Understanding The Difference Between Individual and Family Floater Health Insurance Plans

The rising inflation levels have become a point of concern. Especially with the pandemic impacting our daily lives, it is impossible to save on our income. In these unprecedented times, health insurance plans act as a safeguard not just for us but also for our families. Medical emergencies can drain us of our limited finances, so healthcare plans act like a warm blanket that protects us in times of need.

According to one’s health requirements, type of income, and responsibility of dependents, people choose individual or family floater plans. Both these plans have certain features that make them ideal for you, but it actually depends on your choice whether you want to opt for either of them.

Before deciding on any medical insurance plans, it is essential to research and know more about them. Before moving onto the points of difference for individual and floater health insurance plans, let us first fully grasp the concept. Read on.

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Individual Health Insurance Plan
It is defined as a healthcare plan for one person, depending on healthcare needs and income. The premium amount is set according to the chosen policy, the sum insured, and the person’s age. For example, a 30-year-old working professional might choose to buy a health insurance plan with Rs. 15 Lakh coverage. The premium will be set according to the income earned annually/monthly/quarterly or on a half-yearly basis.

Family Floater Health Insurance Plan
A family floater is a family health insurance plan that covers more than one member of the family. These can be your spouse, children and parents, depending on the members you want to cover under your plan. The premium amount depends on the ages of all the members covered under a plan.

Points Of Difference
Now that the concept, in general, is clear, let’s take a look at some of the salient features of these health insurance plans that are also their respective points of difference.

1. Individual Health Insurance Plan
Provides health coverage only for one person
Premium is fixed according to personal healthcare needs, income, and age
Sum insured covers all your medical expenses and can be availed as per individual needs. This means that if, for instance, you are insured for Rs. 5 Lakh and the medical expenses incurred by you is Rs 2 Lakh. You can avail the remaining sum insured according to your healthcare requirements in that policy year.
The cumulative bonus in a claim-free year will be added to your next policy year.
Age is no bar for individual health insurance plans. Anyone is eligible to buy a plan depending on their needs.
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2. Family Floater Health Insurance Plan
Family floater health insurance comes with lucrative discounts. However, the discount amount varies from insurer to insurer and ideally depends on the number of members covered under the policy. TATA AIG offers significant discounts on family floater plans, ranging from 20% to 32%. Aside from this, take a look at other features of family floater plans:

Provides health coverage for members of the family
Premium amount depends on the ages of all the members covered under a plan
Sum insured covers the medical expenses of the entire family included in the plan and can be availed as per your coverage amount. For instance, you buy a family floater plan of Rs. 10 Lakh, and you suffer from a health emergency that costs Rs 2 Lakh. The floater plan will cover this cost, but the remaining coverage amount of Rs. 8 Lakh can be availed by the other members of the family included in the plan. Under the floater plan, the sum insured is a specified overall amount and is not separate for each member.
The cumulative bonus gets nullified for the floater plan even if one family member claims the health insurance in a policy year.
Children after reaching a certain age, cannot be included in the floater plan. This age ranges from 18-25 years
It depends on your circumstances whether you need to buy an individual or family floater health insurance plan. This decision can be made easy with knowledge about your healthcare needs, dependents in the family, income, and age. This assistance is provided by credible insurance providers like TATA AIG with their 24×7 customer service. You can reach out to them on their toll-free number mentioned on the website for any queries.