A family health insurance plan is a policy that insures the health of your entire family. You can include your spouse, children, dependent siblings, parents and parents-in-law in these plans. You need to pay a single premium and the sum assured is shared across all members. The coverage is generally extended to up to six members of the family.
You can buy 2 types of health insurance plans for family:
If you buy individual plans for each member of your family, the total premium would be quite high. However, if you buy a family health insurance plan, then the premium will generally be much lower and the entire family will be covered under one plan, making it a simpler process.
You can either include your parents in the family health insurance plan or buy a separate plan for them. However, do note that the maximum entry age for most plans is 65. If they are senior citizens, then customised policies for senior citizens are also available.
It’s important to remember that the premium value increases with the age of the eldest insured family member. So, depending on their age, it might be more cost-effective to buy a separate health insurance for parents rather than include them in the family floater policy.
Here’s a list of some of the best Family health insurance plans & policies offered by various companies –
Company |
Family Health Insurance Plan |
Coverage and Features |
Range of sum assured (in INR) |
Maximum entry age |
Waiting period |
HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company Limited |
Health Suraksha Plus Regain- Gold& Silver |
Domicilliary, hospitalisation, day care, ambulance charges, donor expenses, AYUSH, health check-ups, restore coverage |
3 – 10 Lakh |
No limit |
30 days for any claim, 2 years for certain ailments, 4 years for pre-existing |
TATA AIG General Insurance Company Limited |
Mediprime |
Domicilliary, hospitalisation, day care, ambulance charges, donor expenses, AYUSH, health check-ups, hospital cash benefit |
2 – 10 Lakh |
65 years |
30 days for any claim, 2 years for certain ailments, 4 years for pre-existing |
Bajal Allianz General Insurance Company Limited |
Health Guard Family Floater Gold |
Hospitalisation, day care, ambulance charges, donor expenses, AYUSH, health check-ups, hospital cash benefit, convalescence benefit, restore coverage, bariatric, |
3 – 50 Lakh |
65 years |
30 days for any claim, 2/3/6 years for certain ailments, 3 years for pre-existing |
Universal Sompo General Insurance Company Limited |
Complete Health Care |
Domiciliary, hospitalisation, day care, ambulance charges, donor expenses, AYUSH, health check-ups, hospital cash benefit, convalescence benefit |
1 – 5 Lakh |
65 years |
30 days for any claim, 2/3 years for certain ailments, 6 years for pregnancy and related issues 3 years for pre-existing |
National Insurance Company Limited |
Parivar Mediclaim |
Domicilliary, hospitalisation, day care, donor expenses, ambulance, AYUSH, hospital cash benefit, infertility |
1 – 10 Lakh |
65 years |
30 days for any claim, 1/2/4 years for certain ailments 4 years for pre-existing |
Star Health & Allied Insurance Company Limited |
Family Health Optima |
Domicilliary, hospitalisation, day care, ambulance charges, donor expenses, AYUSH, health check-ups, hospital cash benefit, infertility |
1 – 25 Lakh |
65 years |
30 days for any claim, 2/4 years for certain ailments 3 years for infertility |
The Oriental Insurance Company Limited |
Happy Family Floater Policy |
Domicilliary, hospitalisation, day care, ambulance charges, donor expenses, AYUSH, health check-ups, hospital cash benefit, infertility, restore coverage, life hardship survival |
1 – 20 Lakh |
65 years |
30 days for any claim, 1/2/4 years for certain ailments |
The New India Assurance Company Limited |
Family Floater Mediclaim |
Domicilliary, hospitalisation, day care, ambulance charges, donor expenses, AYUSH, health check-ups, hospital cash benefit, restore coverage |
2L-5L |
65 years |
30 days for any claim, 2/4 years for certain ailments |
HDFC Ergo Health Insurance Company Limited |
Optima Restore |
Domicilliary, hospitalisation, day care, ambulance charges, donor expenses, AYUSH, health check-ups, hospital cash benefit, restore coverage, stay active discount |
3 -50 Lakh |
65 years |
30 days for any claim, 2 years for certain ailments 3 years for pre-existing diseases |
Max Bupa Health Insurance Company Limited |
Health Companion family floater |
Domiciliary, hospitalisation, pre and post hospitalisation, day care, ambulance charges, donor expenses, AYUSH, health check-ups, hospital cash benefit |
5 – 12.5 Lakh |
None |
30 days for any claim, 2 years for certain ailments 4 years for pre-existing diseases |
Here are the benefits which you can avail if you invest in the best health insurance plans for family in India–
Covers all family members: You can buy a single policy for the entire family, making sure that everyone gets the best treatment possible. Parents and parents-in-law can also be included. A new member can be added to the existing family floater health plan with ease. This helps you avoid paying multiple premiums for multiple policies.
Cashless hospitalisation for family: Cashless hospitalisation is extended to all family members covered under the family health insurance plans.
Save money: The premium for a family floater policy generally works out to be lesser than the total premium on separate policies for individual members.
Claim tax benefit: The premium paid for family health insurance plans is eligible for tax exemptions under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act.
Restore coverage: These days, most companies offer a special benefit called restore benefit. This is particularly useful for family health insurance plans. Under this, if the entire sum insured is exhausted by one family member, the entire sum insured is again reinstated so other family members still stay covered. Restore coverage can be availed by the same family member too, but only for unrelated claims.
Enhancement of sum insured: A flexible family health insurance plan allows you to increase sum insured during renewal.
Higher coverage for each member: This is easier to understand with an example.
Let’s assume you have 4 members in your family. You can do one of the following 2 things.
