You bought a ₹25L family floater. Your mom got sick. ₹20L used. Now your kid needs appendicitis surgery. Not enough left.
Family floater is NOT always cheaper. You might need both.
Meet the Sharma family. Father (45), mother (42), son (12), daughter (8). Bought a ₹25L family floater because "it's cheaper than individual policies."
Last year, mother had cardiac surgery. ₹20L used. ₹5L remaining in the floater.
This year, son needs appendicitis surgery. ₹3L cost. ₹5L remaining should cover it, right?
Wrong.
Appendicitis surgery at a good hospital: ₹3.5L. With complications, it went to ₹6L. The floater had only ₹5L left. Out-of-pocket: ₹1L.
Family Floater Basics
Family floater = one shared pool. All members draw from the same ₹25L. If one person uses ₹20L, everyone else shares the remaining ₹5L.
Cost: ₹12-15K/year for ₹25L covering 4 people.
Individual Policy Basics
Individual policy = separate coverage per person. Each person gets their own ₹10L. One person exhausting theirs leaves everyone else untouched.
Cost: ₹4-5K/year per person × 4 = ₹16-20K/year for ₹40L total.
Real Comparison
Scenario A: No claims. Floater ₹25L costs ₹12K/year — cheaper. Individual ₹10L each costs ₹18K/year.
Scenario B: One major claim. Floater: ₹20L used, ₹5L left for the whole family — risky. Individual: one person used their ₹10L, everyone else still has ₹10L each — safer.
When Each Works
Family floater works if:
- Young, healthy family (low claim risk)
- Budget is tight (₹12K vs ₹18K)
- You're okay with shared risk
Individual policies work if:
- Multiple people have pre-existing conditions
- You want guaranteed coverage per person
- Budget allows (₹18K vs ₹12K)
Hybrid approach (recommended): Floater ₹20L + individual ₹5L per person. Cost: ₹14K/year. Coverage: ₹20L shared plus ₹5L per person guaranteed. Best of both worlds.
The Sharmas could have avoided the gap. Nobody told them that floater means shared risk.
Generic advice ends here. Whether your family is one bad year away from an empty pool depends on what YOUR policy says — go look at the structure you actually bought.