How Long Can a Child Stay on a Parent’s Health Insurance Policy?

Importance of Health Insurance Cover for Children

Purchasing health insurance for yourself and your kid has become imperative with growing healthcare inflation. Medical costs have been increasing at a rate of 15% per annum, which makes it a cause for significant concern. Today, a child is prone to acquiring numerous diseases, possibly due to weak immune systems, lack of physical activity, and raging communicable diseases (COVID being an excellent example here). 

A serious illness often leads to draining finances as a result of treatments, hospitalization, surgeries, etc. A health insurance plan can help you offset this risk and protect your hard-earned savings. Therefore, every parent is advised to add their children to their family floater health insurance policy and secure their child’s health. This makes sure that you don’t compromise on the quality of the treatment and care that your child deserves. 

For How Long Can My Child Stay On My Health Insurance Cover?

Most health insurance companies allow a parent to add their children to their family floater policies from the time they were born. This can be done by intimating the insurer about the birth of your child and paying an additional premium against their coverage. 

The only clause is that children can remain covered under the health insurance policy of a parent till the time they turn 25 years of age or become independent (whichever is earlier). However, the maximum age differs across insurers, and you should check with them before claiming the benefits of your policy. 

Please note that the age limitation varies for a dependent girl child. For instance, if the policyholder’s daughter is above the age of 25 and is dependent on him/her, unmarried, or divorced, she can continue to retain coverage under her parent's health insurance. If she chooses to get married, her insurance cover shall cease. This feature is, however, subjective. Not every health insurer will allow covering the policyholder’s daughter endlessly. One should confirm the same with his/her insurance provider. 

What Can a Child Do For Insurance Cover Upon Attaining 25 Years of Age?

By the age of 25, a child is most likely done with his/her studies to start earning. Once he/she becomes financially independent, he/she should buy him/herself individual health insurance as a priority. Medical emergencies do not come knocking, and one should be prepared to tackle such situations without stressing out his/her finances. Here are some types of insurance plans that one should consider investing in as soon as he/she turns 25 and his/her parent’s health cover expires.

1. Individual Health Insurance Plan 

   Notably, health insurance is significantly cheaper for a young person, given the low risk of contracting a disease. Therefore, it makes sense for one to start planning and investing in health insurance the minute he/she comes out of his/her parents’ health cover. Moreover, with an individual health insurance plan, you don’t have to worry about the sum insured reducing every time a member makes a health claim (like in the case of family floaters). 

2. Term Insurance Plan

   Now that a child has reached an age where he/she is financially independent, his/her parents are potentially growing old and will eventually retire. Now, his/her parents become the dependents. Therefore, it is on the child to plan for their financial future with a term plan. A term insurance cover offers financial protection to the dependent in the event of the policyholder’s unfortunate demise during the policy period. 

3. Riders Against Critical / Terminal Illness

   Every insurance plan comes with optional riders that can enhance its coverage by paying a nominal fee. One can add riders against a life insurance policy for extra protection against critical and terminal illnesses. This will give a policyholder an extra amount in addition to the assured benefits of the life insurance plan. 

4. ULIPs

   Unit-linked insurance plans are excellent means to get a life cover while enjoying increased savings. Such plans allocate a part of the premium amount towards market-linked funds such as equities and stocks and the other part towards life insurance coverage. A policyholder can enjoy high returns on investments from these plans if the market performs well.

Summing Up!

As a parent, remember that your child is only covered till the age of 25 years under your health insurance plan. These terms vary for every insurance provider and across different types of plans. You should consult with your insurance provider for more insights. There are many options for your child to invest in once they turn 25 to ensure continued comprehensive protection, some of which have been briefly described above.