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Health insurance for senior citizens

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Age and the available options for health insurance policy are said to be inversely proportionate i.e. with the increase in age the options are limited. Although the number of options available to senior citizen pales in comparison to people below 50, but still there are some great policies at their disposal to choose from. The maximum age upto which one is allowed to buy a health insurance policy or even renew it is around 65 years of age. It is never too late to opt for a health insurance policy.

What is Senior Citizen Health Insurance?

Senior Citizen Health Insurance is a form of health insurance plan that takes care ofhealthcare expenses incurred by people above 60 years old. It includes preventive health check-up facilities for the elderly and cashless hospitalization at network hospitals of the insurance company. A senior citizen health insurance also covers pre-existing diseases, hospitalization expenses, critical illness, and pre and post hospitalization expenses and coronavirus treatment.

Importance of a Senior Citizen Health Insurance

Here are some important benefits of purchasing a senior citizen health insurance policy in India.

• Covers Recurring Illnesses:

Covers treatment of seasonal illnesses like dengue, malaria, covid19, typhoid, pneumoniaand others, just after 30 days.

• Hospitalization Expenses:

Similar to regular health insurance, senior citizen health insurance pays up to 70% of your parent’s hospital bill.

• Cashless Treatment:

In case of healthcare emergency or general hospitalizations, the insurance company directly pays to the hospital from your cover amount.

• No-claim Bonus:

This bonus provides them a discount on their renewal premium amount for each claim-free year. NCB can range anywhere from 20% to 100% depending on the type of plan.

• Pre-existing Illnesses:

Covers treatment costs of any pre-existing illnesses related to the heart, lungs, kidney, diabetes, blood pressure after the specified waiting period.

• Tax Benefits:

Health insurance for senior citizens offers policy holders with tax benefits on the premium he or she pays. This happens every financial year under section 80D of the IT Act.

Conclusion

The health insurance policy for senior citizens is a tad pricey as with increase in age the risk of falling victim to a number of health problems and disorders increases. The income of the senior citizens has less scope for step-up and thus any sudden medical expense causes a strain on their financial well-being. At such times health insurance policy for senior citizens proves to be a boon. HDFC ERGO requires prospective applicants above the age of 45 yrs to undergo a fixed number of medical tests like complete blood test, test for diabetes etc. to diagnose whether the senior citizen is already suffering from any health problems, known as pre-existing conditions. The health problems that are discovered or detected in these pre-determined tests are not included in the cover.

Disclaimer: The above information is for illustrative purpose only. For more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales.

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