Raksha Bandhan is a festival of love and protection celebrated all across India signifying the bonhomie and bond between a brother and a sister.
In times of the pandemic, as the hospitalisation and healthcare charges continue to soar, you might want to offer your sister with the added protection of a health insurance policy that would take care of her emergency medical expenses.
In FY22, there was a 10 per cent increase in the employees opting for a healthcare cover for sibling, according to a recent research by Onsurity, a tech-enabled employee healthcare platform for emerging businesses.
This trend was prominent, especially in the metro cities of New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, and Bengaluru.
Under traditional group health insurance benefit covers, siblings do not form part of the family definition for group health insurance offered by the employers to the employees. Hence, young siblings are often left without adequate healthcare benefits.
According to the research, while some firms allow their employees to purchase comprehensive healthcare membership on a monthly subscription model for siblings under the age of 25, the practice is not widespread.
According to the research, about 85 per cent of the purchases were made by employees falling in the 18-35 age bracket, with a male/female purchase ratio of 70:30.
“The covid-19 pandemic has underscored the importance of guarding against health risks, as medical care is critical, irrespective of age group, and with rising lifestyle diseases seeing an early onset, it is necessary for even those under the age of 25 years to have a medical cover before they start formal employment,” says Yogesh Agarwal, founder, Onsurity.
“Additionally, the move to cover young siblings is a positive signal, as traditionally, siblings do not form part of the family definition for the group health insurance offered by the employers to the employees. Hence, young siblings are often left out of healthcare benefits,” he adds.
Here are a few things you should consider before gifting your sister with a health insurance policy this raksha bandhan.
Go for an affordable health insurance policy: When you are looking to gift your younger sibling with a health insurance policy, look for one with an affordable premium that would suit your pocket.
It’s important to not compromise on coverage and benefits: While you would be on the lookout for a policy with lower premiums, make sure you do not compromise on the coverage and the benefits the policy offers. Do remember to read the policy document and the terms and conditions carefully before zeroing in on one.
Go for cashless benefits: A health insurance policy with cashless benefit will help your sister and/or sibling avail of such treatment in the network hospitals without having to pay any upfront cost on treatment.
Review her existing policy and find porting facility: In case your sister already has an existing health insurance policy that meets all her medical requirements, you could look for ways to help her port into another health plan that offers the same benefits at a moderately lower premium, or maybe one that offers additional benefits. You could then gift her the new policy by paying the premium.
