The costs of good medical care are increasing by the day. This makes it necessary for each one of us to have proper health insurance coverage. A health insurance policy will protect your savings and assets during a medical emergency by helping cover the costs of treatment. Thus, you will not have to dip into your savings or sell family jewelry to afford your hospitalization and its ensuing expenses.
Now, it is a misconception that ill-health is something that only strikes in adulthood. In fact, children too can fall seriously sick and sometimes require hospitalisation. It therefore makes sense to protect your children with adequate health insurance too. If you are new to the concept of health insurance for children, this article is just for you. Read on for an overview of what you need to know about health insurance for children.
Types of health insurance for children in India
As a parent, you can secure your child under one of these two types of health insurance options:
- Family floater health insurance plan
This is a type of health insurance plan in which the main insured person can include their family members. Health insurance providers generally allow the policyholder to add their spouse and a maximum of two dependent children in this plan. Some providers also allow you to add your dependent parents and siblings. A family floater plan provides adequately for your child’s health insurance requirements. This comprehensive plan generally falls cheaper than buying individual health insurance policies for each member of your family. Do note that a child may be allowed to be covered under the family floater plan only until their reach the age of 21 years (or 25 years in the case of some insurance companies).
- Individual health insurance plan
A parent may also choose to buy an individual health insurance policy for their child. Children can enjoy the same features that are given to adult policyholders, such as pre- and post-hospitalisation costs, ambulance charges, AYUSH treatment, day care procedures, free health check-up, and so on. The main advantage of taking an individual health insurance plan for children is that there is no age limit to the coverage. Your child may even benefit from lifelong renewability. Plus, the premiums would be quite affordable as children are young and generally considered to be low-risk for health issues.
Insuring a new born baby
A new born baby usually cannot be given coverage under an individual health insurance plan. He/she would need to be included in a family floater plan along with you and your spouse. Remember that new born babies can get affected by many health conditions as their immunity is low. So, it makes sense to have peace of mind by getting adequate insurance. Do note that your baby needs to be at least 90 days of age before they can be included in your family floater plan.
Do speak to your health insurance provider about the best insurance options for your child. We hope this article has helped you. Take care.
