Senior Citizen Health Insurance
Senior citizen health insurance plan is a necessity, nowadays as people are planning to retire and live on pension or interest income from savings. During such a phase if a sudden medical emergency comes across then it might result in a financial crisis. Hence, to avoid such a scenario, it is very important that a person takes a comprehensive senior citizen mediclaim insurance policy. These senior citizen health insurance policies are for people who are between 65 years and 80 years of age.
The most important things to be noted while buying a Senior Citizen Health Insurance:
- Insurance Cover: The assured sum in a public insurance is max of Rs.2 Lakhs, as the payout. As, for private companies it in the maximum range of 18-20 Lakhs, but then the premiums would be on the higher end.
- Maximum Renewal age: A lot of insurance companies offer health policy for your elderly parents falling in the age bracket between 60 to 70 years. Citizens crossing their 70th year need to check out other companies which allow the patron up to 90 years of age.
- Waiting period: Most of the insurance companies have a minimum waiting period of 3 years and for some pre-existing conditions it’s over 5 years. In such cases, need to go for plans with a low waiting period.
- FreeLook Period: Free look period is the time frame where the policy holder is allowed to terminate their insurance contract, if they do not agree with the terms and conditions of the policy or do not wish to proceed with the intended policy, without being penalized with surrender charges. Policy holders can exercise this option within 15 days of receiving the policy document.
- Day-care methods: Many of the health insurance policies do not cover Day-care methods. To get the policy activate a person needs to be hospitalised for a minimum of 24 hours, else the policy will not cover and it has to be borne by the patient themselves.
- No-Claim Bonus: A lot of insurance companies provide a no-claim discount or a no-claim bonus if no claim is lodged by the policyholder. In such a case, either the premium decreases or the sum insured increases or both.
- Pre-Hospitalisation & Post-Hospitalisation: The treatment which happens before a patient is admitted is Pre-hospitalisation and most of the companies don’t cover this too. Hospitalisation expenses are the medical expenses which are incurred before and after hospitalisation. Visiting the doctors regularly for follow-ups, medication to be taken or follow-up examinations to be made comes under the post-hospitalisation expenses. Need to check out companies that pay for such treatments, if not then the patient have to bear it themselves. So it’s relevant that we need to check the correct plan that suits our needs in the old age.
- Premium of the plans: Most of the Senior citizen plans have a very high premium so while choosing it need to check what is covered under basic plans and if other problems are covered under some extra amount.
- Free Medical Health Checkups: Always check for a health insurance plan that allows the policyholders to medical check-up for free. The check-up or tests have no impact on the premium at the time of renewal.
- Pre-existing diseases or injuries
- Expenses arising out of self-inflicted acts
- Expenses arising from drug abuse
- One or more medical condition diagnosed within 30 days of purchasing the policy
- Expenses related to non-allopathic treatment
- The treatment cost of injuries caused due to an act of foreign army or a civil war
- A cosmetic surgery
- The cost of dental treatment or lenses/spectacles unless arising from an accident
- Treatment cost of AIDS