How to choose the best health insurance for senior citizens?

If you have elderly parents living with you, the need of visiting the doctor certainly increases. They are more prone to diseases and infections, and some of them need doctor’s consultation because of their pre-existing illnesses. And ever since the outbreak of COVID-19, senior citizens have become even more vulnerable. Many of them had to be hospitalized during the first and second waves in the country. While we try to get the best possible medical treatment for them, it also sometimes gets a bit heavy for our pockets. This is why buying a health insurance policy at the right time is so important.

Nevertheless, while you are looking for health insurance for senior citizens, you must keep certain points in consideration. Let us take a look at them.

Do not delay

Many people think that buying a health insurance policy is nothing but a waste of money. This is why they wait for several years to buy one.  While some of them think that paying the premiums for a health insurance policy will not be affordable for them. Seldom do they realize that as they age the amount of premium payable gets higher. Also, some of the insurance companies do not offer health insurance policies after a certain age to the policy buyers. Therefore, purchasing a health insurance policy at the earliest is a prudent idea.

Opting for the right insurance provider

Choosing the right insurance company is a very important step that you must take very carefully. The foremost thing that you should check of your shortlisted insurance providers is their Claim Settlement Ratio. You should always go for an insurance company that has the highest Claim Settlement Ratio. The second thing to do is to check the customer reviews, which you can very easily find online. While you are doing all these, make sure you also get details of the Claim Settlement process.

Get coverage for critical illness

Elderly people may have critical illnesses such as cardiac arrest, paralysis, diabetes, kidney failure, cancer, and many more. The medical treatment for such critical illnesses can be quite expensive. Therefore, it is very important to get the required coverage for these illnesses so that you can save some money going directly from your pockets. Nevertheless, you might need to pay a bit higher premium to get critical illness coverage.

Get the sufficient sum insured

Choosing the right sum insured is something we need to pay attention to. Some people choose the minimum sum insured amount so that they can pay a lesser premium. However, the idea should be choosing the sufficient sum insured so that the right treatment can be opted for without compromising and worrying about the expenses. Also, it has already been discussed that because of the complexities in the health conditions of the senior citizens, the medical treatments are costlier. Therefore, you need the kind of sum insured that is enough for the medical treatment.

Check for the network hospitals

Arranging the required money and applying for reimbursement claims are not easy for senior citizens. This is where going to a network hospital is a good idea. You can avail of cashless settlement of hospital bills. When you are hospitalized in a network hospital, you can simply inform your insurer about the situation and get your treatment. The insurer will get in touch with the hospital and settle the bills. There is no need of paying anything directly from your pocket. This is why you should check the list of network hospitals of your preferred insurance company. It is even better if the network hospital is close to your home.

If you want to find the best health insurance policies for senior citizens, you can take a look at the IIFL website.