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How important is a Health Insurance for Senior Citizens?

03 October, 2018

Health insurance is not an option, it’s a necessity. And the relevance of health insurance plan increases with growing age. Nowadays, many young people are worried about their parent’s health care requirements, especially when parents are senior citizens. Thus, a senior citizen health insurance can come to their aid during times of medical emergency. Ideally, one should invest in a senior citizen plan as early as possible so as to avail benefits in the later stages of life. There are several senior citizen health plans available market that one can benefit from.

 

Senior citizen health insurance plan is exclusively designed for seniors who look to meet the high medical costs by paying a premium every year to the insurance company who pays the sum insured in case of a medical emergency. Besides, if you are one who has just shouldered the responsibility of a senior citizen, here’re the few things you need to know about a senior citizen health plan –

 

Benefits of senior citizen health insurance –

 

 

  • Hassle-free claim settlements
  • Get health check-ups annually
  • Avail tax benefits on higher insurance premium
  • It covers daily care costs that arise due to treatments like chemotherapy, dialysis, etc.
  • Pre and post hospitalization is covered
  • Pre-existing diseases are covered, after completing necessary waiting periods.
  • Get higher sum insured benefits
  • Get cashless hospitalization if patient is admitted for more than 24 hours
  • Ambulance expenses are covered

 

What’s not covered under senior citizen health insurance?

 

Here’s a list of things that are not covered under senior citizen health insurance –

 

 

  • Pre-existing injuries or diseases, before completing the waiting periods.
  • Cosmetic injuries
  • Medical expenses during treatment of AIDS
  • Cost of lenses or spectacles
  • Dental treatment
  • Expenses that are related to injuries caused by oneself
  • Expenses caused due to drug abuse

 

 

What to consider before buying a senior citizen health plan?

Listed below are the things that one should consider while buying a senior citizen health plan –

  • Know the medical history: Before buying a plan for senior citizens, you need to know the details of their medical history. An aged person may not be aware of the several medical conditions they suffer from, thus it would be better to cross-verify the details as you cannot solely go based on their knowledge about the medical history.

 

  • Compare and select plan: There are several medical insurance plans available online in India. Thus, it is essential for you compare these plans and choose the one that best suits your needs. Comparison between several health insurance plans depends on factors like price, coverage, add-ons/riders, etc.

 

  • Fill application form: While choosing the policy, fill in accurate and relevant information. Incomplete or wrong information would create problems leading your insurance company would reject the application.

 

  • Go for a medical check-up: The policyholder would have to go for a medical check-up after submitting the proposal form. The information related to the policyholder’s medical check-up would be verified by the insurance company. In addition to this, a few medical check-ups would be conducted by the insurance company, if required. Some of these tests include kidney & liver function, blood routine, urine routine, etc.

 

Why is it important to buy senior citizen health insurance?

 

It is important to buy senior citizen health insurance due to these following reasons –

 

  • For stress-free planning: Though falling ill is obvious with ageing, but you should still plan to ensure that all urgent medical expenses are taken care of in a well-planned and hassle-free manner.

 

  • It saves you from debt crisis: Debt crisis can be a huge financial problem for your family. And in such case, if the older person doesn’t have  a senior citizen insurance, then the breadwinner of the family will have to pay for all the medical expenses from his pockets. Thus, making it difficult for them to manage household expenses and pay off loans, if any.

 

  • Old age makes you more prone to illnesses or diseases: After retirement, a person wishes to survive on the pension or interest earned from savings. Although, growing older makes you more prone to illnesses and diseases.

 

What are the factors on which senior citizen policy can be compared?

If you wish to compare senior citizen policies online in India, then you should remember that the type of policy a person wants to avail depends on the following factors –

 

  • Age
  • Sum insured
  • Hospital Network
  • Waiting period
  • Coverage of specific illness
  • Inclusions and exclusions
  • Waiting period
  • Number of insured people in the policy
  • Premiums

 

 

Who should consider buying senior citizen health insurance?

 

Senior citizen health insurance is basically designed to offer financial aid to people who are above 60 years of age and have less income or no income after retirement. In addition to this, this type of health policy can also be availed by children for their aged parents.

 

 

What’s the procedure to file senior citizen insurance claim?

To file a mediclaim, firstly, fill out a form online from the website of insurance company and then submit it back to the insurer. In addition to this, you need to attach all medical bills given by the hospital. Moreover, what you need to ensure is that you meet all your requirements for fast claim processing.

 

Key things to remember –

 

Here’re the few things you need to keep in mind while buying a senior citizen health insurance plan –

 

 

  • Select a plan that offers adequate coverage at an affordable rate. It would be great if it covers both critical and pre-existing illness with a limited waiting period.
  • Choose to go with a plan that allows you to renew your senior citizen insurance plan to the maximum age.

 

 

So, gifting senior citizen health insurance to your old parents is the best way to take care of their needs. Though, there are several options available in the market, you can still get a decent policy by keeping in mind some of the important points that are mentioned above.

 

 

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