There is no better feeling than seeing your loved ones being hale and hearty, right? At the same time, you may be worried about their well-being as the number of lifestyle diseases are on the rise due to hectic lifestyles.
The expenses arising from hospitalisation can be hard to deal with, especially if you don’t have a sufficient financial back-up. There is always a risk that you may use up all your hard-earned savings for the treatment. This is where a health insurance plan plays an important role.
Buying a health insurance policy for your family members could be the most valuable gift you can give them. As the healthcare cost is slowly rising, having robust health insurance is vital. But, instead of buying a policy for each member, you can cover all the family members under a single policy by choosing a family health insurance policy.
How does family health insurance work?
Family health insurance, which is commonly referred to as a family floater plan provides financial protection against the medical expenses. When any of the family members who are covered under the policy gets hospitalised, you can provide them the best treatment facility to them without worrying about the cost.
Each of the family members can use the coverage up to the sum insured limit and everyone can share it equally.
Let us understand working family health insurance with an example.
Let us assume you have purchased a family health insurance plan with a sum insured of Rs. 5 lakhs. Now, if anyone who is covered under the policy is hospitalised, they can use the entire amount. But, if the treatment costs less than Rs. 5 lakhs, then the remaining amount can be used by other family members when the need arises.
However, if the entire sum insured is used for the treatment, then others won’t have any coverage to use, and you must bear the expenses from your pocket. And, in the event of the insured member’s demise, the other members can continue to sum insured.
Does the family size affect the health insurance cost?
The family size does not necessarily mean that you will incur higher medical expenses. For example, if you have a family of four members and everyone is healthy and didn’t require hospitalisation in a year, then your annual medical expenses would obviously be less than a couple who needed hospitalisation twice in the same period.
However, the family size does have an impact on the health insurance cost. The insurance company determines the premium for the family health plan based on the number of members covered under the policy. The more the number of family members covered, the higher the premium and vice-versa.
Generally, insurance companies offer customised family health insurance plans that allow you to cover your spouse and your children. However, if you wish to add more members in the same plan, you must pay an extra premium.
Also, another impact factor to know is that the insurance companies determine the premium for a family health insurance based on the age of the oldest family member.
Final Word
The family size does have an impact on the premium cost. However, this must not deter you from giving your family health cover. Compare the different family health insurance plans and choose the one that offers a wide coverage at an affordable premium.