Navigating health insurance: Choosing between a family floater and individual health insurance

Health insurance is one of the biggest necessities that everyone should opt whether family or individual. A health insurance plan offers financial coverage in times of health distress. A health insurance plan can be opted in two forms namely as an individual health insurance policy that offers comprehensive coverage to an individual or as a family floater insurance cover that offers insurance coverage to the family. While Zurich Kotak General Insurance offers both options of insurance coverage there are subtle differences between the two. This article will help you with insurance plan selection.

What is a family floater health insurance plan?

As the name suggests a family floater health insurance plan offers insurance cover to the entire family under a single insurance plan. A family floater health insurance coverage will offer safety to all the family members. The sum assured of the insurance shall be shared by all the members of the family. Usually, a family health insurance will cover the policyholders, spouse, and dependent children.

A family floater plan’s sum assured is for all the members. In case of a medical emergency, any one of the family members can utilize the sum assured for the medical expenditure as the case may be. Let us understand the pros and cons of the family floater health insurance plan.

Pros:

Cost-effective:

A family floater health insurance plan is one of the most cost-effective health insurance tools as compared to the individual health insurance plan. A family floater plan has a comparatively lower insurance premium than an individual health insurance cover as the sum assured is shared among the family members.

Convenience:

Having health insurance cover for the entire family under one single policy simplifies the tracking of the insurance tasks like renewal of policy, documentation, etc.

Higher sum assured utilisation:

Under a family floater health insurance cover the entire sum assured can be utilised by all or a single person covered under the policy. Therefore, in case of medical care required by only one family member, the entire sum assured can be utilized for the care of that individual thereby offering a higher sum assured to be utilized for higher medical expenses.

Cons:

Coverage exhaustion:

The entire sum assured can be utilized by all or any one insured member. In the event of multiple medical attention for family members in the same policy year than in such cases, the shared sum assured coverage gets exhausted quickly thus leaving lesser insurance coverage for subsequent medical expenses.

Age disparity:

As all the family members are covered under a family floater plan a huge age disparity can be observed thereby increasing the cost of the health insurance premium. Older members covered under the policy face higher insurance premiums along with increased health risks.

Individual insurance:

As the name suggests an individual health insurance plan offers insurance coverage to an individual in the event of a medical emergency. The following are the pros and cons of an individual health insurance plan:

Pros:

Dedicated coverage:

A person with an individual health insurance plan enjoys dedicated health insurance coverage thereby ensuring that the complete sum assured is for the single person.

Cons:

High premium:

Individual health insurance policies usually have higher premiums as compared to family floater insurance plans. The premiums get even more expensive if the person is old or has a pre-existing health condition.

Multiple health insurance plans:

Buying individual health insurance coverage for each member of the family means managing multiple policy documents and keeping track of multiple renewal dates and terms.

So, how to choose between a family floater and an individual health insurance plan?

The decision to choose between individual health insurance coverage and family floater coverage depends on numerous factors like the age of the family members, size of the family, medical history, and financial budget. The choice between the two completely depends on the individual needs and circumstances. It is best to understand the terms and conditions of the policies and after careful consideration choose what best satisfies your needs.

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