Individual Health Insurance Vs Family Floater Plan

Though people are aware of the importance of investing in a healthcare plan, many do not know which plan to buy, that is, whether to invest in a personal/individual health plan for each family member or a family floater. Investing in individual healthcare policies means separate insurance for each member with a defined medical cover.

In a family floater plan, the limit of the insurance policy can be utilised by any family member. For instance, if you buy a family health plan of Rs 6 lakh, then any member can utilise the entire limit. Therefore, in many ways, the family floater plan offers more flexibility in terms of utilising the entire insurance coverage.

Let’s have a look at some of the advantages of individual and family floater plans:

ADVANTAGES OF INDIVIDUAL INSURANCE PLANs

• Cashless Claim Service: In an unforeseen event where you require to be hospitalized, you can avail the cashless benefit included in your health policy. Cashless hospitalization offered by many health insurance service providers allows an individual to avail medical facilities or treatment without paying for the same to the hospital.
• Hospitalization Daily Allowance: Many insurance companies provide individuals with a daily allowance for each day he/she spends in the hospital. This benefit is applicable only when the insured has spent a minimum number of days in the hospital (as mentioned in the insurance policy).
• Tax Benefits: If you have invested in a health insurance policy, then the premium paid on that policy is eligible for tax deduction under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act.

ADVANTAGES OF FAMILY FLOATER PLAN

1. Higher Sum Insured: A family floater insurance plan has options with higher sum insured than individual insurance policies, and the coverage is relatively greater. Usually, family floater plans covers the individual, spouse and children, but certain insurance service providers also have provision to provide cover for dependent parents, siblings and parents-in-law.
2. Tax Benefits: You can easily avail tax benefits for your family floater health insurance policy as it is eligible for tax deduction under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act. Also, you can double the tax benefit if you are paying for the policy of your parents.
3. Greater Medical Coverage: Your family gets maximum medical coverage under the family floater plan. This includes hospitalization fees, doctor consultations, expenses for medical procedures undertaken, hospital staff care, ambulance cover, and other expenses in cases of diseases or accidents. Also, some insurance companies provide the facility of medical check-up for your entire family every year.
4. Avail Discounts: Under the family floater health insurance plan, you can avail discounts that these policies usually offer.
5. Easy to add new family member(s): In a family floater plan, it is easy to add a new family member.
6. Continuous Family Cover: Many insurance service providers have now given an option to two years policy cover. This benefit allows a continuous hassle-free coverage without any change in premium costs for the selected tenure.

Therefore, family floater health insurance plan is the best plan when it comes to safeguarding the health of your loved ones. Since these policies are single policies for the entire family, it relieves you from maintaining several health policies for each family member. Family floater plans cover parent’s health insurance, spouse and children’s insurance in one healthcare plan. Thus, it is advisable that you weigh the pros and cons of both the policy types before investing in a health insurance plan.