How much health insurance cover one must have?

Looking at the increasing cost of medical care and change in lifestyle of people, it is important to have a medical cover which would financially aid you during your hospitalization. That said, how much health cover should one take? It is to be understood that every person is unique, so are their medical need and to determine a standard amount of sum assured one must have. But if we talk about the bare minimum needs, then one must have at least Rs. 5 lakh of individual cover for each family member or a minimum of Rs. 10 lakh of family floater.

Now those are the bare minimum figures. But when you buy a health insurance cover, you should buy it keeping in mind the future cost that you probably may incur. This means that suppose a typical hospitalization and surgery costs you around Rs. 5 lakh today then considering 10 per cent inflation you would require around Rs. 8 lakh in 5 years, Rs. 13 lakh in 10 years, Rs. 21 lakh in 15 years and Rs. 34 lakh in 20 years. So considering a long-term approach, one must have at least Rs. 20 lakhs of sum assured and look for the policies that give cumulative bonus.

Cumulative bonus increases your insurance cover for every claim free year. You must also avoid including elderly members in your family floater. You can also consider having a top-up cover with a deductible which would further enhance your existing insurance cover. Top-up covers usually are cheaper than the basic plans as they are only triggered after a particular threshold is crossed.

People who are senior citizens must also have health insurance cover. They usually refrain from having the medical cover for the fact that the cost of medical cover is high for senior citizens. So for senior citizens Rs. 5 lakh of individual cover along with Rs. 5 lakh of super top-up cover should be adequate.