Health Insurance for Parents - Factors to Consider & Plans Available

Our parents spend their entire lives, dedicating their health, time, efforts, money and all that’s in their capabilities to us, that is, their children. 

After years of putting in hard work and making countless sacrifices, they look at us with a ray of hope, especially in their old age.

Reciprocating their love, dedication, patience, and every feeling invested is and should always be our utmost responsibility as a child. 

Apart from time, care, and concern, every son and daughter should consider giving the gift of 'health insurance for parents' to their father and mother. 

Health insurance for parents is the ideal way one can provide first-rate medical and financial support to their elderly. Since with the increasing age, the health risk factors also increase, therefore it is advisable to choose the best health insurance for parents beforehand and give them freedom from financial concerns regarding their medical treatment. 

Talking about Indian health insurance market at the present time, you won’t face any difficulty in finding the best health insurance for parents, due to the availability of multiple options. While there are plans for parents or senior citizens above 60 years, there are also policies that provide the feature of including parents in family floater plans. 

But, wait! Are you aware of the major aspects to consider when looking for health insurance for parents? If not, check this list! 

Buying health insurance for parents above 60? Consider these elements first!
 

• Coverage - Firstly, make sure you are getting a good coverage in return of the price you will be paying. Give priority to high coverage plans for your parents so that apart from basic expenses like inpatient treatment, pre & post hospitalisation and others, your elderly parents are also saved from paying for expenses like domiciliary hospitalisation, ambulance charges, day care procedures, etc.
   
• Co-payment - Health insurance for parents or senior citizens generally comes with the feature of co-payment (Part of claim amount that the insured individual has to pay from their own pocket. It helps in lowering the premium amount. More at Co-payment.) Usually, co-payment is available in % term, ranging between 10% to 50%. Looking for the best deal with an optimum co-payment according to your budget would be helpful in reducing the premium amount as well as availing the best possible health treatment. 
   
• Maximum renewal age - While maximum renewal age varies from insurer to insurer, you should look for a plan that comes with lifelong renewability feature. 
   
• Policy flexibility - Policy flexibility is a feature that differs based on company. While some insurers allow policy purchase for a period of 1-3 years, other allow sum insured recharge, up to 100% of original sum insured if the amount gets exhausted. If you want to enjoy flexibility of your policy, do not forget to consider this aspect.
   
• Pre-existing diseases & waiting period - Pre-existing illnesses are conditions that exist at the time of policy purchase. Since pre-existing are common with the elderly, it would be necessary to check pre-existing disease cover and the waiting period associated with it. Remember, while some cover pre-existing conditions with waiting period, others don’t. Being clear about the same right from the start would be important. 
   
• Day-care procedure coverage - You will find ‘n’ number of policies that cover day care procedures for parents. Make sure you choose your policy while keeping the maximum day care procedure coverage in mind so that your parents don’t have to pay for these procedures later on. 

Apart from the covered points, domiciliary treatment, simple claim process and the maximum number of network hospitals other than additional features are important to consider when looking for health insurance for parents. 

Now that you know which aspects to look for, go through below mentioned list of health insurance plans for parents to choose the best one according to your precise medical needs. 

Health Insurance for Parents - Plans Available
 

1. Optima Senior - HDFC ERGO Health 
 

Key features : 

• Designed specifically for the elderly
• Policy tenure - 1 year or 2 years 
• Available on individual sum insured basis 
• Minimum entry age - 61 years; Maximum entry age - No limit 
• Sum insured options - Rs. 2 Lakh, Rs. 3 Lakh and Rs. 5 Lakh 
• Co-payment range - 15% to 30% based on conditions
• Pre-existing disease waiting period - 36 months 
• Sum insured enhancement - Only at the time of renewal 

Benefits covered : 

Inpatient treatment, 30 days pre & 60 days post hospitalisation, 140 day care procedures, domiciliary treatment, organ donor expenses, emergency ambulance, e-opinion, 5% no claim discount, 5% discount on buying plan for self and spouse, and 7.5% discount on total premium for opting 2 year policy. 

2. Care Senior - Religare 

Key features: 

• Just for senior citizens 
• Policy tenure - 1 year, 2 years or 3 years 
• Available on individual and family floater sum insured basis 
• Minimum entry age - 61 years; Maximum entry age - No limit 
• Sum insured options - Rs. 3 Lakh, Rs. 5 Lakh, Rs. 7 Lakh and Rs. 10 Lakh 
• Co-payment - 20% on every claim having age 61 years or above
• Pre-existing disease waiting period - 48 months 
• Automatic recharge of sum insured 

Benefits covered: 

Inpatient treatment, 30 days pre & 60 days post hospitalisation, day care treatment covered up to sum insured, organ donor expenses, domiciliary hospitalisation, ambulance cover, health check-up, no claim bonus, second opinion, optional OPD care, alternative treatment, and no pre-policy medical check-up required.

