Health Insurance for Senior Citizens - A Necessity Not a Choice!

Senior citizen health insurance plan is a necessity especially when you are close to your retirement and would be living on a pension or interest income from savings. It is the age when health issues are more likely to happen and can get you into serious financial crisis. To avoid this, it is prudent to get a comprehensive senior citizen health insurance policy – specifically suited to those between 65 to 80 years of age.

HDFCERGO is the most reputed general insurance company that offers health insurance for senior citizens in India. The senior citizens health insurance policies from HDFC ERGO ensure that you are financially protected during your golden years and are able to keep up with the skyrocketing medical expenses.

Here’s a list of benefits that this plan would offer you:

1. Hospitalization cover: This policy covers the hospitalization cost if the patient is hospitalized for more than 24 hours. The expenses include room charges, doctor fees, nursing fees, the cost of medicine, etc.
2. Day care expenses: It covers expenses arising from the use of special equipment during treatment.
3. Medical expenses: Under this section of the policy, prior and post hospitalization charges are recouped. However, the number of days may vary from one insurance company to the other.
4. Pre-existing diseases: Pre-existing diseases like cancer, asthma, arthritis, etc. are also covered in senior citizens health policy. However, this is subject to the terms and conditions of the insurer.
5. Ambulance charges: Covers the expenditure incurred for transporting the insured. But this section has a maximum limit cap.

Besides these, health policy also earns tax benefits as Finance Minister Mr. Arun Jaitley has increased deduction available under Section 80DDB to Rs 20,000 from Rs 30,000 for senior citizens. This comes as a bonus for policyholders.

Important things to keep in mind while purchasing Health insurancefor senior citizens:

1. Know the third party administrator (TPI) of your policy in advance as the insurance company will transfer your claim process to them. TPI will be liable for all claim procedures & settlements.
2. Maintain a written record of the list of nearest hospitals that are a part of your insurance company’s network list.
3. Know the co-payment limit for the policy so that you can easily manage the differential amount when you visit the hospital for treatment.
4. Renew your policy on time and try to use it efficiently too by not making smaller claims. This will fetch you No Claim Bonus benefits and lower your premium value eventually.

Continue

Easy Guide To Buy A Health Insurance For Your Family

Family is the life's greatest blessing for everyone! If you are amongst those who are blessed with a family which cares for you, it is equally important for you to safeguard them against unforeseen medical emergencies and illnesses. To offer you the best policy for your family, HDFC ERGO brings forth a wide range of health insurance for family ranging from an economical plan which covers for in-patient treatment cost and pre and post hospitalization cost without sub-limits, to critical illness platinum policy that acts as your perfect saviour in times of need.

While purchasing a comprehensive health cover for your family, first determine who all are going to be covered under it. Of course, there must be many people in your family who are already covered under employers policy. In that case, you must first see whether that policy covers them appropriately or not and if there is any other additional benefit that you need to add for them. Also, ascertain a fixed budget under which you can buy the policy as there is no benefit of purchasing an expensive policy if you cannot keep up with your monthly premiums and will have to adjust your coverage amount at some point.

When you are buying health insurance for your family, you must try to find out the policy that offers good coverage at lesser premiums. Let's say, if your family member does not suffer from any long-term illness, get a cover that offers regular medical checkups at fewer premiums. Whereas if anyone in your family is above 45 years of age or maybe suffers from long-term illnesses like cancer, tumor, etc., getting a critical illness cover would benefit you in the long run. Knowing your medical needs will significantly help you choose the right policy. It will also help your insurer to customize the policy as per your requirement.

You can also reduce the cost of your health insurance by allowing higher deductibles on the policy if you think that you will not have to make a claim. Remember if you follow this move, you should have a good financial situation to cover the deductibles. All in all, buying a health insurance for the family is indeed a tough and expensive too. But to avoid spending much on the policy, it is good to shop sensibly. You must determine your requirement first and check the number of people who are to be covered under the policy, before making your call.

To quickly purchase the health insurance for your family, you can visit HDFC ERGO online and explore a wide range of policies available for you. Here you can also compare different policies and can check their respective insurance quotes online with ease. So what are you waiting for? Visit hdfcergo.com and get started with policy buying process.

Continue