Very few insurers provide mediclaim for aged
I took an education loan of Rs 80,000 for my son’s higher education in India. Kindly advise on how to claim interest subsidy offered to economically-backward sections. My yearly income is just above Rs 1 lakh.
B. Satyanarayana
Via email
The regulation for subsidy on education loan is in force with effect from the financial year 2009-2010. This is applicable only to those students whose parental income from all sources is less than Rs 4.5 lakh per annum. The full interest subsidy will be provided to such students during the course period. The subsidy is not applicable for loan taken prior to April 1, 2009.
If your son has taken the loan after April 1, 2009, he can go ahead and approach the bank for the same. The certification for the parental income will have to be done by a competent authority at the local level. Your lending bank will be able to guide you on the formalities to be completed along with the details of competent authority that can certify your income. Though Canara Bank is the nodal agency for subsidy on education loan, the application for subsidy is to be submitted through the bank branch from where you have availed the education loan.
* I am 71 years old and my wife is aged 63. I am planning to buy a health insurance policy for her. Please do provide the details.
Ramanujam
Via email
Firstly, you need to wait for some time for getting such policy, as it is not easy to get a policy for a 63-year-old even if she is perfectly healthy. Your best bet I think can be the insurance policies provided by Max Bupa.
Just make sure that you get the geographical zone in which she is likely to be treated. The insurer has more expensive policies, if you want her to get treated in Mumbai and Delhi hospitals. Also make sure you take the variant that allows single-room treatment since getting twin rooms is not easy for unplanned hospitalisations nowadays.
While you can take lower variants (both for city as well as type of room) if the treatment is in a higher room than what is contracted and/or in a city that is contracted, then the amo-unt of eligible expenditure, which will be reimbursed, will be significantly lower than the actual hospitalisation expenditure incurred by you.
There will be 20 per cent co-payments after she reaches the age of 65 years. Max Bupa’s policies are renewable for lifetime. Please note that there are standard limitations on coverage of preexisting disease and some special ailments for a fixed period of time. You can also buy Star Health Red Carpet policy. It will be easier to get but has higher co-payments for both regular hospitalisation expenditure as well as pre-existing diseases. It also has a sub-limit on room rents.
Harsh Roongta is the CEO of Apnapaisa.com. You can send in your queries to movingmoney@deccanmail.com
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