Health Insurance For Parents- Plans, Providers & Benefits

Mini Balakrishnan

• August 24, 2024
• 8 min read
• Health Insurance

When our parents get old, their immune systems also start deteriorating and they would certainly need quality medical care. Hence it becomes critical to get our parent’s health insurance. We need to get them sufficient health insurance that will pay for their significant medical costs under emergency circumstances and such medical care.

Is There Health Insurance For Parents In India?

The insurance market in India is now crowded with various types of health insurance plans designed specifically for elderly parents of age above 50-60 years old. This includes family floater healthcare insurance plans and also insurance plans meant for senior citizens alone as well. The insurance plans can be customized for the personal needs of your parents to cover expenses against any medical treatments or illnesses that might occur due to their age. 

When elderly people get sick it will take much time for them to heal from that ailment or may require lifelong treatments that might cost you a lot. Buying health insurance for your parents will save your finances and they will ensure quality treatment for your parents. The insurance plans come with a higher sum insured and provide a lot of benefits as well.

Which Is The Best Health Insurance For Parents Above 50

Do you have any idea which the best health insurance for parents in India is?

It is very important to compare insurance plans and then choose the best health insurance policy for your parents. This will make sure you get insurance cover according to your parent’s medical needs. 

Let us look at some of the best insurance policy covers that can be taken into consideration for your mother or father or both.

Listed below are the top 7 insurance companies that offer insurance cover for parents with  Rs.5 Lakh Sum insured

Why Should You Get Health Insurance For Your Parents

In India, there are a wide variety of health insurance coverages available for senior people that offer cover for serious illnesses and COVID-19 infection treatment as well due to the high number of elderly people getting affected by the disease. The treatment for Covid-19 in elderly people can certainly cost a lot of money that might put you in difficulty. Hence specific plans are available for your parents to treat Covid-19 specifically.

Health insurance plans for parents aged over 50 years will have certain limits to the policy benefits unlike the ones available for elderly people above 60. However, being offered with the highest sum insured the premiums to be paid for the health insurance for parents also will be a little bit higher than the normal policy premiums as the age of the person increases the risk of getting ailments also increases resulting in a high number of claims in the policy cover.

How To Choose Health Insurance Plans For Your Parents 

For your parents aged above 50 or 60 years of age, we need to choose the health insurance plans carefully because they deserve the best. There are a few points to be considered before purchasing insurance for parents.

Listed below are the points to consider before buying the insurance plans.

1. Be clear about the medical history

You need to get a proper medical history of your parents because some medical conditions may not have been diagnosed or may be unnoticed even due to their ignorance of certain things. The insurance company will help in such cases and it is always better to cross-verify the same.

2. Compare the health insurance plans with different insurance companies

There are a wide variety of health insurance plans offered by various insurance companies that offer a wide range of schemes and benefits to their health insurance plans. When you try and compare different insurance plans for the elderly you can identify the one that will suit the best for your parents like the type of coverage. Add-ons, the specific inclusions and exclusions etc.

3. Attend the medical checkup

Once the person to be insured submits all relevant details in the proposal form they will be required to attend a medical checkup for the doctors to verify the information given to the insurance company or to find out whether there are any more undiagnosed illnesses present. There will be general checkups like blood routine, sugar check, and urine routine. Liver function test, thyroid test, lipid profile etc.

How To Compare The Health Insurance Plans For Parents 

Different insurance companies offer health insurance plans for the elderly and one may not have a benefit provided by the other insurance company though all of them might have some common inclusions and exclusions. Hence it is important to compare the available insurance covers and select the one that will be the best for your parents.

Certain parameters need to be kept in mind while choosing a health insurance cover for your parents. Let us analyze the points.

• Age – As your parents get older it is always important to find out about the age limit offered in their insurance cover. That will make it easier to manage their health with the benefits offered by the insurance plan.

• The number of insured people – There are different types of insurance cover meant for an individual senior citizen and meant for a couple as well. If the spouse of the insured also needs to be added to the insurance company then the plan will have different terms and conditions and mutual benefits might be available.

• Sum insured in the insurance cover – sum insured is very important because it helps the coverage of medical costs incurred due to the treatments etc. if the insured can calculate an average amount of medical expenses that might incur in one year, they may determine the right sum insured for the insurance plan while comparing with different insurance companies. This will be more convenient for the insured to get their medical necessities covered.

• Amount of premiums to be paid – As we already mentioned the premium to be paid on a senior citizen’s health insurance policy is always on the higher side than the normal health insurance policy and it might differ with different insurance companies. However, you can find out how the amounts are fixed for different insurance covers. The companies might have different parameters based on which the amounts are calculated but the amount to be paid as a premium will be worth it for your parents as it will always help the senior people to relax in their retired life and keep themselves healthy.

• Specific illness coverage – while comparing with different health insurance plans, it is very important to cross-check the inclusions mentioned in the health insurance policy you are trying to choose specially the specific diseases list as they might get prone to such illnesses due to age. The process will make it easier to choose the insurance cover required for your parents.

• List of network hospitals – the number of network hospitals is very much necessary for elderly people as it is always a relief for them to get to a nearby hospital when they fall ill and get emergency cashless treatment if there is proper insurance cover in place. This makes it easier to claim the amount back from the insurance company and your parents can get proper treatment on time.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Will I be able to cover my parents in my existing health insurance policy?

Yes, you will be able to cover your parents in your health insurance policy provided the health insurance is a family floater coverage plan. But always make sure the sum insured is on an individual basis rather than shared.

2. Can I enhance my parents’ insurance coverage?

Yes, absolutely you can do that by opting for specific cover to be included in the plan, riders, or even opt for a higher sum insured in the existing plan at the time of the renewal.

3. Are there tax benefits available in my parent’s insurance policy?

Yes, there are tax benefits for the premium paid in the health insurance for parents above 60. The tax benefits sum up to Rs.50,000.