Benefits of Buying a Family Floater Health Insurance Plan

If you are looking to buy a Health Insurance plan for yourself and your family, there are many factors to consider while selecting a policy. You may be supporting your parents, spouse and young children and are looking to buy a policy that includes your family. The Family Floater Health Insurance plan covers your family members for a sum assured by paying a single premium in a year. Here is a closer look at the features of a Family Floater plan. Also Read: Family Floater Health Insurance - Who All Can be Included in the Policy?

Experts advise that a Family Floater plan is preferable if you are newly married and have young children. A Floater plan has specific features you must assess to see if they suit you and your family. Here are some advantages of a Family Floater plan:

Covers family with a single plan:

With Family Floater Health Insurance plans, you can cover your family and yourself under a single insurance plan. This policy has one sum insured that is shared between all the members and is more manageable, as this will do away with remembering the policy renewal dates of individual policies.

Lower premium:

Family Floater plans have a lower premium compared to that of Health Insurance plans for each family member. Floater is a more lucrative option for maternity cover features. Also, for a larger family with elderly members, this can be a more economical option.

You can add new family members:

With a Family Floater plan, you can add new members to the policy, such as a newborn child, or a parent. While many plans limit the number of members that can be included, this is still a good option for smaller and younger families.

Any family member can use the entire sum insured:

With a Family Floater plan, any members included in the policy can claim the entire sum insured amount if they require treatment or are hospitalised. For example, if you have purchased a Family Floater cover of ₹5 lakhs, and a family member has a medical emergency, they can claim the entire sum insured amount of ₹5 lakhs until it is exhausted for that particular year.

Tax benefits:

You can decrease your tax liability by up to ₹ 25,000 under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act. You can claim a deduction of ₹ 50,000 if you cover your parents under 60. And if your parents are senior citizens, you may enjoy an additional deduction of ₹ 1 Lakh per year.

Reduced coverage after claim:

The sum insured coverage for a member gets reduced if another member has had a prior claim in the Floater policy in the same year. It means that if a family member claims ₹ 3 Lakhs from a ₹ 5 Lakhs policy, a second member filing a claim in the same financial year can only claim ₹ 2 Lakhs and pay the balance from their own pocket.

Loss of No Claim Bonus:

If you go without filing a claim in a given year, your Health Insurance provider rewards you with a No Claim Bonus (NCB) , an increased coverage amount or a reduced annual premium. However, if any member covered under the Floater Health Insurance policy claims during a specific year, you may lose out on your NCB for that year.

Age cap:

Your dependent children can enjoy coverage under your Family Floater plan only up to 23 or 25 years of age. The age cap may vary across insurance companies. Once your child crosses the policy age cap, they can buy an individual policy.

Maximum renewability age:

A family Floater plan has lifetime renewability, which lets you renew coverage without re-qualifying for a new Health Insurance policy. This option to renew the plan for a lifetime offers much-needed Health Insurance coverage.Also Read: Family Floater Health Insurance Plan – Everything You Wanted to Know

• A Family Floater plan provides wide-range coverage for your entire family under a single policy. It includes hospitalisation expenses, pre- and post-hospitalisation costs, road ambulance charges, and daycare procedures.
• Your Family Floater plan is more cost-effective compared to individual Health Insurance plans. The premium is shared among family members, making it more affordable than buying separate policies for each member.
• Any family member can utilise the sum insured in a Family Floater plan in case of a medical emergency.
• A Family Floater plan comes with a No-Claim Bonus feature. If you made no claims during a policy year, the insurer might increase the sum insured as a bonus, giving you additional coverage at no extra cost.
• Depending on the policy, your Family Floater plans may allow the addition of new family members, such as a newborn baby or newly married spouse, ensuring the extension of coverage as the family grows.
• Usually, a Family Floater policy does not cover parents-in-law, siblings, or other extended family members.
• You can reduce your tax liability with the premium you pay for your Floater policy. Your tax deductions can increase if your plan includes your parents and can be extended based on the age of your parents covered in the policy.