Health Insurance Plans for Children: Types, Benefits

If the parents already have a family floater policy, the newborn baby will be covered from day one to 90 days.

A baby above 91 days can be added to the existing family floater policy by paying an additional premium. (Critical Illness and Personal Accident add-on benefits will be available once the child is 18 years old.)

In case of an individual child health insurance plan, a child of an age of 1 day can be covered by the policy, provided either of the parents are included in the health insurance plan.

The maximum age limit for a child to be included in a family floater policy is between 20 and 25 years. (Depends on the insurer).

You need to submit certain documents to buy an individual child health insurance plan or to add your child to the existing family floater plan. You need to submit documents such as birth certificate, maternity discharge summary and medical reports if the child is suffering from any medical condition.

Visit any of the insurer’s network hospitals for your child’s treatment. You can make use of the cashless claim facility, which applies to both emergency and planned treatment.

For planned treatment, you have to inform the insurer at least 4 days before the treatment date. For emergency treatment, you can contact the insurer’s helpdesk in the hospital and produce the health insurance card to avail cashless treatment.

You can also apply for a reimbursement claim for child health insurance policy if your child has availed treatment in a hospital of your choice.

For a reimbursement claim, you have to submit all relevant documents such as medical certificate, investigation reports, discharge summary, hospital bills, prescriptions and pharmacy receipts.

Step 1 - Visit the website www.acko.com or download the smartphone app.

Step 2 - Click on the Products menu and choose Health Insurance.

Step 3 - On the form, select the nominees.

Step 4 - Click on the Son/Daughter option to add your kids to the health insurance policy.

Step 5 - Click on Get Started.

Step 6 - Enter a few basic personal details and click Continue.

Step 7 - Choose the health insurance plan and pay the premium online.

Step 8 - The health insurance policy certificate will be sent to your email address.

Policy Coverage: Go through the policy coverage benefits before buying a child health insurance policy. Make sure that the plan offers adequate coverage and suits your needs. A health insurance plan for your child is to reduce the financial burden, so make sure that the policy provides comprehensive coverage.

Additional Perks: Several child health insurance plans come with additional benefits. So, you can consider opting for a health insurance plan which offers additional coverage benefits such as consultation with expert doctors, no limit for the room rent, no co-payment, etc.

Cashless Treatment: Make sure that the insurance company has a good number of network hospitals, especially near your place of residence. Network hospitals are the hospitals which have a tie-up with your insurer, and you can avail cashless treatment in such hospitals.

Sum Insured Amount: Choose the sum insured amount wisely, and make sure that it is sufficient for your medical needs. Insufficient sum insured amount will be a worry during claims. So, always opt for a sum insured amount that best suits your needs and also falls under the budget.

Critical Illness Cover: Only a few kids health insurance plans offer critical illness cover. And the CI or critical illness cover is offered for only specified illness. Opt for a health insurance plan which offers cover for the most number of critical illnesses.

*Except for exclusions like maternity benefits, undisclosed diseases, etc. Please check policy wordings for more details.

**In case the pre-existing disease surfaces after a policy is issued. However, at the time of claim, if it is found that the policyholder did not disclose any known pre-existing diseases while buying the policy, the claim may get rejected.