions
When you read through a senior citizen mediclaim policy document, you will find a list of inclusions and exclusions as they determine the extent of coverage of any policy. Inclusions are situations or ailments that the insurance policy covers and exclusions are those that it doesn’t cover.
It is crucial to thoroughly peruse this list before proceeding to purchase a health insurance plan for senior citizens. Being aware of the situations where the health insurance plan for your parents doesn’t provide coverage can help you plan your finances in a much better manner.
- Co-payment
Most of the senior citizen mediclaim policies come with a co-payment clause, which implies that a certain portion of the claim amount would have to be borne by the senior citizen. The co-payment amount is decided by the insurance company and differs from one company to another depending on the medical service. Some insurance companies, however, offer senior citizen health insurance plans without the co-payment clause but for a slightly higher premium. Therefore, make sure to peruse all the details in the policy document to avoid any financial shocks in the future.
- Compare the premiums
There can be a considerable difference in premium amounts charged by different insurance companies for the same features and benefits for a senior citizen mediclaim policy. Hence, it is always sensible to use a health insurance premium calculator that most companies provide on their website and know the exact amount of premium you will have to bear.
Apart from the premium, it is also advisable to spend some time checking the different features, benefits, terms and conditions, list of inclusions, exclusions, etc. of the top insurance companies to get the best senior citizen mediclaim policy.
Conclusion
On reading the above-mentioned factors, it is clear that getting a health insurance policy for the senior citizens in your family is more important than you think. Carefully looking into the checklist mentioned above will allow you to purchase a comprehensive senior citizen mediclaim policy that is capable of providing every senior citizen in your family with complete protection from the financially draining outcome of medical treatments.