Insurers Now Allow Siblings And Live-In Partners Under One Health Policy

Indian health insurers have begun widening who can be covered under a single family policy, according to a recent report by CNBC, marking one of the most noticeable shifts in the retail health-cover space in years. The update is not cosmetic; it opens the door for siblings and live-in partners to be added to the same plan, a move that could reshape how nearly 30 per cent of urban households buy insurance.

A Shift Driven By Changing Households

Family-floater plans have long been built around a traditional template: the policyholder, a legally married spouse, dependent children, and, occasionally, parents. But many insurers have been facing a clear mismatch between their policy definitions and the way Indians are actually living today.

More young adults now share homes with siblings well into their late twenties or early thirties. Cohabiting couples, especially in large metros, have become commonplace. These setups often function financially like any other household, yet members were forced to buy separate policies simply because they didn’t fit the conventional definition of “family.”

Insurers are now acknowledging this gap. Several large companies have introduced plans that formally recognise siblings and live-in partners as eligible members under one policy. Rather than making these households juggle separate policies, insurers are finally shaping their plans to match how people actually live together. This shift, while simple in wording, is significant in impact.

Policybazaar points out that the older rules left out a huge slice of Indian households, especially families where adult siblings continue to live together or couples who share a home without being legally married. Siddharth Singhal, who heads the health-insurance vertical at Policybazaar, said insurers have now opened up their all-inclusive plans to cover brothers, sisters, and live-in partners as well.

He described the change as “one of the most progressive updates the industry has seen in years,” adding that the new approach finally brings health cover in line with the way many households actually operate today.

Coverage Rules Stay The Same — But With Wider Inclusion

What’s changing is the scope of who can be added, not the nature of the cover. Hospitalisation benefits, day-care procedures, waiting periods, and exclusions remain exactly as they were. The premium structure also follows the usual parameters: age, sum insured, and medical history, although adding more adults to a policy may alter the total premium.

Consumers will need to check insurer-specific details: some may ask for joint address proof, others for a relationship declaration. Some insurers may still run a quick check before adding a partner or a sibling to an existing plan, but the direction of travel is unmistakable: the idea of “family” in health insurance is no longer being interpreted in its old, narrow sense.

A Practical Shift For Everyday Households

For many people, this update takes a real weight off their shoulders. Instead of paying for and renewing two or three separate covers, one policy can now take care of everyone who shares the same home and responsibilities. It cuts down on paperwork, makes annual renewals far less of a chore, and in many cases ends up being easier on the wallet, too.

For insurers, the step positions them better for a market where family structures continue to diversify.