Health Insurance Plans Exclusively for Parents

Healthcare continues to remain a crucial lifeline for elderly parents who need attentive support as they age. Currently, healthcare costs are on the rise in India with medical inflation at approximately 15%. Moreover, as your parents age, they might not be able to afford healthcare costs without health insurance. Since medical costs are rising steadily, meeting ageing parents’ healthcare expenses might put a strain on your finances. That is why it is ideal to buy a health insurance plan exclusively for your parents.

It may seem like a good option to add parents to a family floater plan. However, family floater health insurance premium is calculated based on the age of the eldest insured member, so the overall premium amount for the entire family unit increases a lot if the plan includes elderly parents. Additionally, the sum assured required may be significantly higher because senior citizens are at greater health risks and might need more specialized and expensive treatment. Aging parents have different medical expenses and requirements than younger family members which may not be covered in a family floater plan. Also, there could be an age limit (usually 60-65 years) beyond which a parent's entry may not be allowed under a family floater. Therefore, it is best to buy individual health insurance plans for parents as early as possible that cater to your parent’s specific health needs.

Benefits of purchasing health insurance exclusively for parents are many:
Age-oriented Health Cover: The main purpose of these plans is to offer cover against health issues during old age and exclusively cater to senior citizen health needs (the health conditions covered differ depending on insurer and plan).
Stress-free Future: It is a good long-term investment as you will not have to worry about future medical expenses. The anxieties that elderly parents feel about healthcare costs also reduce greatly.
Additional Benefits: Several health insurance policies for parents include features like lifetime renewals, which is critical so that there is no issue in the future with renewals. However, this is mainly applicable when there is no break between policy years.
Cashless Facility: Another convenient feature to remember is modern health insurers offer cashless treatment and claim settlement. Having easier health insurance processes for elderly parents would make it hassle-free for them.
Tax Benefit: The government offers tax exemptions for senior citizen medical insurance. If your parent is older than 60 years, a rebate of up to Rs. 50,000 is given on your total taxable income. For parents less than 60 years, you can claim a rebate of up to Rs. 25,000.

As we get older, more health conditions or ailments spring up. So, understanding what to look for when purchasing senior health insurance is a life saver. We are here to give a simple breakdown!


These are the important factors to consider while purchasing health insurance policy exclusively for elderly parents:

PED Waiting Period: Check the waiting period for pre-existing diseases and any other ailments so that you know when you can expect your parents to be covered for them.
Exclusions: Ensure that there is a smaller exclusion list for the selected health insurance, to be able to have wider coverage and inclusion of health conditions.
Wider Medical Treatment: To provide your parents great health insurance coverage, the plan should cover a wide range of medical expenses with enhanced benefits. These can be pre-and post-hospitalisation cover, illnesses that you may be at risk due to your family history, home care treatment, daycare expenses, etc.
Pre-acceptance Medical Check-up: Senior citizens may be asked to go through a medical check-up before the insurance policy is offered. Remember to provide current information about parents’ health while applying for health insurance, so that there is no issue with future claim settlement. This would mean declaring past medical history such as undergone surgeries and pre-existing diseases such as high blood pressure or cholesterol.
Co-payment Clause: Most senior citizen health plans come with a co-payment ranging from 10% to 30% depending on the treatment availed by the policyholder. This means that a certain percentage of expenses has to be paid out-of-pocket. Choosing a plan with a less co-pay percentage is advantageous.
Lifetime Renewability: Some health policies only allow plan renewals till the age of 65-70. Therefore, to ensure continuous coverage, it is important to check the lifetime renewability option for elderly parents. Certain plans also provide a bonus for loyalty in the form of an increase in sum assured upon renewal.
Value-Added Services: Many plans offer free health check-ups which allow aging parents to keep track of their health at regular intervals. Additionally, some senior citizen plans cover non-allopathic treatments too.
Installment facility: There is now a growing trend that installment facilities are offered for monthly/quarterly/half yearly payments for premium, which reduce the ongoing premium payment burdens for parents.

Our parents have looked after us all our lives! Now it is our turn to do so, and we should secure their health properly so that they can continue to enjoy their golden years stress-free.

We invite you to visit sana.insure to receive customized suggestions for the most suitable health insurance plans for your family, especially for your parents. We analyze your family details, prevailing health, future medical needs as well as expectations to provide you the best health insurance plans tailored to your requirements. Sana.insure is a website that helps you compare various health insurance plans in India in an easy-to-understand manner and provides support for claim settlement too.

Wish you a healthy and happy life!

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