How Can Health Insurance Support Your Senior Citizen Parents?

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Apr 22, 2025
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As our parents age, their health becomes more vulnerable, making medical expenses an inevitable part of life. The best health insurance for senior citizens offers financial security, access to quality healthcare, and peace of mind for both parents and children. In India, dedicated health insurance for senior citizens ensures they receive the right medical care without draining their savings. Without proper health coverage, medical emergencies can cause significant financial strain, often leading to the depletion of lifelong savings. Moreover, as healthcare technologies and treatment options advance, their costs rise, making adequate [insurance for senior citizens](https://www.sbigeneral.in/health-insurance/senior-citizen-health-insurance) even more critical. Let’s explore how such plans provide essential support for elderly parents.

How Can Health Plans Support Senior Citizens?

1. Comprehensive Coverage

A well-structured health insurance for senior citizens in India covers hospitalisation, surgeries, pre- and post-hospitalisation expenses, and even alternative treatments. This reduces financial stress during medical emergencies. Additionally, it includes coverage for routine check-ups and preventive healthcare, ensuring overall wellness.

2. Exclusively Designed Plans for Senior Citizens

Specialised insurance for senior citizens considers age-specific health needs, covering conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and arthritis, which are common among older individuals. These plans are tailored to ensure elderly individuals receive personalised healthcare services suited to their specific medical conditions.

3. Critical Illness Cover

Many health insurance policies for senior citizens offer critical illness coverage, providing a lump sum payout if diagnosed with serious diseases like cancer, kidney failure, or stroke. This helps in managing high treatment costs effectively. Since treatment for such illnesses can be prolonged and expensive, having an insurance plan that caters specifically to critical illnesses provides much-needed financial stability.

Why is Adding Them to a Separate Plan Necessary?

1. Day Care Facilities

Many treatments no longer require extended hospital stays. The best health insurance for senior citizens includes coverage for procedures like dialysis, chemotherapy, and cataract surgeries under day-care benefits. This ensures that seniors can receive quality treatment without needing prolonged hospitalisation, reducing discomfort and recovery time.

2. Claim Settlement Facility

Senior citizens require quick and hassle-free claim settlements to avoid unnecessary financial burdens. Choosing an insurer with a high claim settlement ratio ensures smoother claim processing. A streamlined claim process reduces stress during emergencies, allowing seniors and their families to focus on recovery instead of paperwork.

3. Pre-existing Disease Wait Time

Most health insurance for senior citizens in India comes with a waiting period for pre-existing diseases. Opting for a policy with a shorter waiting time ensures quicker access to medical coverage. Some insurers even provide policies with zero waiting periods for specific conditions, enabling faster treatment access.

4. Co-Payment Clause

Some health insurance for senior citizens has a co-payment requirement where the insured pays a portion of the bill. Choosing a plan with minimal co-payments helps reduce out-of-pocket expenses. It is essential to review co-payment clauses before purchasing a policy to avoid unexpected financial burdens.

5. Emergency Transportation Coverage

Medical emergencies can arise at any time. The best health insurance for senior citizens includes ambulance and emergency transportation costs, ensuring immediate hospitalisation without financial concerns. In critical situations, having access to rapid emergency transport can be lifesaving.

6. Domiciliary Treatment

Many seniors prefer home-based medical care due to limited mobility. A health insurance for senior citizens plan with domiciliary treatment coverage allows for medical treatments to be covered at home when hospitalisation is not possible. This is especially beneficial for seniors who require long-term care but prefer to stay in a familiar environment.

7. Additional Benefits

Some senior citizen health insurance plans also provide mental health support, physiotherapy sessions, and coverage for alternative treatments such as Ayurveda and homoeopathy. These additional benefits enhance the quality of life for seniors, ensuring they receive holistic healthcare solutions.

What is the No-Claim Bonus Benefit, and How Does it Help?

A No-Claim Bonus (NCB) is a reward given when no claims are made during a policy year. This can be in the form of a reduced premium or an increase in the sum insured, ensuring seniors continue to get better coverage without extra cost. Over time, the accumulated bonus can significantly enhance the total coverage amount, providing financial security for future medical needs.

