Medical insurance is a type of insurance that covers pre-specified ailments and accidents for a pre-specified amount. You can buy medical insurance for senior citizens and young people. Under a medical insurance policy, you can make cashless or a reimbursement claim. In the cashless claim, when an insured person gets hospitalized due to any reason covered under the policy then the treatment of that insured person is done cashless i.e all the expenses will be borne by the insurance company and the insured does not have to pay a single amount. Under the reimbursement claim, when the insured gets hospitalized he/she is required to inform the insurance company either in advance or while getting hospitalized and all the bills and documents must be kept safe to show proof to the insurance company while asking for the reimbursement. 

Types of medical insurance policies

Some types of medical insurance for senior citizens available are:

1. Individual policy

Under this policy, only the coverage of a specified amount is provided to the insured individual. Only a single individual is insured under this policy.

2. Family floater policy

Under this policy, coverage of a specific amount is provided to the whole family and if any insured (family member) dies then the policy cannot be renewed of that insured person again. All the members can get insured under a single policy.

3. Renewal

All the policies only provide coverage for up to one year. So it’s better to take this policy at an early age for better coverage at a low premium.

Tips for taking medical insurance of senior citizens

As the retirement age in India has remained constant over years, medical insurance policies cover funds for medical purposes for senior citizens, resolving the issue of highly expensive medical expenses. You can know more about medical insurance policies for seniors by visiting https://www.turtlemint.com/health-insurance/senior-citizen-health-insurance/

When you buy a policy for senior citizens, here are a few tips that you should keep in mind are:

• Coverage policies on pre-existing diseases and their waiting period

Before taking medical insurance for senior citizens, it is required to check whether the hospitals provide the coverage of pre-existing diseases with the minimum waiting period or not as the senior citizen having any diseases before purchasing the policy then there might be high chances of getting hospitalized for the same disease due to higher age. 

• Search for low-premium policies

The best policy is to be chosen which provides maximum coverage of expenses with minimum premiums. Thus, you should look for a policy having a high sum insured with a low premium. 

• Daycare procedures coverage

Some policies only reimburse if the insured gets hospitalized for at least a day, so you must prefer the policies which cover daycare procedures. 

• Strong hospital network 

Look for insurance companies that have high networks in nearby hospitals. In case of emergencies, the hospital nearby will be more beneficial to a senior citizen as it’s not possible to get hospitalized in the hospitals situated far away. Thus, you must prefer medical insurance for senior citizens by companies that have collaboration with nearby hospitals.

• Claim settlement ratio

Before purchasing a policy from any insurance company you must check the claim settled against the claim received by the company. If the claim settled ratio is low then most of the claims will be rejected. Thus, choosing an insurance company having a balanced settlement ratio will be much beneficial.

• Critical illness benefits

You must check that the policy must cover certain critical illness benefits such as kidney, cancer, paralysis, and more as senior citizens are more prone to critical illness diseases. 

• AAYUSH treatment cost

Before opting for any policy you must check whether it covers AAYUSH treatment cost or not as it is very much important.

While there are vast options available for buying medical insurance for senior citizens, you should always evaluate every policy with care and then choose the best one out there. With the right medical insurance policy, you can get excellent benefits and have funds available during emergencies.