Factors To Consider Before Buying Health Insurance for Senior Citizens

As we get old, our body becomes vulnerable to more and more types of diseases and health issues. We all know how expensive medical and healthcare services have become these days. For this reason, having a health insurance policy is almost like a necessity nowadays. It is one of the best ways of making your ageing parents feel safe. You can choose from a wide array of senior citizen health insurance policies. These policies are designed in a way to meet the healthcare requirements of senior citizens.

You need to keep in mind that not all policies are good enough. When you buy health insurance policies for someone aged, you must take into consideration a few major aspects that affect the effectiveness and usefulness of these policies. So, let us take a look at some of them.

• Entry age and renewal age

It is the most critical factor that determines the premium amount of senior citizen health insurance plans. In every senior citizen insurance plan, age is the first factor that the insurer takes into account. Most of the insurance companies do not even sell policies to people who are above 60 years of age. Some insurers put a number of limitations on such policies. There is no point of buying a senior citizen health insurance plan that does not offer sufficient cover. Likewise, you should also make sure the policy offers the longest cover period, which will make the renewal part easy for you.

• Check the sum insured

The medical and healthcare requirements in the case of senior citizens are usually on the higher side. They tend to fall sick more often. For this reason, it is better to buy health insurance policies that offer higher health cover protection. Policies that come with a higher face value can prove to be more effective in this case.

• The range of coverage

Once you enter in your 60s, you become prone to a wide range of illnesses. In fact, you get vulnerable to critical illnesses too. You would never want to buy a policy that does not cover a broad array of diseases. Before purchasing one, you must carefully go through the list of exclusions and inclusions related to the senior citizen health insurance policy. Reviewing the terms and conditions of the policy will bring more clarity on this aspect.

• Pre-existing health/medical conditions

Most of the normal health insurance policies do not cover pre-existing medical conditions. Even if they do, you have to take into account the waiting period. Similarly, in the case of senior citizen health insurance policy, the waiting period has to be checked. This is a major factor as the risk of illness and hospitalization resulting from it increases with age.

• The network of hospitals

You should choose a policy that offers a broad network of private hospitals. Also, make sure that some of the hospitals are located close to your location. During medical emergencies, it will get easier for you to hospitalize the policyholder without having to spend too much time on the road.

I am Dipti Goel, Working in Digital Marketing Field from last 5 years. Expert in Finance field.