Buying health insurance cover is essential and a critical part of your financial plan. Health insurance is no more limited to a handful of insurers and their policies but instead is available with a plethora of alternatives. When purchasing a health cover, it is crucial you determine the beneficiaries of the plan, i.e. you or your family. Further, you need to consider your financial coverage requirements when purchasing one. Also the need of an independent insurance adjuster in case of any claim settlement issue.
There are many different types of health insurance plans that you can buy, but two popular products are the individual cover and family floater policy. Let us understand more about them.
What is an Individual health insurance policy?
An individual policy covers only the policyholder who is the sole beneficiary of the policy. The premium for this type of policy depends on the various factors like age, existing health condition, any pre-existing ailments, and more.
What is a Family floater health insurance policy?
Health insurance plans for family are those that provide an insurance cover to your entire family. This policy includes your spouse, children and even your parents – depending on whose name you want to include in the plan. The premiums for family floater plans are based on the age of the eldest individual, along with the type of coverage opted.
Now that you know the difference between the two, let us look at how they stack up against each other.
The advantages of buying a family floater policy over individual policies.
#1 Hassle-free in maintaining many policies at once
A family floater policy is advantageous over an individual cover as it eliminates the requirement of maintaining different plans for each family member. You can opt for a single blanket policy and never miss a renewal date. This way, you can keep a tab on your expenses in a consolidated manner for your entire family.
#2 Cost-effective policies if beneficiaries are in a similar age group
Since the premiums for a family floater policy is decided based on the age and coverage of the eldest member, these plans are beneficial if all the beneficiaries belong to a similar age group. This way, not only the premiums will be more or less similar for all, but also the coverage is available to all the beneficiaries under one single plan.
The advantages of buying an individual policy over a family floater plan.
#1 Fixed sum insured for each individual.
Since there are different plans for every individual, the sum insured is fixed. Any renewal benefits are available to the individual person. The same is not possible in case of a family floater policy since the entire amount is available for all the members at once.
#2 Renewal benefits
Every individual policyholder enjoys the renewal benefits in the form of no-claim benefits. Since they are independent plans, bonus and other policy benefits are not hampered due to other family members making a claim during the policy tenure.
The bottom line is that both the policies are beneficial; it is up to you to decide which policy to select depending on your circumstances. No matter what choice you make, compare health insurance policies and then make a decision accounting for your requirements.
