Press Release Summary = What would make a perfect gift for the perfect parents? Flowers, chocolates, an item of trivia or, utilities or, luxury. The list goes on and on. But he wouldn't go for any of this. He wanted to gift them his care - a health insurance.
Press Release Body = Mumbai, December 14, 2006 - My friend has a problem. Christmas is here and like everyone else he is thinking of goodies and gifts to surprise his parents back in India.
What would make a perfect gift for the perfect parents? Flowers, chocolates, an item of trivia or, utilities or, luxury. The list goes on and on. But he wouldn't go for any of this. He wanted to gift them his care - a health insurance.
I thought it was an excellent idea. What is it about Mum and Dad that concerns us the most - their health and well-being? And what are we doing to ensure that?
Gifting a health insurance policy certainly made a lot of sense. But which policy should he buy and how?
Most of the insurers offer regular health insurance policies. Only ICICI Lombard has a specific Health Insurance plan - Rishtey - for NRIs' parents in India.
What is the benefit?
All health insurance policies provide cashless hospitalization benefit across India in case of an illness and accident. The similarity, however, ends here. Each insurer has its own set of coverage terms and conditions.
While most insurers in India avoid issuing policies to senior citizens and impose restrictions on the entry age or sum insured, Rishtey allows entry up to the age of 65 years and offers two sum insured options - Rs.200,000 and Rs.300,000 - with continuous coverage for 2 years.
A health policy will cover for cost of treatment, doctor's / surgeon's fee, room charges, diagnostic tests, medicines, etc. and also covers cost incurred 30 days prior and 60 days post the hospitalization.
If you are looking for coverage of pre-existing diseases, Rishtey is the only policy that covers them after 4 years of continuous coverage. And yes, they do conduct medical check up (its free) to confirm the health status.
Interestingly, Rishtey also offers some reimbursement of air fare to visit your parents in India in case they are hospitalized due to specified illnesses.
Where to buy?
Buying a health insurance policy in India typically involves going through an agent, which obviously doesn't help an NRI. As of now, only ICICI Lombard offers an online facility to gift a Health Insurance policy - 'Rishtey' - to parents in India through its website - www.icicilombard.com. - with a special message from you. What's more, they also have toll free numbers from US / Canada and UK for buying over phone.
Peace of mind!
Gifting a health insurance policy to parents' certainly ensures that you can take care of them when they need you the most - even if you are not with them.
The author is an NRI and has been working in banking and financial sector for past 7 years.
2025
