There are various types of child health insurance plans offered in India, like individual child health insurance plans, family floater plans, etc. These health insurance plans come with various features like low rate of premiums, add-on covers, discounts, tax benefits, etc.
Every parent aims at giving the best for their kids, be it education, lifestyle, or anything else. Then how can one possibly neglect when it comes to protecting their child’s health that too in such times. The recent pandemic of COVID-19 has affected individuals from all generations and has made people realise the importance of having a health insurance plan for every individual irrespective of their age.
In the growing years of children, visiting a doctor does not limit to illness only. There are frequent visits required at the paediatrician as well to keep a check on the child’s proper growth. While you know its importance, you might also know how expensive it becomes to pay frequent visits to a good paediatrician.
A health insurance plan that covers various medical expenses at every stage of your child’s growth years and that can be customised as per the requirements is need of the time. Thus, here are some factors that will help you understand child health insurance plans better.
What are the types of Child health insurance plans?
There are majorly two types of child health insurance plans- the first is an individual child health insurance plan and the other is a family floater health plan.
1. Individual child health insurance plan
An individual child health insurance plan provides health cover for your child with many benefits like comprehensive coverage, lower rate of premiums, cashless hospitalization, no claim bonus and other perks. Besides hospitalization charges, it also covers medical check-ups, ambulance and specialist charges.
2. Family floater plan
A family floater health plan is a plan that covers the entire family under one plan. Such a plan usually covers the primary individual, spouse, and up to four kids. One can add the new members (kids) to the plan at the time of birth and thus cover every cost from birth like vaccination, etc. The benefits of this health insurance plan are fixed premiums, discounts, add-on covers, tax benefits, etc.
What are the features of the child health insurance plan that you must look out for?
1. New-born coverage
This is one of the most important features to look out for while choosing a child’s health insurance policy. As new-born babies are more likely to catch infections and need intense care and health care services, it is advised to have a health insurance policy that covers both maternity coverage and coverage for the new-born baby.
2. Minimum age for cover
In case of individual child insurance plans, the minimum age of cover is from day one since the child is born. In some cases of family floater plans, it can be 90 days after the birth of the child. In case of a floater health insurance plan, you must inform the insurance company and request to add the new member to the policy within a week’s time after the child’s birth.
3. Maximum age under floater plans
In case of family floater plans, the dependent kids are allowed to be added to the plan. The maximum age limit is till the child is of age 21 – 25 years old. For individual child health insurance plans, there is no maximum limit.
4. Comprehensive cover
Usually, all the insurance providers offer an all-round health cover that covers major expenses like pre-hospitalization, hospitalization and post-hospitalization expenses. Other than this, it also offers the benefits of daily cash, free medical check-ups, and ambulance charges.
5. Exclusions
Some insurance plans cover children under the family floater plan but do not cover congenital defects. Read and consider all the exclusions before choosing a child’s health insurance policy.
6. Tax benefits
Health insurance plans come with tax deductions of ₹25,000 that can be claimed for the premium paid for the health insurance of your kids and spouse.