I forgot to renew my family floater health insurance policy; what should I do now? – Economic Times

I bought a family floater policy covering my wife, two kids and my parents (oldest person’s age is 70) in 2010 and continued paying premium till 2020. I forgot to renew the policy in June 2021. What should I do now?

Jayan Mathews Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer – Vital replies: A health insurance policy offers a grace period of around 30 days after the due date. Since that period is over, you will need to purchase a new policy and all waiting periods would reapply. While you bought a single policy to easily manage coverage for your entire family, this may not be the most efficient solution. Considering the different levels of health risks associated with the different members of the family, it is better to take a separate plan for yourself, your spouse and children, and a different one for your parents. This will not only help you reduce premiums but also increase the overall coverage. There are a host of insurance providers available in the market but do make sure that your plan comprehensively covers everything.

I am 37 and a bank employee. I have a health insurance cover of Rs 2 lakh from New India Assurance. I am planning to buy another cover of Rs 5 lakh for my family of four. Can you please suggest a health insurance plan that will cover all medical treatment including day care.

Jayan Mathews, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer – Vital replies: It is a good idea to increase your coverage, as only Rs 2 lakh of cover is highly inadequate considering the current cost of healthcare. Also you must have evaluated the cost of healthcare in the city while deciding on increasing the cover to Rs 5 lakh. An ideal health insurance plan to opt for would be a top up health insurance policy with a deductible option. A deductible is that amount of money you would need to pay towards an incurred claim post which the remaining amount would be covered by the top up policy. So in this case you can choose a health insurance policy with a cover of Rs 5 lakh or more but with a deductible of Rs 1 or 2 lakh. In the event of a claim, the initial part up to the deductible can be covered by the Rs 2 lakh policy from New India post which the coverage of your new policy can begin. The advantage of choosing a top up plan such as this would be that your premium towards this policy will be up to 60% cheaper than a similar policy without a deductible. Most health insurance companies including new age insurtechs provide you such an option.