This article discusses two questions readers often ask about health insurance. (1) After buying a health insurance policy, should I inform the insurer if I am diagnosed with a new health condition? There is no need to inform the insurer immediately. At the time of renewal, if you don’t wish to increase your coverage and…

Based on the IRDA annual report, we discuss the claim rejection data for standalone health insurers for FY 2021-22. We can only answer how many claims health insurers reject yearly for standalone health insurers. IRDA does not provide break up details for the total claims processed by general insurers. For general insurers (including PSUs), we…

A reader writes, “Can you please write an article on the best way to combine a normal (base) health insurance policy with a super top-up policy? That is, how much should the base insurance be and how much the super top-up policy?” First let us point out some helpful resources for those looking to understand…

Here is a list of things to do after you buy a health insurance policy.  These simple steps would aid premium payment, claim application and hospitalization. This post is a companion piece: Do not forget these steps after buying a term insurance policy! 1.  Understand claim procedures Whether cashless or reimbursement, insurers must be immediately intimated…

United has recently made significant changes to its Family Medicare Policy and Super Top-Up Medicare Policy. I discuss why we purchased the revised top-up cover with Rs. 95 lakhs sum insured in this article. If you are looking to buy base or super top-up health insurance, this may be useful: Select the right health insurance…

Here are five free resources (two ebooks, two webinars and a policy comparison spreadsheet) to help you choose a suitable health insurance policy. 1. Ebook on Health Insurance by Venkatesh Jayaraman. Author Bio: I was brought up in Chennai and moved around Bengaluru, Chennai, Mysuru and Pune to cater for my career requirements. But primarily…

In this edition of “FAQ”, we shall discuss some common questions about Super Top-up Health Insurance policies. Previous editions in this series include: FAQ on index investing FAQ on Mutual Fund Systematic Withdrawal Plans (SWPs) FAQ: Target Maturity Debt Mutual Funds FAQ: How inflation affects our ability to manage money FAQ on gilt mutual funds:…

United India has intimated policyholders of a major revision in their Super Top Policy with effect from 1st March 2022. This includes a significant increase in the maximum sum insured of Rs. 15 lakhs to Rs. 95 lakhs.  The revised policy terms and conditions will apply to all policies due for renewal after this date….

A reader asks, “Dear sir, thank you for the helpful insights on Life Insurance Claim Settlement Ratio for FY 2020-21. Can we get similar data for health insurers?” Life insurance claims are binary. Either insurer pays in full (one) or not (zero). So you can define a claim settlement ratio as the number of claims…

Health insurance is a tricky business. Unlike life insurance, a health insurance policyholder is likely to make multiple claims over a lifetime. This means health insurers have to be careful about who they insure else profits would suffer. However, if they are too strict, then again profits would suffer. The alternative is to share the…

The United India Insurance Family Medicare Policy has undergone a makeover. Here is a list of some new features introduced in the policy. These were intimated by my insurance agent when I applied for renewal. Our policies are close to 15 years old, with four claims paid. We hold both base and super top-up policies…

This article discusses why we purchased a second set of base health insurance and super top-up health insurance. Regular readers may be aware we hold a United India Health Insurance policy from 2006 and have so far made four claims with it. It has so far helped me at the time of need (two cashless…

Many media reports are doing the rounds that IRDAI has issued a new rule in a circular on 11th June 2020 that health insurers cannot question (unless there is fraud) a claim made after holding a policy for eight continuous years. This is not a new development. We also explain what this means.

Covid-19 health insurance claims are rapidly increasing in the country. With no standardised hospital pricing and reports of huge hospital bills, insurers are finding it difficult to pay out claims in full.  This could mean difficulties in claim processing and future increase in the already-high premiums.  What should policyholders do?

Melvin Joseph, one of India first SEBI registered investment advisors has released a free ebook titled Health Insurance Simplified (download link below). It explains all terms and definitions of a health insurance policy in an easy-to-understand manner.