You must have often heard older people in your family teach you that ‘health is wealth’. Most of us do not take that seriously when we are younger. But as time goes by, our body recognizes the importance of this phrase with every passing year.
Besides the fact that a healthy body is key to a happy life, it is also important to note that the medical costs in India are rising[1] exorbitantly. That is why there are so many options for health insurance plans available that help you secure your finances and your well-being by removing stress from your life.
Broadly speaking, when it comes to health insurance, there are two main types of plans – individual Mediclaim policy and a family floater plan.
The main difference between the two policies is that the family floater health insurance protects all the family members under one policy. This means that the premium and the sum assured is shared between all the family members. However, an individual mediclaim policy insures only one person.
This article will discuss each in detail to help you choose the right one for yourself.
- Individual Mediclaim policy
As the name suggests, an individual mediclaim policy is a health insurance plan that covers a single person, i.e., it does not cover your family or any family members in the plan. All the health benefits available in this insurance policy are meant for the policyholder only. This type of plan is ideal for someone who is looking to protect their individual health needs.
You can also take this policy for your senior parents as their health expenses are likely to grow exponentially after a certain age. You can not only leverage the protection benefits but also make you eligible for tax savings on your investment.
Many people buy an individual mediclaim policy to save some taxes, although it can serve both purposes perfectly if you buy the right plan.
- Family Floater Health Insurance
A family floater plan is a type of health insurance that protects you and everyone in your family under a single plan. The annual premium and the sum assured is shared between all the family members.
You no longer have to feel stressed about the financial burden that is associated with medical expenses. In such cases, your family floater health plan will provide you requisite financial assistance to pay for treatment and give you access to good quality healthcare.
With a family floater plan in your investment plan, you will be able to afford medical emergencies without any worries. Additionally, a family floater plan is flexible in terms of insurance coverage and suitable for small nuclear families or couples.
Choosing between Individual Vs Family plan
The aim of both – family floater and individual mediclaim policy are to provide cover that protects you, your savings, and your family members during medical emergencies. However, they both follow different approaches to attain that objective.
Insurance providers follow certain guidelines by IRDAI when it comes to individual Mediclaim policy. When you want to choose between the two, the first thing you need to keep in mind is the cost factor. A floater plan is the best option for a young family because the premiums will be much cheaper than the individual policy because you do not need to pay an individual premium for both spouses. Therefore, it is more affordable to buy a family floater policy if you are a small family.
However, an individual mediclaim policy gives each individual a dedicated sum assured, whereas a family floater plan offers shared insurance cover. This means that if one person in the family floater plan makes a claim, the overall cover reduces by that amount. If, for some unforeseen reason, all the members of the family need to use their health insurance, the coverage may prove to be inadequate. Moreover, a family floater plan may become a financial liability if one of the spouses requires it more than the other. In such a scenario, it can risk the entire corpus being used up by a single person instead of providing financial protection to everyone in the family.
That is why you need to keep your needs and budget in mind when looking for a health insurance policy. According to trusted insurance providers like Care Insurance, you must carefully review policy benefits and premium amounts using online calculators to make the right investment decision.