A comprehensive health insurance plan will help cover your parents’ medical expenses as they age.
As your parents grow older, they become more prone to illnesses and infections, and hence health insurance becomes a necessity.
Your parents strive hard throughout their lives to provide a comfortable lifestyle and quality education to you. However, in their quest to provide for the family, they may end up ignoring their own needs. As a result, they may be left with minimal savings during the golden years of their lives.
Therefore, as a responsible son/daughter, it becomes your duty to purchase a reliable health insurance policy for your parents. Many insurance companies in India offer dedicated health insurance plans for senior citizens, keeping in mind the unique medical needs of older people.
So, if you haven't yet purchased health insurance for your parents, you should do so without any delay. Let's have a look at some of the benefits of procuring health insurance for parents.
Tackle the increasing healthcare costs
As the medical inflation rate goes up globally, healthcare costs are rising every year in India too. It means that in case your mother or father falls ill in the near future, you may incur greater expenses for their treatment that what you would assume as per today's treatment rates.
However, a health insurance policy for your parents may help you tackle these costs. It typically covers healthcare expenses such as hospital room-rent, doctor's consultation fees, costs for buying medicines and other medical supplies, ambulance charges, etc.
Medical coverage for elderly people
Most standard health insurance policies provide medical coverage for people only up to the age of 65. It means that after this age, your elderly parents may be left without any medical coverage, which can be very risky.
By buying a senior citizen health insurance policy, which offers coverage for senior citizens even after the age of 65, you can ensure optimal health coverage for your elderly parents. Some insurers even provide health insurance for senior citizens with an option of lifetime renewability.
A high sum insured
The healthcare needs of your parents might be very different from yours. They usually require some extra medical care since their bodies are more prone to infections and illnesses. Therefore, a sum insured sufficient for younger people might not be enough for their older counterparts.
A senior citizen health insurance policy generally comes with a high sum insured, keeping in mind the additional healthcare needs of older adults. It allows the policyholders to get coverage of up to ₹25 to 30 lakhs. Some insurers even allow their customers to top-up their sum insured to ensure adequate coverage all the time.