Health Insurance Plans for Family

What is Family Health Insurance?

A family health insurance plan is a kind of medical insurance that covers all your family members in a single health insurance policy. Under this plan, a fixed sum insured is shared by all family members with an assumption that not everyone will get sick at the same time. Most family health insurance plans offer cashless hospitalization facilities, maternity benefits and cover pre & post hospitalization as well. 

Best Health Insurance Plans for Family in India 2021

To make it easier for you to buy a mediclaim policy for your family at Policybazaar.com, we have listed some of the best family health insurance plans from top health insurance companies in India below. Take a look:

Benefits of Buying Health Insurance Plans for Family

There are several benefits that the insured family members can avail with family floater health insurance plans. For instance, you can get coverage for all the family members, irrespective of their age, under a single policy. Here is a quick rundown of the major benefits of buying a family health insurance plan:

1. Stress-free Hospitalization Expense Cover

In case of hospitalization, the insured family member can avail cashless treatment in a network hospital of the insurer just like in individual health plans. In this way, you can get all your family members eligible to get medical attention without compromising on their treatment.

2. Get Health Insurance Cover for Parents in the Same Plan

Several health insurance companies allow people to include both parents and parent-in-law under a family health plan for no additional premium. You can secure the health of your parents and your spouse’s parents under one plan.

3. Affordable Premium

As family health insurance plans do not require you to pay individual premiums for all the family members, you can cover your spouse, child, and parents under the same plan at an affordable premium. However, it is suggested to buy individual health cover for your parents considering their age-related health issues.

4. Insure New Family Members Easily

In family health insurance plans, you can add a new family member easily on the payment of an extra premium. Unlike an individual cover, you don’t need to take a fresh policy every time there is an addition to your family. If you add your parents to an existing family health insurance plan, make sure to increase your sum insured.

5. COVID Health Insurance for Family

You can buy Health insurance for Coronavirus to financially secure yourself and your family members against COVID-19. Although all insurance providers are offering coronavirus treatment cover under basic health insurance plans, coronavirus-specific plan ‘Corona Kavach policy’ has also been launched that covers hospitalization costs incurred on the treatment of coronavirus on a floater basis.

6. Option to Avail Additional Benefits

Various add-on benefits are available under family health plans, including critical illness cover, maternity cover, etc. . Remember to read the policy terms carefully to know about any waiting periods applicable to any add-on covers before buying the best health insurance plan for your family.

8. Tax Benefits on Health Insurance Premium

Under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act, the health insurance premium is given a tax exemption. If you are paying the health insurance premium for your family and parents, then you are eligible for tax benefits.

What is covered in a Family Health Insurance Plan?

Take a look at the most common coverage available under family health insurance plans:

• In-patient Hospitalization Expenses– Any medical expenses incurred on hospitalization of more than 24 hours due to an illness or accidental injury is covered.
• Day Care Procedures– It covers the cost of day care procedures that require hospitalization of less than 24 hours.
• Ambulance Charges– The expenses incurred on availing ambulance services to the hospital during a medical emergency is covered.
• Pre and Post-Hospitalization Expenses –The medical expenses incurred before hospitalization (medical investigation, tests, etc.) and after discharge (follow-up consultation, etc.) is also covered up to a certain number of days.
• Maternity Cover– Most family health insurance plans come with maternity cover that covers pregnancy-related expenses and newborn baby expenses.
• Organ Donor Expenses– It covers the cost of harvesting an organ and donor-related expenses in case of an organ transplant.
• AYUSH Treatment– Any hospitalization expenses incurred to avail treatment through Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Yoga, Siddha and Unani are covered. 
• Domiciliary Treatment– It pays for the medical expenses incurred on availing treatment at home on the advice of a doctor.
• Daily Cash Allowance– A daily hospital cash allowance is provided to the policyholder to cover day-to-day incidental expenses during hospitalization.
• Mental Illness Cover– Most family health insurance plans provide coverage for mental diseases, such as depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, etc.

What is not covered in a Family Health Insurance Plan?

When buying health insurance for family, you must thoroughly read the policy documents in order to understand the policy exclusions in detail. Also, check the waiting periods under the policy. Following medical expenses are generally not covered by family health insurance plans in India:

• OPD treatments and routine medical check-ups
• Expenses incurred on any aesthetic treatment or plastic surgeries
• Expenses incurred on life-support machines
• Treatment that was taken overseas unless it is included in the plan
• Any illness or injury resulting due to war conditions, nuclear reaction, rebellion, acts of foreign enemies, etc.
• Injury or illness due to participation in unethical or criminal activities
• Pregnancy or childbirth-related complications (unless mentioned in the plan)like voluntary termination of pregnancy, miscarriage or abortion, etc. 
• Any pre-existing medical condition is not covered until the completion of the waiting period

Eligibility Criteria to Buy a Family Health Insurance Plan

Every family health insurance plan comes with eligibility criteria. Although the eligibility criteria vary from one plan to another, the following table shows the common eligibility criteria for family health insurance plans in India:

There are certain key points about family health insurance plans that you must know before you decide to buy the plan. These points are given below:

• Family health plansallow you to include new members in the policy at the cost of an additional premium.
• The policy expires as soon as the eldest member of the family reaches the maximum covered age of a person.
• You must choose to increase the sum assured if you include new family members in the policy to ensure enough coverage for eachfamily member.
• The policy no longer covers a dependent child as soon as he/she crosses the age limit specified in the policy document.
• Don't include your senior citizen parents in your existing family health plan, as it will significantly increase the premium. Moreover, the coverage will not be suited for their age-related health issues.

