Insurance for Parents of 70+
My parents are above 70 years. Both were tested positive for COVID in Feb '21, however, my dad was hospitalized for 2 weeks. He's currently recovering and to note that this is the first time in many years that he has been hospitalized and has no PED. However, my mom is a diabetic patient for more than 20+ years. The reason for me to look into a plan now is because of their age, there might be a requirement of future hospitalization. While reading through your article, few of the policies were discontinued by the Insurers Could you advise how to go forward with selecting policy and with whom?
Hi Mathew
As suggested by Mr. Anuj it doesn't make financial sense to buy a health insurance policy for 70+ age group.
I just want to add one more thing here, there are provisions in Income Tax law in India that allow deduction of amounts expended towards treatment of senior citizens who don't have a health insurance policy subject to certain limits. You can claim the amounts spent subject to the threshold set in the Income Tax law.
Please start building a corpus by contributing monthly in a Recurring deposit.
Stay Safe
Hey Mathew,
Its a tricky question which I am unable to answer. You would be able to decide about whether or not to buy a bank's group health insurance once you know what are the pros and cons.
I believe you should read the article penned by Mr. Mahavir Chopra few months ago. Link shared for your ready reference below.
https://www.beshak.org/insurance/health-insurance/articles/senior-citizen-health-insurance-without-medical-test-plans
Once you read the article you will get answer to your question and you can decide whether or not to proceed further
Stay Safe
Hey Mathew,
Since your parents are over the age of 70, it doesn't make financial sense to take a policy now.
E.g., a 5 lakh cover could cost you 60k-70k, which doesn't make commercial sense. Along with this, there will be a 2 year waiting period during which you won't be able to claim for several ailments.
My suggestion is that you make a reserve for your parents to use the amount in health emergency.
Anuj