You can still buy health insurance for parents over 60: since 1 April 2024 IRDAI's rules set no upper age for a new policy, though the insurer can ask for medical tests, load the premium or decline. What the policy is worth shows up at claim time, in a wait of up to three years for conditions your parents already have and, on many senior plans in 2026, a co-payment of 10% to 30% of every claim, varying by insurer. Section 80D of the 1961 Act adds a deduction of up to ₹50,000 for parents aged 60 or over, but only in the old regime.

What changes when a parent is over 60?

The proposal form asks about every condition, medicine and hospital stay, and many insurers test older applicants before they quote. A condition such as hypertension can bring a premium loading, an exclusion until a wait ends, or a refusal. Disclose all of it, even if the premium rises: an undisclosed condition gives the insurer grounds to reject a claim during the first 60 months of continuous cover, as why health insurance claims get rejected explains.

Senior citizen health insurance carries more limits. The pre-existing disease waiting period can be up to 36 months, the maximum IRDAI has allowed since 1 April 2024; some policies offer one or two years, often for a higher premium. A co-payment, the share of each claim you pay yourself, is common on senior plans at 10% to 30% in 2026, varying by insurer. A new policy also excludes illness in its first 30 days, accidents apart.

Two rules help: individual health premiums carry no GST since 22 September 2025, and since 30 January 2025 an insurer must consult IRDAI before raising seniors' premiums by more than 10% in a year.

What would Nikhil's parents' policy cost and pay?

Nikhil earns a ₹28 lakh gross salary and files in the new regime. His mother is 63; his father, 67, takes medicine for hypertension. Nikhil has budgeted ₹60,000 a year for their cover. A floater for both is usually priced on the elder parent's age, so for a couple of 63 and 67 a ₹10 lakh floater cost about ₹60,000 to ₹1,20,000 a year in 2026, varying by insurer, city and health; parents in their 70s pay more. For one 65-year-old, the insurance planning guide puts ₹5 lakh to ₹15 lakh at ₹30,000 to ₹60,000.

His two quotes for a ₹10 lakh floater (illustrative figures) both declare the hypertension and carry a three-year wait on it:

Policy Yearly premium Co-pay You pay on a ₹2,50,000 claim outside the wait You pay on a ₹4,00,000 claim after the wait
A ₹64,000 20% ₹50,000 ₹80,000
B ₹98,000 none nothing nothing

Only A is near his budget. Suppose his father needs a ₹4,00,000 heart procedure in year two. If the policy treats it as linked to his hypertension, it falls inside the wait, and Nikhil pays all ₹4,00,000 on either policy. The same bill in year four costs him ₹80,000 on A.

A saves ₹34,000 a year in premium. The co-pay test: divide the premium a co-pay plan saves by its co-pay rate; in a year when claims pass that figure, the cheaper plan costs more. For Nikhil, ₹34,000 divided by 20% is ₹1,70,000. The premium, about ₹5,300 a month, belongs in the monthly sum that supporting parents financially works out.

The ₹50,000 section 80D limit for parents applies only in the old regime, so to Nikhil it is worth nothing.

Does section 80D for parents save you tax?

In the old regime, a ₹50,000 deduction at 30% plus 4% cess saves ₹15,600 a year, bringing policy A's ₹64,000 to ₹48,400. At a ₹28 lakh gross salary in FY 2026-27, the new regime's tax is ₹4,13,400 with cess, and the old regime matches it only once deductions and exemptions beyond its ₹50,000 standard deduction reach ₹8,00,000.

Because both regimes tax the top slice at 30%, the same ₹8,00,000 line holds from about ₹25 lakh to ₹50 lakh of gross salary; at ₹18 lakh it is lower, ₹6,41,667. Section 80D for parents adds at most ₹50,000, so unless rent, a home loan and 80C already take you close, the premium buys cover, not a tax cut. Old vs new tax regime works out which stacks cross the line.

What else limits what your parents' cover pays?

Senior plans often cap named procedures, such as cataract or knee replacement, below the sum insured, and many cap room rent at, say, 1% of the sum insured a day; is company health insurance enough works through what each cap cuts from a bill. A super top-up above the base policy is usually the cheaper way to raise cover.

If your parents are on your company policy, it often covers them with no wait, but it ends with your job; migrating to the insurer's own policy keeps credit for waits served only up to the old sum insured, as company health insurance after resigning explains. A separate policy bought now lets its three-year wait run while the group cover still pays.

Dhi looks at your parents' cover alongside your own protection, cash flow, net worth and goals. Dhi answers questions from your own numbers, such as what a 20% co-pay would cost you, and earns no commissions on any policy.

Frequently asked questions

No. IRDAI's rules make health policies renewable for life: renewal cannot be refused because of age or past claims, only for established fraud, misrepresentation or non-disclosure; if the plan is withdrawn, the insurer must offer a move to another of its plans. Renew within the grace period, 30 days for a yearly premium, so the waits keep counting; illness in the unpaid gap is usually not covered.
Yes. Section 80D of the 1961 Act covers a premium you pay for your parents whether or not they depend on you, up to ₹50,000 a year if either parent is 60 or over, paid by any mode other than cash. It applies only in the old regime.
Only for a parent who is 60 or over and has no health policy, and only in the old regime: their medical bills that you pay, other than in cash, count within the ₹50,000 parents' limit, shared with any premium you pay for them. In the new regime neither the bills nor a premium gives any deduction.

This is general information for salaried individuals in India, not personalised financial advice.