Why to Buy Health Insurance Plans for Family Online?

There are a plethora of family mediclaim policies in India, which makes choosing the best plan a difficult task. You can save your time by comparing the quotes of different family health insurance plans online at websites like Policybazaar.com. Let’s look at some of the reasons why you should consider buying a family health insurance plan online:

• More Convenient

  Buying a health insurance plan for your family online is a convenient process. You can easily compare various plans or get expert advice anytime, anywhere. Besides, you don’t need to fill up multiple forms at the time of buying the plan or stand in a queue to submit them.

• Instant Quotes

  The process of buying family health insurance is very quick as you can get quotes from different insurance companies instantly. The quotes can be compared with each other to help you choose the best plan within your budget.

• Safe Payment Modes

  As the world has turned digital, people prefer online payment over cash or cheque to reduce the risk of fraud. Digital payment options, such as debit cards, net banking, credit cards, etc. with safe payment gateways are available when the family health plan is purchased online.

• Instant Policy Issuance

  Gone are the days when you had to wait for weeks to get your policy document. Your policy will be issued almost instantly when you purchase it online.

• Online Access to Policy Services

  Once you have purchased a family health insurance plan, you can easily access your policy documents and avail after-sales services online or by downloading the mobile application. You can also raise a health insurance claim online.

Things to Consider Before Buying a Family Health Insurance Plan

Here are a few important points that you must consider before buying a health insurance plan for your family:

• Check the Family Health Insurance Plan Coverage

  Before buying a family health insurance plan, it is important to check the coverage offered under the plan. Almost all family health plans offer coverage for day care expenses, in-hospitalization expenses, ambulance charges, pre & post-hospitalization expenses, etc. Opt for a plan that appropriately covers your family health needs within your budget.

• Opt for a Plan with the Sum Inured Enhancement Option

  The cost of medical facilities keeps increasing due to inflation. Thus, you must opt for a plan that comes with an option to enhance your sum insured during renewals. Several insurers offer cumulative bonus benefit that increases your sum insured amount up to 100% if you do not raise a claim in the previous policy years.

• Check for Availability of Cashless Hospitalization

  All health insurance companies in India offers cashless hospitalization facilities at their network hospitals. This makes the hospitalization process seamless and hassle-free. However, it is imperative to crosscheck the cashless hospital list before buying the plan to ensure that good hospitals near your house are included.

• Check the Maximum Renewal Age

  A few health insurance companies in India offer family health policy renewal options until the eldest family member turns 60/65 years old. However, you should opt for a family health insurance plan that comes with a lifelong policy renewal facility.

• Get Hassle-free Claim Settlement

  Before buying any health insurance plan for your family, make sure to check and understand the insurance company's claim settlement process. Opt for a plan that follows a quick claim settlement procedure. Many companies these days also offer cashless hospitalization facilities that are hassle-free.

How to File a Claim for a Family Health Insurance Plan?

You can file a health insurance claim in two ways - cashless claim and reimbursement claim. The procedure for both types of claims are given below:

Cashless Claim Process:

• Inform your insurance company about the health emergency
• Fill upthe pre-authorization form, which you can find at the TPA or insurance desk of the network
• Submit the pre-authorization form with otherdocuments to the hospital who will forward it to your insurer
• The claim management team of your insurer will send you the letter of approval if the claim request is approved.
• If there is any query regarding your claim, then the insurance company will contact the hospital for the same.
• If it’s not approved, you will need to request for reimbursement claim.
• Once approved, receive the treatment at the hospital and sign all the documents before discharge.
• Your insurer will settle your medical bills with the network hospital.

Reimbursement Claim Process:

• Intimate your insurer about your medical emergency
• Receive the treatment at a non-network hospital
• Pay the hospital billsand collect all documents at the time of discharge
• Submit the filled-in claim form along with other required documents to your insurance provider
• The claim management team of the insurance companywill review your claim.
• You will receive a letter of approval or rejection from the team after your claim has been verified.

How to Buy a Health Insurance Plan for Family Online from Policybazaar?

If you want to buy a health insurance plan to cover all your family members, you can easily buy it online on Policybazaar Insurance Broker Private Limited. They allow you to compare multiple family health insurance plans online to buy the best one within your budget. Follow the steps given below to buy a family health insurance plan online from Policybazaar.com:

• Go to the website of Policybaaar.com
• Click on the ‘Health Insurance’ icon on the homepage
• Enter your contact details, such as your name, phone number and gender
• Select the family members you want to cover and enter the age of the eldest member & eldest child
• Provide details of your any past medical history
• Family health insurance plans from multiple insurance companies will be displayed
• Compare the plans and choose the best plan for your family’s needs
• Pay the premium for the plan online
• You will receive your family health insurance policy within a few minutes.

In case of any query, you can reach out to insurance experts at Policybazaar.com by calling on the toll-free number at 1800-208-8787 or by sending an email to care@policybazaar.com

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