What parents of specially abled children must know about insurance, taxes
NEW DELHI: Opening a bank account is a cakewalk for most of us. Bank executives happily come to our doorsteps for the paperwork. However, it is not the same for parents of specially abled children.
New Delhi-based Vikas Arya, 48, learned it the hard way when he visited a bank to open an account for his 21-year-old daughter. It took him over two months and multiple visits to the bank to open an account that is still not operational.
«I applied to open a joint bank account for her and my wife. Even senior executives had no idea what process was to be followed,» he says.
Arya, who has not received any welcome kit either, says bank officials are still figuring it out.
Bengaluru-based Sunil Kawariya's seven-year-old daughter was hospitalized a couple of years ago. Even though he had added her to his family floater policy when she was born, the insurer rejected the claim, saying it was a congenital disease not covered by the insurance.
«Autism is visible medically only when the child turns two or three years old. By nature, it could be by birth, but we had not hidden this information,» says Kawariya.
Self-declaration is no guarantee that the claim will be settled. Aishwarya Magesh, 42, did declare about his son's cerebral palsy condition while buying the policy. The claim was still rejected for the same reason of congenital disease.
«It irked me how they accepted the policy proposal after the self-declaration and collected the premium but did not settle the claim. I now invest to create a healthcare fund for him,» she says.
Moreover, expenses for a child with special needs are much higher than those for a normal person.
“I spend ₹3 lakh a year on his education (for special school). The inclusive school or Montessori insists
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