I’m a 36-year-old UAE-based NRI. Where should I buy a family floater health insurance plan?

I am 36-year-old NRI living in UAE. I want to buy a family floater health insurance plan. Please tell me what the best plans are. Also, is it good to buy health insurance from India?

Reply by Abhishek Bondia, principal officer and MD, at SecureNow.in

You should consider buying health insurance based on the country where you plan to take your elective treatments.

For an NRI living in the UAE, you have several options to buy health insurance. One of these options is to buy a global health insurance plan from an insurer based out of the UAE.

Such a plan would give you the flexibility to take your medical treatment anywhere in the world, including in India. If you are not looking for treatment outside the UAE, then you could evaluate one of the locally offered plans.

You could also consider buying health insurance from India, if you would prefer to undergo major treatments, when required, in India.

Most health insurance plans offered by Indian insurers cover treatment only in India. Expenses incurred abroad cannot be reimbursed with most Indian plans.

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A few Indian insurers offer global treatment at high sum assured levels. However, this flexibility is offered in limited cases. For example, one of the plans allows foreign treatment only for specified critical illnesses.

If in the long term, you plan to come back to India, you could buy top-up insurance here. A top-up plan would carry a deductible and is low-cost. This would allow you to build up a medical history with a local insurer with a small cost outlay.

Some of the top-up plans give an option to convert into a regular plan at a later date. When you relocate, then you can convert your top-up plan into a regular plan.

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