67 Year Old After Pacemaker: Can I Still Do Yoga?

Ans: » Current position

Your concern is valid. At age 66, medical costs can rise sharply.

Your existing Rs.8 lakh cover should not be discontinued casually.

It has valuable continuity benefits.

Keep the existing Oriental Insurance policy active for now.
Do not cancel it before securing alternative coverage.
Your wife and son need not remain in the same floater.
Your age can significantly increase the floater premium.

» My preferred structure

I would consider a two-layer arrangement.

You: separate individual health policy.
Wife and son: separate family floater policy.
Existing Oriental policy: retain as an additional layer initially.

This structure gives better control over future premiums.

Your son is only 21, so his medical risk is relatively lower.

Your wife is 51, so a family floater can still work well.

For you, an individual policy is more suitable at age 66.

» Is Rs.15 lakh enough?

Rs.15 lakh is a reasonable minimum target today.

However, I would prefer higher overall protection.

Hospitalisation costs can become very high for major surgeries.

Cancer and prolonged treatment can also create large bills.

A practical structure could be:

Existing Rs.8 lakh policy as the base.
Separate individual cover for you.
Additional super top-up protection for the family.
Suitable cover for your wife and son through a floater.

This can provide stronger protection without a very high base premium.

» Why super top-up can help

A super top-up can provide additional protection above a chosen deductible.

It can be more economical than buying a very large base policy.

But please check the deductible carefully.

Also check whether the deductible works on annual aggregate claims.

This point is very important.

Do not buy a super top-up only because its premium looks cheap.

» Should you take separate policies?

For you, yes, I would seriously consider an individual policy.

For your wife and son, a floater can still work well.

There is no strong need to create three separate policies immediately.

The better structure depends on age and medical risk.

» About your previous smoking

You smoked heavily from age 22 to 50.

You have now stopped smoking for around 16 years.

That is a positive factor.

However, disclose your complete smoking history.

Do not hide it while purchasing a new policy.

The insurer may ask about smoking and previous medical conditions.

Your previous claims must also be disclosed correctly.

Non-disclosure can create problems during a future claim.

» Do you need a separate cancer policy?

I would not make a standalone critical illness policy your first priority.

First secure strong comprehensive health insurance.

Then consider critical illness protection if suitable.

Critical illness insurance generally pays a fixed amount after covered diagnosis.

It is different from regular health insurance.

Regular health insurance mainly covers eligible medical expenses.

Therefore, critical illness cover should be supplementary protection.

» Important conditions to check

Before selecting another policy, carefully check these points:

Room rent restrictions.
ICU restrictions.
Disease-wise sub-limits.
Co-payment requirements.
Pre-existing disease waiting period.
Specific disease waiting periods.
Maximum entry age.
Lifetime renewal availability.
Restoration benefit.
Day-care treatment coverage.
Non-medical expense coverage.
Claim settlement process.
Cashless hospital network.
Premium increases with age.

Avoid policies with heavy sub-limits.

Also be careful with compulsory co-payment at your age.

A lower premium may come with higher out-of-pocket expenses.

» What about portability?

Your existing policy has considerable value because of its continuity.

Health insurance portability can preserve certain accrued continuity benefits.

However, the new insurer will still perform medical underwriting.

Additional coverage can also have applicable waiting periods.

Therefore, do not surrender your existing policy casually.

» One important strategy

Since Oriental Insurance has declined enhancement, do not focus only on enhancement.

Instead, explore a fresh policy alongside the existing policy.

Your existing Rs.8 lakh cover can remain useful.

The new policy can provide additional protection.

This may be better than replacing the existing policy completely.

» What I would do in your case

My preference would be:

Continue the existing Rs.8 lakh Oriental policy.
Take a separate individual policy for yourself.
Take a separate family floater for your wife and son.
Add a suitable super top-up after checking conditions.
Consider critical illness protection separately.
Review the complete structure every year.

At age 66, continuity is extremely valuable.

Therefore, replacement should happen only after careful underwriting.

» One more important point

Because you mentioned previous claims, insurers may scrutinise your medical history.

Please obtain your complete claim history and current policy wording.

Also collect your recent medical reports.

This will help in getting accurate underwriting decisions.

Do not make decisions only from premium quotations.

» Final Insights

Your Rs.8 lakh cover should not be considered useless.

It is an important foundation because of its continuity.

Your next objective should be additional protection.

I would consider Rs.15 lakh as the minimum overall base protection.

However, I would prefer larger total protection through a super top-up.

For your age, policy conditions matter more than the cheapest premium.

For your wife and son, a floater can remain practical.

For yourself, an individual cover deserves serious consideration.

The final insurer should be selected after comparing policy wording.

Also compare exclusions, co-pay, waiting periods and underwriting.

Best Regards,

K. Ramalingam, MBA, CFP,

AMFI-Registered MFD – ARN 4188

www.holisticinvestment.in/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramalingamcfp/