Anyone who has health insurance cover would have invariably included his or her children in the policy or taken a policy specifically for the child. While we hope for the best when it comes to our children, they are much more susceptible to common illnesses than we are. Since their immunity is still trying to figure out the threats, common flu, viral attacks, and stomach bugs are common among kids. The unfortunate few even suffer from more serious ailments. To cut the long story short, health insurance is a universal need and children are no exception to this.
But before you proceed to buy online health insurance for your child, or visit an insurance office, let us look at the various ways you ensure the best health insurance for your child.
Types of kids’ health insurance
Individual kids’ health insurance plan – Children’s health insurance plan is the most exhaustive cover you can gift your child. Being a standalone plan, the entire sum assured in the policy can be utilised for the little one if required. In these plans, your child gets coverage for hospitalisation, treatment, medical check-ups, diagnostics, ambulance charges, pre-and post-hospitalisation expenses and more. The coverage would vary depending on the standard plan and add-ons you choose.
Family floater plan – Health insurance coverage for your child can also be purchased through a family floater plan. With a family floater plan, you can purchase health insurance coverage for your parents, spouse as well as children in a single policy. By paying a single premium you can buy health cover for all your family members. You can add more nominees into an existing family floater plan, and newborn babies are generally covered under these plans for 90 days. You can add nominees till the age of 25 years under a family floater plan.
Employee health insurance – If you are employed with an organisation, you may have coverage under a corporate health plan. These plans can extend up to family members, including dependent children. While it is an employment benefit, it ceases to cover if you leave the organization. Therefore, make sure that you and your family stay covered under another plan if you join another organisation.
How does health insurance for kids work?
Kids’ health insurance is similar to any standard health insurance policy. It is designed to cover the pre and post-hospitalisation expenses of the child, hospitalisation expenses, daycare and domiciliary treatments etc. Additionally, you can select coverages for lab and diagnostic expenses, ambulance costs, critical illness cover, vaccination and free medical checkup. Generally, no medical checkup is required for buying a children’s health policy, and these plans cover COVID-19 treatment.
Things to remember while buying health insurance for children
Whether you buy a children’s online health insurance or a policy from the insurer’s office, you need to pay attention to a variety of aspects. Some of them are:
Coverage – Check the coverage of the health insurance policy in detail. You are unlikely to hold back when it comes to spending on your child’s healthcare. Therefore, make sure that your child’s health plan adequately covers all the essential healthcare needs.
Sum assured – Do basic research on the treatment cost generally incurred in commonly known children’s health ailments. Also, find out the cost of treatment in your preferred hospital. Based on your findings choose a sum assured that is likely to cover the claims fully. An unnecessarily high sum assured can only increase your premium, while a low sum assured will lead to insufficient coverage in times of need.
Importance of age – The healthcare needs of children differ with their age. For a newborn, you will have specific riders to choose from. In their childhood and teenage years, they need coverage for communicable diseases, accidents, common ailments etc. As they attain adulthood, their healthcare needs become more and more similar to yours. If you have a family floater plan, consider additional riders for your child depending on their age.
Cashless facilities – Just like adults, treatment of your child in cashless mode would be convenient and hassle-free. Look into the network of hospitals empanelled by the insurer. Also, ensure that your preferred hospitals are part of the network so that you can avail of cashless hospitalisation.
Exclusions – All insurance policies have permanent exclusions; whereby specified diseases are not covered and treatment for the same cannot be claimed. For instance, congenital diseases may be excluded and pre-existing diseases often have a waiting period. Check if any of these exclusions are relevant to your child, and consult your paediatrician if required.
Newborn care – Although newborn care gets a limited period of coverage, their healthcare needs extend beyond such period. From inoculations and vaccinations to common cold and flu, medical expenses for an infant can be rather frequent. Therefore, be prompt in buying a health cover for your newborn so that their medical expenses are always covered.
Additional benefits – Have a look at the add-ons available and select the ones that you deem necessary. From expert consultation to liberal room limits, health insurance policies for children can be further enhanced with the right riders.
No parent would want to compromise on the medical attention of their child. Robust health insurance offers this assurance and helps you provide the best care for your child in times of need.
