Mahesh was looking for a health insurance plan for his family of four – himself, his wife and his two children. He had two options. Either he could buy four individual health insurance plans for each member or go for a family floater health insurance plan. Mahesh compared the pros and cons of both the options and finally settled on the latter.

Family floater health insurance plan

A family floater health insurance plan is where the entire family is covered under one policy. Here, every family member shares the sum insured. This means that any covered family member can claim up to the Sum Insured in any given policy year. However, if there is more than one claim, the total available cover would be limited to the Sum Insured.

So, what sealed the deal for Mahesh?

Mahesh found the benefits offered by the family floater plan more convincing than the individual plans. As it turned out, the family floater plan promised him better coverage at cheaper rates of premiums. Let’s find out how:

• Every member had a higher coverage

Instead of buying a policy of Rs.2 lakh for each family member, Mahesh bought a single policy of Rs.5 lakh covering himself, his wife and two children. Thus, every member of Mahesh’s family enjoyed a higher coverage of Rs.5 lakh rather than a limited individual cover of Rs.2 lakh.

• The premiums were cheaper

Mahesh analyzed the comparative premiums for both his choices. The premiums that he had to pay for four individual policies of Rs.2 lakh each was more expensive than the actual premium he paid for his family floater health insurance cover of Rs.5 lakh. Let’s see how:

*Source: http://www.apollomunichinsurance.com/Downloads/Easy-Health-Insurance-(Individual)-Rate-Card.pdf

**Source: http://www.apollomunichinsurance.com/Downloads/Easy-Health-Insurance-(Family)-Rate-Card.pdf

This saving in premium, coupled with the highest level of coverage convinced Mahesh to buy a family floater plan rather than an individual health plan.

• Every member had access to a higher claim amount

If Mahesh had to opt for an individual health insurance policy with coverage of Rs.2 lakh, then the claim amount per individual would have been restricted to Rs.2 lakh only. However, a family floater plan would have offered a claim amount of Rs.5 lakh (sum insured). So, for instance, if Mahesh had to face any medical contingency and had been hospitalized, medical bills only up to Rs.2 lakhs would have been compensated by his individual health plan. On the contrary, through a family floater health plan, Mahesh could claim medical bills up to Rs.5 lakhs thereby allowing him a higher claim amount.

Is a family floater a better option for families?

Given the lower cost of the premium and the higher level of coverage, a family floater makes a better choice rather than an individual health insurance plan. However, a family floater plan should be taken to cover self, spouse, and dependent children only. For covering senior citizen parents, a separate floater plan should be taken. The reason being the chances of the senior citizens falling sick is more than the younger members of the family. Therefore, the chances of the entire claim amount getting utilized are also high.

Types of family floater plans available in the Indian market

There are two distinct types of family health insurance plans available in the market. Each of these plans is designed to fulfill the needs of all the family members. So, here are the two different types of family floater health plans available in the Indian health insurance market:

• Comprehensive family floater plan – this is a health insurance plan for the whole family, which has a list of comprehensive coverage features. You get the basic coverage, which includes coverage for pre and post hospitalization, organ donor expenses, daycare treatments, ambulance charges, etc. Moreover, a comprehensive plan also allows you coverage for additional expenses like AYUSH treatments, Sum Insured restoration, maternity cover, OPD expenses, etc.
• Top-up and super top-up health plans – There is a deductible limit up to which claims are not paid in these plans. If the claims (standalone claims in case of top-up plans and aggregate claims in a year in case of super top-up plans) exceed the deductible limit, the top-up and super top-up plans pay the benefit.

Since your family is very important to you, a family floater health plan should be considered to protect your family and your finances too. Understand the benefits of a family floater health plan, research, analyze your health needs and then decide the value of sum insured. Family floater plans of different insurers look similar at times and therefore it is also important to read the fine print. So, what are you waiting for? Go buy one right now!

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