We know that with greater age, comes higher risks of health complications. Many senior citizens suffer from pre-existing conditions but often their savings and pension are not adequate to deal with massive medical bills incurred upon hospitalisation. ...Read More
Scroll below to learn everything about these medical insurance plans.
Francis Rodrigues
Francis Rodrigues has a decade long experience in the insurance sector, and as SVP, E-Commerce and Digital Marketing, HDFC Life, manages the online sales channel, as well as digital and performance marketing. He has had hands-on experience in setting up sales channels and functional teams from scratch over a career spanning 2 decades.
Written By:
Vishal Subharwal
Vishal Subharwal heads the Strategy, Marketing, E-Commerce, Digital Business & Sustainability initiatives at HDFC Life. He is responsible for crafting and ensuring successful implementation of the overall organisation strategy.
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These are a special kind of health insurance policies designed to offer comprehensive coverage to our parents. It includes medical treatment costs, and hospitalisation expenses due to age-related issues. Availing Health insurance for parents helps you to mitigate the financial risk arising from costly medical treatments which otherwise can become a huge financial burden.
Hence it is wise to choose a health plan with a considerable sum insured which comes with benefits such as cashless treatment, annual health check-ups and much more. This can help you to manage the cost of healthcare treatments for your ailing senior citizen parents efficiently.
Here are some of the key reasons why it is mandatory to purchase a health insurance policy for your parents:
Day by day, the cost of medical treatments and procedures is increasing. As a result of rising medical inflation, it is very difficult to estimate the future cost of medical treatments beforehand. Therefore the best way to deal with such a situation is to avail a health insurance policy for parents with substantial benefits.
Health complications are quite common, especially in old age as bodily functions start deteriorating and require special support and treatment. Many senior citizens suffer from health-related issues such as diabetes, high blood pressure, joint pain, cataracts, etc. Opting for a comprehensive health plan can help you provide the best medical treatment to your parents without any financial burden.
Medical emergencies are always uncertain; hence, a sudden medical emergency can exhaust all your or your parent's retirement funds or any other goal-oriented funds. Therefore to keep all your lifelong savings intact, you can avail health insurance to serve the purpose well and also help your parents to fulfil their respective dreams and goals.
Conducting medical treatment without a health insurance policy may result in a compromise in quality treatment. Therefore opting for health insurance can be the wisest option in order to provide top quality treatment at the city’s best hospital.
Here are the types of health insurance plans for parents in India:
It is a type of health plan which covers a single sum insured to an individual based on their specific health requirements.
As the name suggests, these cover an entire family under a single plan. It can be beneficial if you have both parents and siblings to cover.
Such types of plans are specially meant for elderly parents offering comprehensive coverage along with fewer entry age restrictions.
Under such a type of plan the insurer covers each day's daily allowances your parents remain hospitalised.
These plans can be beneficial if your parents are diagnosed with critical illnesses such as critical heart diseases, cancer, stroke etc.
Such types of health policies are usually offered by employers which cover your parents.
It is a type of cover which becomes beneficial if you are looking for coverage of a pre-existing health issue of your parents. These types of covers might have some waiting period before the coverage period begins.
These plans are kick-ins or top-ups when the sum insured by basic health insurance is exhausted.
The Government of India has also taken initiatives to provide health coverage to the citizens through schemes live Ayushman Bharat. However such types of policies cover an entire family but only if they fall below the poverty line.
We take care of your health expenses; you only focus on getting well.
A Term & Health Combo Plan that covers both your life and medical expenses
UIN: 101Y121V03
A comprehensive plan that offers life and health cover for you and your family.
UIN : 101Y122V03
-Secure Benefit offers additional coverage amount equivalent to 100%/200% of the Base Sum Insured.
-Plus Benefit offers additional coverage equivalent to 100% of the Base Sum Insured in 2 years irrespective of a claim.
