In today’s times, when health issues and healthcare costs are escalating rapidly, investing in an adequate health insurance plan can ease your worries during medical emergencies. Therefore, if you are looking to secure the health of your loved ones without burning a hole in your pocket, a family floater plan is a good option. However, before you buy this healthcare plan, it is important to understand how family size and other factors determine the cost of health insurance. Let’s find out in this article.
What is a family floater health insurance policy?
A family floater is an insurance policy that can cover all family members under one plan. This simply means you can cover all your immediate family members under a family floater and save yourself from the hassles of managing separate healthcare plans. If a covered family member gets hospitalised for a medical procedure, he/she can use the health plan up to the sum insured to cover the medical bills.
For example, suppose Mr Y has covered himself, his spouse, and two dependent children under a family floater. The total sum insured is INR 20 lakh. Mr Y gets hospitalised for a medical procedure, and his hospital bills add up to INR 6 lakh. In this case, he can use the family floater to cover the same. After paying for the hospitalisation, a sum insured of INR 14 lakh will still be available for him and his loved ones during the policy year.
On the other hand, if Mr Y has an individual healthcare plan of INR 5 lakh and his hospital bills amount to INR 6 lakh, he will have to pay INR 1 lakh from his pocket. Moreover, if he gets hospitalised again during the policy period, he must bear all the expenses from his pocket.
How Does Family Size Impact Health Insurance Costs?
The number of household members impacts the cost of a family health insurance policy, as the premium increases with each member added to the policy. Therefore, if more members are covered under a family floater, the cost will be higher.
The following are some points to keep in mind:
The premium of a family floater increases with every member you add to the policy. Therefore, if you add one or more members to an existing family floater at the time of policy renewal, you will have to pay additional premiums for them.
The age of the eldest family member covered under the policy is an important factor that insurers consider while determining the premium of a family floater. Therefore, to keep premiums affordable, it is wise to cover senior citizens under a separate senior citizens health insurance policy.
The medical history, occupation, and lifestyle of the covered family members can also affect the premium of a family floater plan. For example, if a covered family member is suffering from a pre-existing condition, the insurer will increase the premium. Similarly, if a covered member has a high-risk job, the policy premium will increase.
Benefits of a Family Health Insurance Policy
A family floater offers a host of benefits to policyholders and makes things easier during medical emergencies. The following are the benefits of covering your loved ones under a family floater —
Wide coverage: A family floater is a comprehensive plan offering wide coverage to policyholders. From hospital bills and pre- and post-hospitalisation expenses to domiciliary care, daycare procedures and AYUSH treatments, the policy will cover them all.
Higher sum insured: A family floater covers a minimum of two and a maximum of eight family members under one plan. Therefore, the sum insured by this insurance product is higher when compared to an individual health insurance plan. If there is a medical emergency for a covered family member, you can opt for quality and timely treatment without worrying about the bills.
Financial security: The health plan ensures better financial security during expensive medical procedures.
Affordable premiums: The premiums of a family floater are more affordable than those of individual healthcare plans.
Flexibility: The policy offers flexibility to add or remove one or more family members at the time of policy renewal.
Although family size impacts the cost of a family floater health insurance plan, it is not the sole determining factor. The premium of a family floater also depends on the age, health, lifestyle, and occupation of the covered family members and the sum insured by your healthcare plan. Nonetheless, a family floater is a great option if you are looking for a comprehensive yet affordable health insurance plan for family.
