People spare no effort when it comes to safeguarding their families. They work tirelessly to ensure their loved ones have everything they need, from providing their children with the best education to caring for their elderly parents and spouse. For this reason, they seek nothing but the best when it comes to protecting their family's health. One option that stands out among the many insurance products is a family health insurance plan. Unlike individual plans, this category of health insurance plan covers every family member on a single premium regardless of age. A policyholder does not have to pay separate premiums for each family member for family insurance plans. The best family health insurance plans in UAE cover spouses, children, parents, and other specified relatives under a single policy.

Key benefits of family health insurance plans

A family health insurance plan has many benefits, which include the ability to cover all family members under one policy and avoiding the hassle and cost of purchasing individual plans. The more insured members, the better the premium options and coverage. Health issues are unexpected, and it is a sensible approach to secure one's family against sudden health problems so that the high cost of treatment does not burn a hole in the pocket.

● Single policy covers all family members
Buying a single policy covering the entire family can save time and money. Thus, the need to purchase individual plans for each family member is also eliminated.

● Cost-effective premiums
Investing in a single plan instead of multiple individual health policies will reduce the need to pay numerous premiums, resulting in significant cost savings and overall hassle reduction.

● Better coverage
Family plans typically provide more excellent coverage than a typical individual plan, and the coverage increases with the increasing number of insured members.

● Ease of modifying members
Family health insurance plans are flexible for accommodating changes in the family, as required. Customization of family health plans is simple, particularly concerning adding or reducing the number of insured members. A policyholder can easily add newborns, in-laws, or relatives. Similarly, removing insured members who have deceased or do not need health coverage can also be removed easily.

● Restoration of sum assured
Specific family health plans provide sum-assured restoration benefits, which restore the full coverage of the policy if it is exhausted during the policy period.

Protecting family is a top priority as they serve as life's most effective support system. The current shift in lifestyle increased health concerns, and rising healthcare costs all emphasize the necessity of a family health plan. This approach ensures preparedness for any potential medical emergencies that may arise.

Factors to consider while choosing medical insurance for families

The following are the key factors one should consider while buying family health insurance plans:

Choosing the right insurance provider

To choose the right health insurance provider, one should have a fair understanding of the following factors:

• Range of plans offered by the company
• Network of hospitals associated with them
• Premium rate
• Ease of claim settlement
• Customer reviews

It is always recommended to choose a company that offers a diverse range of plans, a vast network of hospitals, a high claim settlement ratio, fair pricing policies, hassle-free claim settlement procedures, and has received positive reviews from the customer.

Selecting the right insurance plan

Upon zeroing down on the right insurance company, the next important step would be to select a suitable health insurance plan. When selecting a health insurance plan, it's essential to consider the coverage benefits, customization options, premium amount, sub-limits, co-payment clauses, and waiting periods. It is also crucial to assess one's coverage needs and look for plans that are suitable according to their requirements. One should compare premium rates across different plans and insurers and choose a policy with no sub-limits and no or lower co-payment clauses. Individuals can choose plans that allow them to customize coverage features with some add-ons.

Understanding a suitable coverage amount

The optimal sum insured is essential for health insurance. However, a low sum insured might not serve the purpose of comprehensive health protection. When selecting the correct sum insured, a policy buyer should consider the number of members being insured, pre-existing conditions, the essential cost of hospitalization, and rising medical inflation. One can use the formula below to estimate a suitable coverage amount: sum insured = 50% of the insurer's annual income + total hospitalization costs incurred during the last three years.

Why Cigna's plans provide the best health insurance for your family

With the Cigna health insurance plans, policyholders can access customized healthcare solutions for themselves and their families. Apart from providing core medical offerings and advantages, family health insurance plans by Cigna also include the Healthy Connect optional module through which one can get comprehensive dental treatment, wellness tests and screenings, vision care, and return home cash benefits.

Furthermore, individual and family health insurance plans offered by Cigna are DHA-compliant and comprise three distinct levels of coverage. Moreover, to provide customers with comprehensive and quality healthcare solutions to customers, Cigna has partnered with Neuron, one of the leading third-party administrators (TPA) in the Middle East. If an insurer plans to migrate to any other place from Dubai, Cigna also offers the privilege of migrating the plans. No matter where a customer migrates, Cigna has a health insurance plan suitable for every budget and requirement.