-Automatic Restore Benefits restores 100% of Base Sum Insured automatically on partial or complete utilization of Sum Insured (i.e. Base Sum Insured, Secure Benefit and Plus Benefit / Cumulative Bonus).
-Protect Benefit pays towards the Non-Medical expenses like gloves, food charges and other consumables during hospitalization
A Health Plan that has its heart in the right place.
UIN: 101N117V03
Get a cardiac cover of ₹ 10 Lakhs for just ₹ 5/Day1.
Covers 18 types of heart ailments.
Fixed lump sum payout irrespective of actual expenses incurred for diagnosis/procedure.
Benefit from Multiple Claims for same or different conditions or procedures2.
Option to choose Indexation benefit to ensure you stay ahead of medical inflation.
Offers financial protection from the disease people are worried about today.
UIN: 101N106V04
Get a Cancer Cover of ₹ 20 Lakhs for Less than ₹ 4/Day3.
Get lump sum benefit upon detection of early and major cancer.
Enjoy Premium Waiver Benefit for a period of 3 policy years in case of diagnosis of early stage cancer.
Option to receive a monthly Income benefit for next 5 years4.
No Medicals Required5.
This plan is an ideal top up for your existing health plan, to get lump sum coverage against critical illness and surgeries.
UIN: 101N110V03
Get lump sum payout if you are diagnosed with any one of the 18 critical illness and or 138 surgical procedures listed.
Get daily hospitalization cash benefit up to ₹ 5000.
Flexibility to pay premium as single pay or as regular payment.
Opt for triple benefits of receiving full sum assured for critical illness + surgical benefit + daily hospitalization cash benefit.
Here are some of the medical expenses which are covered under Health insurance for parents:
It caters to the medical expenses of your parents if they are admitted to a hospital for a duration of more than 24 hours.
It provides coverage for diagnostic tests and doctor consultations that occur before the hospitalisation of an insured person. It typically spans from 30 days to a maximum duration of 90 days prior to hospitalisation, depending on the policy you’ve chosen.
Coverage for follow-up treatments begins once your parents are discharged from the hospital. It typically extends from 60 days to a maximum of 90 days depending on the policy you’ve chosen.
It includes expenses for day care treatments, such as cataract surgery, varicose veins surgery, etc., which do not require the insured person to be hospitalised for 24 hours.
It covers treatment of your parents' pre-existing conditions; typically it comes with a waiting period ranging from 2 years to 4 years. Some health insurance plans now offer immediate coverage without any waiting period.
This covers the expenses of major surgeries, such as open-heart surgery, knee replacement, brain surgery, liver transplant, etc.
This covers the expenses of preventive health check-ups for your parents.
This covers the costs of providing treatment at home if hospitalisation is not at all possible.
This caters to the expenses associated with harvesting donated organs for transplant surgeries of your parents.
This covers the medical expenses while providing treatment at home based on a doctor's advice.
This covers the costs of modern treatments for your parents such as robotic surgeries, deep brain stimulation, oral chemotherapy, etc.
The following health conditions or treatments are usually not covered under parent’s health insurance:
Here are some of the important factors to consider while buying a health insurance plan for parents in India:
While finalising a health policy, the most important thing to keep in mind is to check whether all the policy covers your major healthcare requirements. Assess the coverage given for hospitalisation expenses, critical illness coverage, daycare procedures, major surgeries, etc.
If your policy comes with a pre-existing illness cover, consider checking the waiting period. The shorter the waiting period, the better it is.
Co-payment clause in health insurance is the percentage of the claim that the policyholder has to pay; therefore the lower the percentage, the better it is.
It is also essential to check whether the sum insured offered by the insurer is sufficient for your parent’s health conditions or not.
While purchasing a health policy it is also important to check whether there are any sub-limit in the policy or not. As it can set restrictions or limit the amount of expenses on some expenses like surgical fees, hospital room rent, etc.
Availing a health insurance policy for your parents online is way more convenient than purchasing a policy physically.
