General Insurance: Ajay Bimbhet

I have taken individual health insurance covers for my wife, my son and I. Last year, my wife was hospitalised twice, and we could not get the second claim as the cover was already used. I have read about family-floater schemes. How do these work and are these better than individual plans?
In family-floater policies, a single sum insured is chosen, which can be availed by all the family members covered under the plan. For instance, let’s compare two families of four, one having individual health plans of Rs 1 lakh each and another covered by a family-floater policy of Rs 4 lakh. Even in case of a claim of Rs 1.5 lakh for any family member, individual health plan will restrict the claim to Rs 1 lakh only. On the contrary, family-floater policy will settle the entire claim with the balance of Rs 2.5 lakh being available for the unexpired period for all family members, including the person who made the claim.

A family-floater policy is beneficial for families who wish to cover all the members. Ensure that the sum insured is optimum and based on your family’s lifestyle. However, it does not cover dependent parents.

If I have two insurance policies on the same asset, will I get claims under both of the policies in case of loss?
Insurance is a contract of indemnity, which implies a policyholder does not make any profit out of the policy covering his assets. It is only to compensate the extent of loss one suffers. In the event of a loss, in the mentioned case, both the policies will contribute in proportion to their respective sum insured.

The writer is the MD, Royal Sundaram Alliance Insurance Company. Send your queries to yourmoney@bsmail.in