The health insurance industry is seeing potential policy buyers opting for higher sum assured than they used to a year back. The reason is a mix of higher tax deductions and the preference to cover family over individual members.

"We are seeing policy buyers opt for covers of Rs 5-10 lakh than Rs 2-3 lakh," said Rakesh Jain, CEO of Reliance General Insurance. "80% health policies being sold are family covers because it saves on premium," he adds.

Additionally, many insurers have stopped selling low ticket health policies --- of up to Rs 2 lakh --- online and are pushing Rs 4-5 lakh policies.

Accordingly to Naval Goel, Founder & CEO of PolicyX.com, there is a higher traction for Rs 5 lakh covers. "40% of policy buyers online are looking for Rs 4-5 lakh covers and 30% are looking for Rs 2-3 lakh covers. As against this, 60% buyers would opt for Rs 2-3 lakh covers till a year back. Around 20% buyers are looking for covers of more than Rs 5 lakh," he says.

As rising cost and medical advancements have pushed medical inflation growth to around 15%, opting for a higher sum assured is required. That’s the reason most insurers now offer health covers of up to Rs 50 lakh; typically the highest health cover offered was Rs 10 lakh. Cigna TTK offers health covers of Rs 1 crore and Religare Health has a Rs 60 lakh cover.

However, opt for a health insurance cover based on your requirement and not because it’ll fetch a high tax deduction or save on premium outgo. Identify the ideal coverage you and your family members need based on the size of your family, age of the oldest family member, family health history, lifestyle, and so on.

Family floaters are meant for younger family - where husband and wife are aged less than 40. Such families can start with a Rs 5 lakh cover, which can be upgraded every 4-5 years. Being covered under a family floater plan helps get a higher cover for a less cost. Parents and / or siblings are mostly not covered in family floater policies. Few companies like Oriental India Insurance and Max Bupa Health Insurance offer cover for parents also under family floaters.

Family floaters are priced according to the age of the eldest member of the family. For a family with the eldest member in the age bracket of 26-40 years, family floater plans will cost anywhere between Rs 12,500 and Rs 15,000 covering husband, wife and two children.

Insurers say family floaters are not advisable when extended family (senior citizens) is to be included. Seniors have a higher chance of hospitalisation and claims can also be higher. As the sum assured gets divided between members, some family members may be left uncovered if there are multiple hospitalizations.

Therefore, it makes sense to cover senior citizens under individual plans of at least Rs 5 lakh each. A Rs 5 lakh individual policy for someone aged between 60 and 65 years costs Rs 25,000-30,000.

If there is requirement for a higher cover, you can always opt for top-up plans later. Top-ups triggers only after the base cover is exhausted and are cheaper than an individual products. A Rs 10-lakh top-up cover could cost for Rs 2,000-5,000.