You can easily get accurate details from the official websites of insurers and compare multiple health plans to choose the best deal.
You can save time up to a large extent instead of physically travelling to the branches of different insurance companies.
As the online application does not require physical paperwork, it is eco-friendly and ultimately saves a huge amount of paper.
Moreover, with an online facility, you can easily access the policy terms and conditions at any point in time from anywhere in the world.
Setting up automatic payment makes your premium payment hassle-free and removes the hindrance of carrying cash physically and missing out on due dates.
Filing a claim online and processing the same is also organised and way faster and more straightforward than doing it via an agent. It also allows you to track your claim status with ease.
Genuine ratings and feedback from different customers can help you get a clear idea of the pros and cons of a particular policy and help to make an informed decision.
Online transactions are quite secure as insurance companies allow you to make payments through some of the most secured payment gateways.
Here are the eligibility criteria for parents' mediclaim policies in India.
Criterion |
Description |
Age |
Most Indian insurers offer health insurance plans for parents of age between 18 to 65 years. However, it varies from insurer to insurer and some policies offer much higher age limits. |
Financial Situation |
You might also have to prove yourself as a financially independent child of your parents before purchasing a policy. For this, you might have to submit income proofs or any other documents. |
Medical Check-up |
For middle-aged parents such as 45 to 50 years of age, insurers seek medical check-ups in order to get clarity on the current health condition of the beneficiary. Based on these reports, the premium amount is determined. |
Relationship |
In order to avail health insurance for parents, you must be their child (i.e. biological child) or have a legal relationship with them (i.e. adopted child). However, even if you are a stepchild, you can still buy health policies for your parents. |
Listed below are the documents which are commonly required by most insurers offering mediclaim policies for parents:
1. Application form duly filled along with signature
2. Medical reports (if applicable)
3. Recent passport-size photo
4. Proof of age: As most insurers have set age restrictions, it is mandatory to submit an age proof while purchasing the policy. Any of the following documents can act as proof of age:
5. Address proof: It is important for the insurer to know the communication address of the beneficiary. Any of the following documents can act as address proof:
6. Identity proof: Any of the following documents can act as proof of identity:
HDFC Life offers a variety of health plans with extensive coverage and affordable premiums. Here is the step-by-step guide for purchasing a health insurance policy from our platform:
First, navigate to the Health Insurance product page of HDFC Life. You can also find it as “Health Plans” under the “Life insurance" tab (though it is not a life insurance product)of the navigation bar on the homepage.
Now simply click on “Apply now” or “Resume Application” and an interface will open. Here, enter your email, date of birth and mobile number and proceed.
An application form will open where you will have to fill in some basic details about your parents to insure them. Enter the name, contact number, gender, date of birth, PIN code etc.
Then. click on ‘Get Quote’ to proceed.
From the list of policies, select the policy as per your choice and requirement by clicking on ‘Buy Now’ under the plan. You can modify the chosen policy by altering the amount of the sum insured and other coverage as per the requirements of your parents.
Depending on the chosen plan, you may find options to select the premium amount.
Confirm the above-entered details and click on ‘Next’ to proceed.
Here, you will have to enter details such as nationality, marital status, height, weight, residential address and nominee details.
Next, you might have to answer some of the basic questions regarding the health conditions of the insured person and their lifestyle.
Confirm the same and proceed and it will redirect you to the payment gateway.
Complete your payment using any of the payment modes such as debit card, credit card, UPI and net banking.
Upon successful payment, you will receive your policy document over your registered email ID.
Primarily there are two ways you can file a claim for health insurance of your parents: cashless claim or reimbursement. In a cashless claim, the policyholder is not required to make any cash payments (bills covered under the policy). Instead, the hospital bills are directly settled by the insurance company upon submission of valid proofs.
Here are the steps guiding you to file a health insurance claim under both processes.
Step 1: Submit a duly filled pre-authorisation form to any of the network hospitals.
