You can buy a single health insurance policy for your entire family, including spouse, dependent children, dependent parents, and dependent parents-in-law, with the sum insured shared among all the insureds. Usually, up to six people are covered in a policy. This is called a family floater cover and will cost you less than an individual health insurance policy for each family member.
With a family floater health insurance plan, multiple family members can be covered under a single policy. This makes it easier to manage and saves you the hassle of maintaining separate policies for each family member.
Family floater health insurance plans are usually more cost-effective compared to buying individual policies for each family member. By pooling the coverage, the premium cost is shared among all the members.
With a family floater plan, the sum insured can be utilized by any of the insured members. This provides flexibility in case any one member requires a higher sum insured.
Most family floater health insurance plans are renewable for life, which provides long-term coverage for the insured family.
Who is eligible for family floater health insurance?
Entry age
The oldest member of the family is the policyholder, and all adults should be in the 18 to 65 age group. Children can be covered for 90 days. Some insurers provide coverage even for 30-day-old babies.
Medical tests
Medical tests may be required depending on the age of insureds and sum insured. They vary from company to company.
Coverage for your parents
You can include your parents in the family floater or buy a separate customized senior citizen health insurance policy for them as the maximum age at entry for most health insurance policies in India is 65.
Exclusions under family floater health insurance policy
The following expenses will NOT be covered.
Hospitalization due to abuse of alcohol or drugs
Sexually transmitted diseases (STD) like AIDS or Herpes
Infertility treatment and treatment for complications in pregnancy
Hospitalization due to a suicide attempt of the insured
Dental and cosmetic surgery except if necessitated due to an accident
Once a claim is paid for part of the sum insured, the rest of the sum insured is still available to all members of the family for that policy year. On renewal, the full sum insured is again available to all members for a year.
If one of the family members covered under a family floater policy dies, the policy continues to cover the other members until renewal.
If the member who died is the policyholder, the policy is transferred to the next oldest member covered under the policy and coverage continues. It is possible to opt for a lower sum insured with a refund of premium or do it at renewal.
Each policy has its advantages. A family floater has a larger sum insured shared by all family members and a lower premium rate. An individual policy can give the policyholder exclusive rights to the full sum insured and will cost relatively higher.