Conclusion

Ensuring that your parents have the best health insurance for senior citizens is one of the most responsible decisions you can make. A well-chosen senior citizen health insurance plan protects them from unexpected medical expenses, providing financial security and access to quality healthcare.
SBI General Insurance offers a comprehensive range of health insurance for senior citizens in India, ensuring affordable premiums, extensive hospital networks, and quick claim settlements. Investing in SBI General’s senior citizen health insurance means giving your parents the care they deserve without financial strain, making it a valuable choice for their well-being and peace of mind.

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All About Adding Spouse To Health Insurance After Marriage

Marriage brings a lot of changes in your life. Not only does it affect your lifestyle, but it also requires you to switch your investments in a way that are better suited for a family. You will now want to include your spouse to your financial world by adding them as a nominee in your banking accounts and other investment assets. Amidst all these personal and financial changes, do not forget to add your spouse to your health insurance plan. Adding spouse to health insurance after marriage is quite easy and can be done in three ways.

  • Buying a new family floater plan

    If you do not have an existing health insurance plan, now would be a great time to invest your money in a family floater health insurance plan. Health insurance plans for family members cover your spouse, parents, and dependent children. The family floater plan allows you to pay a single premium to cover all named family members for medical expenses.

    When buying a family floater plan, do ensure that it offers adequate coverage for you and your family. It is also important to keep in mind that the coverage amount is directly proportional to the health insurance premium you need to pay. This means that a family health insurance plan that offers a sum insured of Rs 10 lakh will require you to pay lower premium as compared to a family health insurance plan that offers coverage of Rs 20 lakh. However, it is advisable to opt for a higher sum insured if you have senior members in the plan.

  • Adding spouse to insurance after marriage

    If you already have an existing health insurance policy, you can extend the cover to your spouse by adding their name to the policy after marriage. Upon adding you spouse, the individual health insurance plan will be transformed into a family floater plan. Since the coverage amount will increase, the premium of the policy will be recalculated. You can also add your spouse to your existing health insurance policy at the time of its renewal. You will need an application form and a few KYC documents like identity proof, residence proof, marriage certificate and photographs, to get this process started. You can easily get the application form from the insurer’s website.

  • Adding your spouse to the health insurance plan offered by your employer

    There are many companies that offer health plans to their employees. These plans usually extend the coverage to the immediate family of the employee. However, this condition varies from one insurer to the other. Hence, it is better to check with your insurance company if they allow you to add your spouse to the existing health insurance plan that is issued by your employer. Here, it is important to remember that the health insurance policies offered by employers are group insurance plans and may, therefore, have certain limitations to coverage. Still, these plans offer a great option for coverage in case you don’t have health insurance of your own.

It is quite important to avail the health insurance cover for your spouse after marriage. This can help the both of you to securely plan your financial future.

Disclaimer: The above information is indicative in nature. For more details on the risk factor, terms and conditions, please refer to the Sales Brochure and Policy Wordings carefully before concluding a sale.

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Steps of adding spouse to health insurance after marriage

Marriage is a huge step in everybody’s life. And personal finance has a big role to play for a successful married life. Therefore, it is important to update the financial records, including the health insurance plan, post-marriage.

In case you did not have an individual health insurance policy before the wedding, you can invest in a family floater plan for yourself and your spouse. In case you already have an individual health insurance policy at the time of wedlock, then you do not need to buy another one for your partner. Instead, you can add your spouse to the plan and convert it into a single policy. It is a feasible and simple way of ensuring that you and your partner are adequately covered.

Porting health insurance after marriage is also important. When one of the partners already owns a plan, you simply need to add another partner to the current policy as the spouse. There is no specific rule which specifies who can add the partner. The process of adding the spouse to health insurance after marriage is simple. The one who owns the policy can start this process with the submission of KYC documents such as identity proof, proof of age, photographs and marriage certificate.

The change will come into effect in the next policy renewal by just submitting the additional form and paperwork. Once you do this, the premium will be calculated and pro-rated. It will become a family floater insurance policy that covers all the members of the family for a single premium. You will not have to worry about paying separate premiums for each member of the family. It will cover the entire family at the lowest premium based on the age of the members in the family. Let us take a look at the benefits of a family floater plan.