Step 2: Upon submission of the pre-authorisation form, the concerned hospital will communicate the request to the insurance company.
Step 3: Once the request status is approved by your insurer, the insured person can get hospitalised and receive the necessary treatments.
Step 4: The bill generated from the hospital will be directly settled by the insurer before the patient is discharged.
Step 1: After hospitalisation, pay the bills and carefully preserve each of them carefully.
Step 2: Post-discharge, file a claim to the insurer along with all the bills and receipts.
Step 3: The claim will then be verified and you can track the claim status from the website or by telephonic enquiry.
Step 4: Once the claim is approved the amount will be transferred to your bank account.
To conclude, your parents need health insurance coverage as they become older and suffer from various medical conditions. Fortunately, there is specialised health insurance for parents offering a host of benefits. These provide you and your family with financial security while ensuring that the best treatment options are available to your parents.
Yes, your parents can avail a health insurance plan even if they have an existing illness. In such a scenario, make sure that the policy provides coverage for that specific disease before finalising its purchase.
Yes, the majority of insurers have a specified age limit while purchasing health insurance for parents. The maximum limit typically varies between 60 years to 80 years of age.
Yes, many health insurance policies allow the policyholder to add their family members as dependents. Hence, you can add your parents to your existing health insurance policy.
Yes, availing health insurance can allow tax deductions to you and your parents both under Section 80D6 of the IT Act. You can claim deductions of up to Rs. 1 lakh/year on the premium paid for your parent’s health insurance6.
It varies from insurer to insurer. While some insurers ask for medical reports, others require a few basic information before issuing a health policy.
Yes, it is possible to include your parents in a family floater plan insurance policy. They can share the sum insured amount offered by the insurer.
Typically, health insurance policies with pre-existing cover come with a waiting period ranging from 2 years to 4 years. However, recently certain insurance companies have been covering pre-existing illnesses with no waiting period.
You can enhance your parent's insurance coverage in various ways. It includes increasing the amount of sum insured, timely renewals, adding riders, conducting regular health check-ups and reviewing the policy from time to time.
The best health insurance policy can be the one with a sufficient amount of sum insured based on the health condition of your parents. It must also include pre-existing illness cover, critical illness cover, organ donor transplantation, cashless hospitalisation, etc.
You can avail a health insurance policy online or physically by visiting the branch office of the insurer.
Family health insurance plans cover all the members of the family including the applicant and his/her spouse, children and parents. Hence, the sum insured by a family floater plan is shared amongst all the members of the family. On the other hand, parent’s health insurance is solely meant for the parents and no one else.
Yes, the maximum age limit offered by insurers typically ranges from 60 years to 80 years of age. Hence a 70-year-old is also covered under a health insurance plan.
Yes, the maximum age limit offered by insurers typically ranges from 60 years to 80 years of age.
You can file a claim in two ways: a cashless claim and a reimbursement claim. Cashless claims can be made by filling out the pre-authorisation form, once it is approved by the insurer all the expenses are settled by the insurer. With reimbursement claims, you have to pay the medical bills in full out of your pocket and then file claims with the insurer.
Yes, availing health insurance for parents is extremely beneficial and can be a wise decision. Moreover, health insurance provides comprehensive coverage to your parents in medical contingencies.
1. Annual Premium amount ₹ 1869 for Male aged 35 years, Base Benefit, 10 years term, Regular Pay option, Sum Assured=10 lakhs, excluding Taxes & levies as applicable.
2. Multiple Claims of same or different conditions / procedures can be covered subject to the exhaustion of applicable Sum Insured.
3. Annual premium amount 1411 for Male aged 35 years, 10 years term, Silver option, excluding Taxes and levies as applicable.
4. Monthly Income option only available only under Platinum plan option.
5. Policy is issued on the basis of Short Medical Questionnaire.
6. As per Income Tax Act, 1961. Tax benefits are subject to changes in tax laws.
ARN: MC/01/24/7446
