There are various types of insurance policies that organizations offer to their employees. One can get confused about the benefits that each of them can cover. Due to this, you might wonder whether to get an additional mediclaim policy for your family along with the group health insurance your employer is offering you. This depending on the type of cover that your employer provides under the group insurance scheme. Let us gather a brief understanding of both so that you can make an informed choice.
Family health insurance is an extension of your individual policy wherein you can insure your entire family with a single premium amount. It is a blanket policy to cover your whole family. The fixed sum assured needs to be higher in such policies as they cover multiple people at once. You can even insure extended family members by paying a marginal amount in premium. This relieves you from the hassles of maintaining multiple policies for each family member. With newer and newer products being introduced, family health insurance policies are gaining popularity lately.
Group health insurance, on the other hand, is offered to employees and their dependents. Under this insurance policy, the organization covers the insurance costs for the personnel; thus, the burden of selecting the right insurer is shifted to the employer. The premiums for these policies are shared among the employer and employee and they are lower because the risk is spread among different individuals. Further, it covers your family members from the first day.
The downside to such a group insurance policy is when an employee, who does not have his/her own mediclaim policy, switches or changes his organization as there is no medical insurance to protect them anymore. It would also be prudent to understand that group insurances have sub-limits for each type of ailment and any costs above these thresholds are to be borne by the employee. Hence, the terms and conditions of a group policy should be read and understood clearly.
In comparison, you may understand that although a group insurance policy may adequately cover your healthcare needs, it might not necessarily keep you stress-free. This is when family health insurance should be considered. The restricted benefit of being associated with your employer is not attached to such family health insurance policies.
Both plans have their advantages and disadvantages, but they need to be weighed according to the financial needs and medical history of you and your family collectively.
