Choose health insurance which is right for you and your family

1. Choose health insurance which is right for you and yourfamily • When it comes to buying ahealth insurance policy, you are spoilt for choice. There are different types of health insurance plans available in the market which helps in fulfilling the different health insurance needs that you have. If you are a diabetic, you can find a specific policy meant to cater to your needs. Similarly, if you need protection against critical illnesses, you can buy critical illness plans which pay a lump sum benefit if you suffer from any of the coveredillnesses. • If you are looking to buy a health insurance policy for your family, you should buy a family floater health insurance plan. A family floater policy covers you, your spouse, dependent children, and dependent parents under one plan. Some plans also extend the coverage to include dependent in-laws and other family relatives. Thus, a family floater health plan would be the right health insurance policy for you and yourfamily. • However, before you choose the best coverage for yourself and your family, here are some aspects which you should keep inmind– • The coverage should besuitable • When you are covering yourself and your family members under one policy, you should ensure that the coverage benefits of the plan are comprehensive enough to include the coverage requirements of all members. For instance, if you are planning a baby, make sure that the policy has maternity coverage. Similarly, if your parents are included in the coverage and they incur frequent medical expenses, coverage for OPD expenses is desirable. So, the coverage features of the policy should be suitable enough for your entire family’sneeds. • The suminsured • Since multiple members are being covered under one family floater health insurance policy, the sum insured should be sufficient. Given the high medical costs, you should opt for a high sum insured for optimal coverage. A sum insured of INR 10 lakhs and above would be a suitable choice. If affordability is an issue, you can supplement your coverage through a top-up or super top-up health insurance plan in addition to a normal health insurance policy. The top-up plan would increase the sum insured without a considerable increase inpremium. • Coverage for all family members • All your family members should be included in the coverage of the policy. In the case of newborn children, if the plan does not have newborn baby coverage, you can get your child covered after 90 days. The baby can be included mid-term by paying the proportionate additional premium. Similarly, in the case of marriage, the new member can be included mid-term by paying the proportionate premium for coverage. Since family floater plans allow your family members to be covered, ensure coverage is extended to all the members of the family. • Chooseriders • Health insurance plans allow optional riders which help in enhancing the scope of coverage of the policy. So, try and include the available riders for a wider scope of coverage. Riders like critical illness

2. cover, personal accident cover, hospital cash benefit, etc. are useful and would improve the coverage of your health insurancepolicy. • Taxbenefits • Health insurance plans allow tax benefits. The premium that you would pay for your family floater policy would be allowed as a deduction from your taxable income under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The maximum deduction which you can claim is INR 25,000 which increases to INR 50,000 if you are a senior citizen. Moreover, if you cover your dependent parents under a separate health insurance policy, you can claim an additional deduction of INR 25,000 which also increases to INR 50,000 if your parents are senior citizens. So, make sure to claim the tax benefits of your family floater health plan for reducing your taxableincome. • A family floater health insurance policy would prove to be a boon if you or your family members suffer a medical contingency and seek assistance. The policy would cover the medical costs which you might incur sparing you the financial trouble. So, keep the above-mentioned points in mind and choose the right health insurance policy for yourself and your beloved familymembers.