What is a Family Floater Health Insurance Plan

A family floater health plan offers health coverage to all the members of a family. It eliminates the need for you to purchase individual plans for the family members. Let’s find out more about it in this article.

With the rising cost of healthcare in the country, a healthcare treatment for yourself or your family member could require you to spend a significant amount of money. Thus, it is always better to purchase health insurance for every member of your family. But rather than purchasing an individual plan for every family member and then tracking each of them, a more affordable and convenient option is to purchase a family floater health insurance plan. Let us have a look at what it is, how it works and its top benefits.

What is Family Floater Health Insurance?

• A family floater plan helps you get health coverage for all the members of your family with a single policy. It comes with a single larger sum insured and all the family members share this amount.
• It also means that you are only required to pay a single premium for the policy. In most cases, a family floater plan only allows you to add immediate members of your family to the plan. You can add yourself, your spouse and dependent children. Some policies allow you to add your dependent parents and even in-laws and siblings.

Using coverage of a Family Floater Health Insurance Plan

• Here is an illustration to help you understand how family members share the same policy coverage:
• Let us assume that Mr Raj purchases a family floater health insurance plan which covers him, his spouse and their child. The total sum insured of the policy is Rs 3 lakh with an annual premium of Rs 8,000.
• Now, if Mr Raj’s child suffers from an acute case of jaundice and he spends Rs 1 lakh on the treatment, his insurer will cover the expenses. Assuming the insurer covers hundred per cent of the expenses, the sum insured of the policy will fall to Rs 2 lakh for that year. Now, Mr Raj’s family can claim healthcare expenses of up to Rs 2 lakh for the remaining year.

Who should consider a Family Floater Health Insurance Plan?

• Family Floater plans are generally ideal for younger families where the family members are healthy and less prone to health conditions. As compared to purchasing individual plans for each family member, the family floater plan proves to be more convenient and cost-efficient.
• Families with seniors should prefer purchasing individual plans, at least for the seniors. It is because they are more prone to health risks and might require expensive treatment. Due to this, it is possible that other family members will not have adequate health coverage and you will then have to spend money from your pocket in case they require any treatment.

Tax benefit of Family Floater Health Insurance

• Along with the family benefits, Family Floater plans also come with tax deductions. As they too are a type of health insurance policy, the premiums are eligible for tax deduction under Section 80D of the Income Tax (IT) Act.
• Premiums of up to Rs 25,000 paid for a family floater plan in a year for family members under 60 years are eligible for tax deductions. The same for family members above the age of 60 years is up to Rs 50,000 in a year.

Purchasing Family Floater Health Insurance

• A Family Floater health plan is a smart way to secure the health of your family and protect yourself against high healthcare expenses. The single premium payment and single pooled sum insured also makes it easier for you to track the policy and its usage.
• If you are planning to purchase a Family Floater health plan, look for a reputed insurer with a simple claims process, competitive premiums, and top benefits for enhanced protection and complete peace of mind.

If you are an ICICI Bank customer, apply for health insurance here.

Non-customers can check health insurance premium, here.