Health insurance is starting to gain more importance in the country, as it can be a financial safeguard in case of unexpected medical emergencies. And one important aspect to consider is the amount of premium that you need to pay.

One major factor that affects this premium is your age. As you get older, your insurance premiums are likely to rise as well. This is because older age means a higher chance of mortality, hospitalization, and medical expenses.

For example, if a 25-year-old person has to pay a premium of ₹2,414/year for a sum insured of 3 lakhs for a health insurance, one who is 50 might have to pay ₹6,208/year for the same sum.

Increased Health Risks

As a person grows older, the chances of health risks are more likely to increase. This means that they are more likely to need hospitalized care for illnesses, injuries, and other medical conditions. Thus, for insurers, they are at a higher than usual risk of making a claim.

To cover these extra losses that might arise due to their health risks, insurance companies will ask a higher premium.

Rising Medical Expenses

When we grow older, you will likely need larger sums of money to cover your rising medical expenses, including healthcare, treatments, and even surgeries. This means that you will need a higher sum insured to cover your medical expenses. And this in turn will directly impact the premium rate.

Additionally, as you age, it also becomes more difficult to determine your risk factors and estimate health-related expenses. This is why many insurance companies put an age cap in place for individuals buying a new health insurance policy at around 65-80 years.

Higher Risk of Critical Illnesses

Unfortunately, ageing also brings with it a higher chance of getting a critical illness. This includes things like stroke, cancer, kidney failure, heart attack, cardiovascular issues, kidney failure and more.

Thus, they will need to be covered against such eventualities, such as with a specific Critical Illness Cover, or a higher sum insured. In both cases, one may have to pay a higher premium.

Pre-Existing Conditions

Older individuals are more likely to have a pre-existing medical condition such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or asthma. When a person is older, apart from the likelihood of having a pre-existing condition, that condition might also be more severe and thus require more medical care.

Due to this likelihood, elderly people will likely have to pay a higher premium compared to younger people.

The best time to buy a health insurance would be while you’re still young. Ideally you should try to do so in your 20s, when you’ve just started your professional career.

This is because premiums are a lot cheaper when you are young, and you will be able to complete any waiting periods earlier in life, so that if something arises, you will be covered.  You can also get cumulative bonuses for claim free years and build up your sum insured.

Additionally, diseases or accidents can affect young adults too. So, if you ever need treatment for an accident, injury, or illness, having health insurance will ensure you don’t have to spend all your early savings.

What About Senior Citizen Health Insurance?

If you’ve already reached your older years, of course it isn’t possible to go back in time and get health insurance while you were young. In this situation, one can opt for specialized health insurance for senior citizens.

A Senior Health Insurance is designed to suit the needs of elderly people and financially covers them for medical expenses like hospitalization, medical treatments and critical illnesses, annual check-ups, accidents, and more.

Even though age has an impact on your health insurance premium, it is still possible to get an affordable policy that covers all your needs. To do so, you can compare the various insurance options out there, and pick the one that has the most comprehensive coverage based on your age. Additionally, to get extra coverage at a lower cost, at any age, you can opt for super top-up plans or family discount options. This way, you can get the best medical insurance coverage at any age.