The advent of new technology and many latest inventions has brought in many advancements in the medical field. However, the medical and healthcare costs are on an all-time high with close to double digit inflation rate.
Senior citizens are generally not in the prime of life and are venerable to adverse medical conditions. They are often dependent on their sons or daughters for their medical costs. Hence it becomes very important to hold an effective health insurance scheme to help them save on these unforeseen costs.
Medical Insurance for senior citizens is certainly not that easily accessible and really comprehensive with its coverage for people aged above 60, but is still provided by top insurance companies. But, you need to take a detail look at its clauses to be aware of what exactly is covered and check for any restrictions.
Let’s look below at some top features of Senior Citizen health plans:
- Age of Entry – Most of the public sector companies provide health insurance between the age of 60 to 80 and you can enter the plan even when you are above 60. But certain companies limit the entry age to 69 and once you are above 69 you cannot be eligible to take a new policy. Some private insurance providers don’t have such age restrictions and you can enter in any age.
- Renewal Age – It varies from one insurer to other and generally one can renew their policy till 90 years of age.
- Pre-Existing Ailments – Some policies cover them and some don’t so this aspect should be strictly verified before buying a new policy. Some of the providers even subject to a waiting period of 1 or 2 years to be able to claim for coverage for pre-existing medical conditions. So, it is very important to read the clauses of the policy to understand if this is covered.
- Sum Assured or Sum Insured – It is the total amount of coverage that you are liable for in event of a medical claim. Typically, the sum assured amount of senior citizen policies is high owing to more exposure of medical risks. While public sector Mediclaim offers sum assured starting from 1 lakh, private providers offer higher rates up to 20 lakhs. The higher the sum assured, the higher the premium.
- Premium – This is the most important aspect that affects your choice of a policy and they are generally high for seniors because of susceptibility of additional medical risks and coverage of pre-existing medical conditions. So assess your budget and take the correct decision to lower your burden and stay protected.
- Co-Payment – This is the deductible amount that you need to pay up for any claim you make and is typically 10-20% for senior citizen policies.
- Tax Benefit – The premium you pay is deducted from your income and saves on the total tax amount
- No Claim Bonus – You are rewarded for not making any claim for a whole year and the sum assured amount is raised from 5% to 50% accordingly the next year.