More in detail at Religare Care Senior. 

3. Red Carpet - Star Health 

Key features: 

• Specific plan for senior citizens 
• Policy tenure - 1 year, 2 years or 3 years 
• Available on individual and family floater sum insured basis 
• Minimum entry age - 60 years; Maximum entry age - 75 years 
• Sum insured options - Rs. 1 Lakh up to Rs. 7.5 Lakh (individual basis) and Rs. 10 Lakh up to Rs. 25 Lakh (floater basis) 
• Co-payment - 30% and 50%, based on sum insured and PED(pre-existing disease)/Non-PED claims
• Pre-existing disease waiting period - 12 months 
• Outpatient consultation and health check-up covered, up to a specific limit 

Benefits covered:

Inpatient hospitalisation, 30 days pre-hospitalisation, post hospitalisation covered (maximum up to Rs. 10,000) depending on sum insured, OPD benefit, ambulance cover, all day care procedures, no requirement for pre-policy medical check-up. 

Detailed information available at Star Health Red Carpet.

4. Silver Health - Bajaj Allianz 
 

Key features:

• Made special for senior citizens 
• Policy tenure - Annual policy 
• Available on individual sum insured basis 
• Minimum entry age - 46 years; Maximum entry age - 70 years 
• Sum insured options - Rs. 50,000, Rs. 1 Lakh, Rs. 1.5 Lakh, Rs. 2 Lakh, Rs. 3 Lakh, Rs. 4 Lakh, Rs. 5 Lakh
• Co-payment - 20% co-payment applicable on hospitalisation in a non-network hospital 
• Pre-existing disease waiting period - 12 months 
• Waiver of the co-payment - On payment of 15% loading on premium

Benefits covered: 

Inpatient hospitalisation, pre and post-hospitalisation expenses for 3% of admissible hospitalisation expenses, 130 day care procedures, ambulance charges, cumulative bonus of 10%, free health check-ups, sum insured enhancement at renewal, and 5% family discount on covering 2 or more members.

To explore more, visit Bajaj Allianz Silver Health. 

5. Varishta Mediclaim Policy - National Insurance 
 

Key features: 

• Special policy for senior citizens
• Policy tenure - 1 year 
• Available on individual sum insured basis 
• Minimum entry age - 60 years; Maximum entry age - 80 years 
• Sum insured options - Rs. 1 Lakh (hospitalisation) and Rs. 2 Lakh (critical illnesses) 
• Co-payment - 10% and 20% based on claims made, additional 10% co-payment for pre-existing diseases 
• Pre-existing disease waiting period - 12 months 
• Cover for diabetes and hypertension on paying additional premium 

Benefits covered: 

Inpatient treatment, 30 days pre and 60 days post hospitalisation, domiciliary hospitalisation, critical illnesses (stroke, cancer, kidney failure, major organ/bone marrow transplant, multiple sclerosis, open chest CABG, permanent paralysis of limbs and blindness if mentioned in the schedule), emergency ambulance charges, 5% cumulative bonus at renewal, reimbursement of health checkup at the end of a block of 3 continuous policy period, and no medical screening if if covered for three years under any health insurance policy. 

Detailed description of plan at National Insurance Varishta Mediclaim Policy.

6. Future Varishta Bima - Future Generali
 

Key features:

• Dedicated to senior citizens; covers expenses on indemnity basis
• Policy tenure - 1/2/3 years 
• Available on individual and family floater sum insured basis 
• Minimum entry age - 60 years; Maximum entry age - No limit 
• Sum insured options - Rs. 2 Lakh, Rs. 3 Lakh, Rs. 4 Lakh, Rs. 5 Lakh, Rs. 7.5 Lakh, Rs. 10 Lakh
• Co-payment - 50% (claims related to pre-existing disease) and 20% (other claims) 
• Pre-existing disease waiting period - 12 months 
• Instalment facility available for premium payment 

Benefits covered: 

Inpatient hospitalisation, 60 days pre hospitalisation, 90 days post hospitalisation, ambulance costs, day care treatment covered up to sum insured, free annual health check-ups from the second policy year, and no loading on premium for adverse claims experience. 

For more in depth about the plan, visit Future Generali Future Varishta Bima. 

Also Read

Things to Consider Before Getting Your Parents Insured

Top Health Insurance Plans For Senior Citizens or Parents

Conclusion 
 

Buying health insurance for parents won’t be a issue for you if you are clear about the specific needs of your parents right from the start. 

So, make sure you do remember to emphasise all the key aspects before making a final decision.

If finding any difficulty in understanding the plans or choosing the right health insurance for parents above 60 years, give us a call at 18001205698 right away!