How Much Health Insurance Cover Does Your Family Need?

A family of two adults and one child in a metro should aim for about ₹12.5 lakh of health cover. A practical way to get there is a personal policy of ₹10 lakh plus a super top-up of ₹15 lakh.

Why ₹5 lakh is rarely enough today

The health cover calculator assumes a major surgery costs ₹5 lakh today. At 12% medical inflation, the same bill grows to about ₹15.5 lakh in 10 years. Your cover has to keep up.

Suggested cover by city

Two adults, one child, eldest aged 35, ₹5 lakh of employer cover:

These come from the Finkoin health cover calculator. It starts from ₹10 lakh for a metro family, ₹7.5 lakh in a tier 1 city and ₹5 lakh elsewhere. It adds more for each extra adult and child.

When to buy more

• Eldest member 45 or older. The calculator adds ₹5 lakh. A metro family with an eldest member of 45 should aim for about ₹17.5 lakh.
• Parents. Cover them in a separate policy. Older members in your floater raise the premium for everyone.
• A history of illness in the family. Lean towards the higher end.

Floater or individual policies?

A family floater shares one sum insured across everyone. It usually costs less than separate policies for each member. The trade-off is that one large claim can use up most of the cover for the rest of the year. A floater suits a young family. Older members are often better off with their own policy.

Do not lean on your employer's cover

Group cover ends when you leave the job. It is also often too small. The calculator counts only half of it when sizing your personal policy. Buy your own base policy while you are young and healthy.

How a super top-up helps

A super top-up pays once your total bills in a year cross a set limit, called the deductible. Match the deductible to your base cover. You get a large total cover for much less than one big base policy. The calculator sizes the top-up so your total cover is about twice the family target.

Review your cover every few years

At 12% medical inflation, a ₹5 lakh bill becomes about ₹8.8 lakh in 5 years. A cover that looks generous today can feel small within a few years. Check it every 3 years, and whenever your family grows. Raising cover is easier while everyone is healthy. A new illness can make a higher cover costlier or harder to get.

Tax benefit

In the old tax regime, Section 80D allows ₹25,000 a year for self and family (₹50,000 if 60 or older). You can claim another ₹25,000, or ₹50,000 for senior citizen parents.

Get your number

Put in your city, family and employer cover in the health cover calculator. Keep cash for bills the policy will not pay with the emergency fund calculator. To check insurance, savings and debt together, run the free financial health check.