Think health insurance is enough? Think again.
Medical bills get covered. Good. But what about your family’s future if you’re not around? Who pays the EMIs, school fees, and daily expenses?
This is where benefits of term life insurance come in. Combined with right types of health insurance plan, you create complete protection.
Let’s see how both work together to secure your family fully.
Why One Insurance Isn’t Enough
Many people buy health insurance and think they’re fully protected. Wrong assumption.
Health insurance covers: Hospital bills, surgery costs, medicine expenses, treatment charges.
Health insurance doesn’t cover: Lost income if you can’t work. Family expenses if you’re gone. Children’s future education costs. Ongoing loan repayments.
You need both. Health insurance for medical emergencies. Term insurance for family’s financial security.
Understanding Benefits of Term Life Insurance
Term life insurance is pure protection. No investment mixing. Just safety.
How it works:
Pay small yearly premium. Get large insurance cover – typically 50 lakhs to 2 crores. If something happens to you during policy term, family receives full amount. If policy ends and you’re alive, no money back but family was protected throughout.
Key benefits:
Maximum cover at minimum cost. 30-year-old gets 1 crore cover for just 15,000-20,000 yearly. Family receives lump sum to manage all expenses. Replaces your income for years. Children’s education secured. Home loan gets paid off. Spouse doesn’t struggle financially.
Different Types of Health Insurance Plan
Now let’s understand the types of health insurance plans and health coverage options:
Individual health insurance:
Covers one person. You buy separate policy for yourself. Spouse and children need their own policies.
Best for: Single people, dual-income couples wanting independent coverage.
Family floater plan:
One policy covers entire family. Sum insured shared among all members. Anyone can use full amount if needed.
Best for: Families with young children, nuclear families wanting comprehensive coverage.
Senior citizen health plans:
Specifically for people above 60. Covers age-related ailments. Higher premium but necessary coverage.
Best for: Elderly parents needing specialized medical coverage.
Critical illness plans:
Covers specific serious diseases like cancer, heart attack, kidney failure. Pays lump sum on diagnosis.
Best for: Everyone as supplement to regular health insurance.
Top-up health plans:
Activates after base insurance exhausted. Provides additional coverage at lower cost.
Best for: People wanting higher total coverage economically.
Matching Term Insurance with Health Plans
Your term cover should consider your health insurance adequacy too.
Formula for term insurance:
Annual income × 10-15 years = Basic term cover needed
Plus: Outstanding loans Plus: Children’s education costs Plus: Parents’ care needs Minus: Existing investments and savings
Health insurance consideration:
If you have just 5 lakh health cover, medical emergency can drain savings. Need higher term cover to compensate.
If you have 25 lakh comprehensive health coverage, term insurance calculation can be more focused on income replacement.
For Different Life Stages
Young single professional (25-30):
Health insurance: Individual plan of 10-15 lakhs. Term insurance: 50 lakhs cover if parents depend on you.
Benefits of term life insurance here protect parents. Health insurance protects your medical needs.
Newly married (30-35):
Health insurance: Family floater of 15-20 lakhs covering both. Term insurance: 1 crore for income replacement.
Both spouses should have term insurance. Health floater covers medical needs together.
Parents with young children (35-45):
Health insurance: Family floater 20-25 lakhs. Critical illness rider. Top-up for extra coverage.
Term insurance: 1.5-2 crore covering all family responsibilities.
This combination ensures medical emergencies don’t drain savings, and family stays secure if earning member is lost.
Pre-retirement (45-60):
Health insurance: Enhanced coverage 30-50 lakhs. Senior citizen plan for parents.
Term insurance: Continue till children are independent and loans cleared.
Medical costs increase with age. Types of health insurance plan should expand. Term insurance protects till responsibilities end.
Tax Benefits from Both
Both insurances give tax advantages, enhancing their value.
From term insurance:
Premium paid qualifies for Section 80C deduction up to 1.5 lakhs. Death benefit received by family is completely tax-free.
From health insurance:
Premium qualifies under Section 80D. Up to 25,000 for self and family. Additional 25,000 for parents (50,000 if parents are senior citizens).
Combined tax saving example:
Term insurance premium: 20,000 Health insurance premium: 25,000 Parents’ health insurance: 30,000 Total deduction: 75,000 Tax saved in 30% bracket: 22,500 yearly
Building Complete Protection
Step 1: Calculate term insurance need
Use formula: Income × 12 years + Loans + Future goals = Required cover
Don’t underestimate. 1 crore should be minimum for most middle-class families.
Step 2: Choose right types of health insurance plan
Family floater as base. Critical illness as add-on. Top-up for higher coverage. Senior citizen plan for parents.
Step 3: Buy both immediately
Don’t delay. Every year of delay increases premium and risk of rejection due to health issues.
Step 4: Review annually
Income increased? Increase term cover. Had a baby? Enhance health floater amount. Parents ageing? Add senior plan.
Taking Action Today
Don’t wait for health issues to appear. Both insurances become expensive or unavailable then. Review every year. Life changes, insurance should too.
Complete protection isn’t luxury. It’s necessity. Health insurance plus term insurance together create that complete shield. Start today. Your family’s security cannot wait for tomorrow.