So, even the cheapest health insurance for family offers higher coverage to each member, at a lower overall premium.
Category |
Description |
In-patient Hospitalisation |
Medical expenses if the insured is hospitalized for more than 24 hours. |
Pre and post-hospitalization |
Prescribed tests, medications, treatment etc for a certain defined period before and after hospitalisation |
Emergency ambulance charges |
Expenses for ambulance needed for an emergency situation |
Day-care |
Medical expenses if the insured is hospitalized for less than 24 hours. |
Domiciliary treatment |
Medical expenses for certain ailments when the insured is being treated at home |
Organ donor expenses |
In case an organ donation is required, then expenses incurred by the organ donor |
AYUSH |
Medical expenses if the insured undergoes Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha or Homeopathy treatment |
Vaccinations |
Vaccinations that result from an animal bite |
Category |
Any claim raised within 30 days of purchase of policy, unless caused due to an accident |
Pre-existing illnesses are not covered before a pre-defined duration |
Sexually transmitted diseases |
Treatment for problems aesthetic or cosmetic in nature |
self-inflicted injury |
illness caused due to drug or alcohol abuse |
Experimental or unapproved treatment |
Any OPD treatment unless specified in the policy |
Any other exclusions specified in the policy document |
Medical emergencies can happen anytime, anywhere. Moreover, the growing number of lifestyle diseases and the rising cost of healthcare has made it necessary to have health insurance plans for all members of your family. Though most organizations these days have health insurance facility for their employees, quite often the coverage is inadequate. Therefore, you need to buy a personal health insurance policy that is customized based on your family’s requirements.
Difference between family health insurance and individual health insurance
A mediclaim policy for family is quite different from an individual health insurance plan. The differences between these plans are as follows –
Family floater health insurance plan |
Individual health insurance plan |
Covers all family members under a single policy |
Covers only one individual under a single policy |
The sum insured can be used jointly and independently by all insured members of the family under a mediclaim policy for family |
Under individual health plans, the sum insured is used only by the insured individual |
The collective premium for all family members works out to be cheaper |
If you buy individual health plan for each family member, the aggregate premium payable would be higher than mediclaim policy for family |
The premium is calculated based on the age of the eldest insured member |
The premium is calculated based on the age of the insured member |
Thus, both family floater and individual health insurance plans are different from one another. You should, therefore, understand these differences and then choose the most suitable policy for your family.
Eligibility criteria for family health insurance
To buy mediclaim for family, you need to fulfil some specified eligibility criteria laid down by the insurance plan. While the exact eligibility parameters depend on the policy that you buy, some of the most common parameters are as follows –
All policies of mediclaim for family cover the policyholder, spouse and dependent children, both biological and adopted. Coverage for dependent parents, however, varies across plans of mediclaim for family. Some plans allow dependent parents to be covered under the policy while some don’t. In fact, some health insurance plans for family even extend coverage to siblings, grandparents, parents-in-law and other relatives that you might have.
Sum insured under plans of mediclaim for family range from INR 1 lakh to up to INR 6 crores. You can choose any sum insured depending on your coverage needs and the premiums are calculated accordingly. However, if any member of the family suffers from a severe medical condition, the insurance company might impose a limit on the maximum sum insured which you can avail under mediclaim for family.
All health insurance plans for family have coverage duration of one year. Some plans also allow coverage for two or three years at once if you pay the aggregate premium upfront.
Plans of mediclaim for family are available for adult proposers who are aged 18 years and above. Dependent children can be covered from 91 days onwards. The maximum entry age for adults is usually restricted to 65 years under most plans while some plans don’t have any such restrictions. Dependent children are covered under the floater policy for up to 23 or 25 years of age, depending on the policy terms and conditions, after which they should be covered under an individual plan.
Claim process for family health insurance
For making a claim under a mediclaim policy for family, the following steps should be followed –
Turtlemint makes your entire decision-making process fast, simple and convenient when you want to buy best family health insurance plan. Starting from research to the final purchase, it’s a single destination for all your requirements.
Once you have decided on the policy that best fits your requirements, buy and renew health insurance plans for family quickly.
There is a waiting period before family health insurance plan can become active. This differs for every insurance company and can be 15, 30 or even 90 days. Waiting period for pre-existing diseases is usually 3 to 4 years.
Family health insurance policies can be renewed online or offline, at least 15 days before expiry. Some basic details like policy number, expiry date etc. need to be provided. Once the payment is done, a digitally signed copy of the renewed policy is generated. The details of the renewed policy can also be checked online at the insurer’s website.
The primary policyholder should be between 18-65 years of age. However, lifelong renewal of policy is provided by most insurance companies. Medical tests of the members of the family is usually necessary after the age of 45.
A family health insurance plan is for the entire family. The sum assured covers all members and only a single premium needs to be paid annually. This premium is much lower than the sum of premiums of individual health insurance policies for each member of the family.
A health insurance plan which offers a comprehensive scope of coverage at affordable premiums and covers all the members of the family would be the best health insurance plan for family. A family floater policy is the best health insurance plan for family as it covers all the members of the family under a single policy and at a lower premium.
Family floater health insurance plan is one which covers all members of the family under a single plan. There is a single sum insured and all insured members of the family can claim up to the sum insured of the policy.
All health insurance companies offer family floater plans which offer attractive coverage benefits. You should, therefore, compare the available plans and then choose one which offers the most comprehensive coverage benefits at the most reasonable premium rates. Some of the best plans which you can consider include HDFC Ergo Health Optima Restore, Star Health Family Health Optima, Oriental’s Happy Family Floater Policy, etc.