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You hold your family dear and therefore, their health and well being come first above everything else. Owing to the spiraling cost of medical treatments and expensive medication in mind, it is advisable that you buy family health insurance which can help you meet medical expenses of any of the ailing family members easily.
While taking health insurance, you can either opt for buying individual policies for each family member or a single umbrella policy that covers all. The latter option is also called a family floater plan.
What are Family Floater Plans?
Family floater plans cover your entire family for a specific amount which is shared by all members of your family. To make this concept clear, let us take an example where a family of four takes family health insurance plan of Rs 10 lakhs. If one of the family members falls ill and claim is made for Rs. 4 lakhs, then rest of the remaining six lakhs is still available for other family members. Basically, the upper limit of a claim for the entire family under one insurance plan shall remain fixed at Rs. 10 lakhs.
The family floater plans usually cover self, spouse, children and parents. However, some insurance policies may also accommodate siblings, in-laws or other relatives.
The family floater plans are very popular for the following reasons:
One Policy, Wide Coverage
A family floater plan covers all family members under its gambit. The amount of the cover for such plans is usually higher than individual policies and therefore, caters to your medical expenses better. The risk of incurring high medical expenses in one year for all family members is extremely low. Hence, family health insurance cover turns out to be more than adequate.
Affordable
Family floater plans are value for money and prove to be much affordable than taking individual policies for every family member. You can get wide coverage for the entire family at a comparatively low premium.
Convenience
Let’s say you are a family of six including yourself and your spouse, parents and children. Now imagine purchasing and managing six individual medical policies for each of them. It is an administrative nightmare! Even with a family of four, it would be a hassle to operate four policies. On the other hand, take a case where all these family members are covered under a single family floater plan. It will require just one payment for one policy and the entire family can enjoy the benefits of family health insurance. Further, you don’t have to struggle with understanding terms, conditions and coverage of several individual policies but just one.
Easy Modification
Apart from the administrative convenience of one payment and one policy, family floater plan is also easy to modify. At any point in time, you can exclude and include family members to be covered under the insurance policy. For instance, there is a new addition to the family on account of wedding or childbirth, you can inform your insurance company and add the new members. On the other hand, if there is a death or certain family member requires special medical treatment not covered under the floater plan then you can exclude him or her from the umbrella policy and get an individual policy suited to condition of such a family member.
Tax Benefits
Just like any medical insurance policy, the premium paid towards family floater plans can also be claimed as a deduction under section 80D of Income Tax Act. The limit is Rs. 25,000 which increases to Rs. 30,000 if senior citizens are covered under such family health insurance.
Medical expenses often cause considerable financial distress especially when the family is large and includes children and old parents. A family health insurance can help you tide against difficult times by providing financial protection so that a medical condition does not rob you of your wealth and peace of mind. For those who care for their family, family health insurance is of greatest importance.