  • A major perk of the floater plan is that you can cover yourself and your entire family in one policy. The policy is easier to handle and you do not have to worry about handling separate individual plans

  • You enjoy additional benefits like a newborn cover, maternity benefits, etc. It will be highly effective for young married couples who are on the road to starting a family. You must ensure that you choose a plan that covers yourself and the spouse and invest in one right after marriage

  • You must also get maternity cover at the earliest. It has a waiting period between 0 to 4 years and if you buy the cover on time, you will be able to enjoy the maximum benefits

  • With a family floater plan, you enjoy the same tax benefits under Section 80D as you do on individual health insurance

  • Many plans come with a reinstatement feature where you enjoy the reinstatement of the entire coverage after it is exhausted in the policy period. This is only applicable to unrelated claims but it is very useful.

If you do not have a policy and are looking to buy one, consider a joint life policy. It will work on the same lines and will provide coverage to your children in future if anything unfortunate happens to the parents. The main reasons couples should think of joint life insurance are premium reduction and waiver benefits. In this case, if one partner dies due to an unfortunate event, the spouse will not only be entitled to enjoy the full sum assured on the cover but will also be absolved of the responsibility of the payment of premium. Alternatively, the spouse may have to pay premiums only applicable for their own cover for the remaining period of the policy.

After your marriage, it is your responsibility to ensure the safety and adequate coverage of your spouse. You must include your spouse in the decision and speak to them about the coverage you wish to buy. Only then proceed with the decision. The right health insurance plan will offer acomplete protection and peace for the future.

Disclaimer: The above information is indicative in nature. For more details on the risk factor, terms and conditions, please refer to the Sales Brochure and Policy Wordings carefully before concluding a sale.

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Advantages of Group Health Insurance

As the name suggests, group health insurance is aimed to offer health insurance cover to a group of people, usually employees, and if offered by an employer. It can also be offered to members of a professional association or a society. As compared to individual insurance, group insurance has many benefits for the employee as well as the employer who offers the insurance.

  1. Comprehensive cover: Group health insurance plans offer wide coverage and can be customised by the employer. It comes with many benefits like cashless healthcare services at network hospitals. There is no waiting period which means the employee is covered from day one. Besides personal accident cover, some group health insurance plans offer cover to family members of the employee.

  1. Guaranteed cover: All employees and in some cases their dependants are covered, even if they have existing medical conditions. A group insurance policy doesn't require a separate medical check-up. As long as an employee is working for the organisation offering group health insurance, he or she shall remain covered under the plan.

  1. Low premium: As group health insurance plans are bought for a larger group of people, they offer comprehensive cover at affordable rates. The costs are much lower than individual health insurance plans. Group health insurance plans can be customised as per the employer’s budget and requirements.

  1. Tax incentive for the employer: Besides safeguarding employees from health issues, group health insurance plans also provide tax benefits to the employer. Under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act, tax relief is offered to businesses that give their employees the benefit of group health insurance.

  1. Happy employees: When companies offer health insurance plans to their employees, they help retain and attract good talent. A Group Health Insurance plan is a significant part of the employees’ total compensation. A group health insurance plan provides employees with financial security against accident and illness.

  1. Rider options: With a nominal extra payment, employees can take advantage of other additional benefits. The employee can also opt for a corporate plan along with the base plan offered by the employer. The riders may differ from one organisation to another.

Provide your employees SBI General Group Health Insurance

Group health insurance is a very important benefit that makes employees feel like a valued part of an organisation. It helps companies retain as well as attract talent. SBI General Group Health Insurance plans offer multiple coverages: Individual, family floater. It offers wide coverage from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 7.5 lakh. The group health insurance plans offer pre- and post-hospitalisation expenses. With SBI General group health insurance plans keep your employees happy.

Disclaimer: SBI General Insurance Company Limited I Corporate & Registered Office: 'Natraj', 301, Junction of Western Express Highway & Andheri - Kurla Road, Andheri (East), Mumbai - 400 069. | The information in the advertisement is indicative in nature. For more details on the risk factor, terms and conditions, please refer to the Sales Brochure and Policy Wordings carefully before concluding a sale. * ‘Tax benefits are subject to changes in tax laws’ I 'For SBI General Insurance Company Limited IRDAI Reg. No. 144 dated 15/12/2009 | CIN: U66000MH2009PLC190546 | SBI Logo displayed belongs to State Bank of India and used by SBI General Insurance Co. Ltd. under license. | Website : www.sbigeneral.in,Tollfree 18001021111 | UIN: SBIHLGP21330V022021 | ADDIG/20-21/AUG/652