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Myexperience and strategy is to invest in a good agent. A good agent makes all the difference.

My understanding is - yes, it is possible to split the expenses across the insurers. However, we should be able to provide the required documentation to each of those. [This may be a hassle]

Should be possible to purchase a standalone policy (not via a family floater). You would then be the proposer.
I would suggest you try booking a consultation with Ditto, https://joinditto.in I had a call with them sometime back, they are knowledgeable. They may "nudge" you towards some product, but definitely better than the other sellers.

Only important point to look at is to ensure this is a super top up & the co pay clauses.
My family is also on a similar combination ICICI Lombard family floater + super-top up. Although I'm considering switching the floater to a new vendor after the current term - (looking at cigna/care/navi/godigit) since their premium appears to be much lower for similar settlement ratios.

Has anyone ported their policy to another insurer? What is the process, how easy/difficult is it? I presently have ICICI L but next year planning to explore other insurers and port if beneficial.

I always renew my HI policy myself, how to bring agent into the picture?


I am in the same boat. Last year I paid 12k for 2 Lakh SI, this year they (ICICI L) increased SI to 3 Lakh (+ 1.4 Lakh additional SI) and premium is 24k (included maternity and OPD as add-on).

PS. I also have corporate HI policy.

I have never understood this logic. Why take needless health insurance at a young age? How would this secure your future retirement? You have needlessly paid over 1.5 lakhs in premiums for the past 10 odd years while you were covered under the employer insurance. The cost of the premium is dependent on your age. It makes no difference if you are starting at 50 or if you have been paying since you were 25.

I wish people would realise that all they are getting is a maximum coverage of 5 lakhs and in most scenarios, payment of a bill of 1 to 2 lakhs. A few years of premiums saved can easily cover this. So get insurance when needed. Not in advance.

I am planning to take "Care Supreme health plan" family floater. I have taken quotes from Policybazaar and the local Care insurance office in Chennai. Which one is the best way, taking directly from the insurance provider (offline) or through Policybazaar and other aggregators/agents? What are the pros and cons of either way and which one is best for the claim process/settlement?

I'm not sure about how the agents/aggregators help with claims. Nowadays, many hospitals handle the claim process, so you usually don't need much assistance.

I like to talk to the insurance companies directly to keep things simple. Some agents I've dealt with in the past don't take medical questionnaires or pre-existing conditions seriously, and it's caused issues with my policies. Now, I just fill out the forms myself to avoid any problems.

But you may not get one when you need it. The employer's insurance covers you while employed but cannot be ported. If I were to develop a health issue in the future, my employer's insurance would cover it, but there's a possibility that I may be denied insurance later due to my pre-existing medical condition.

Also, losing my job means losing the insurance suddenly. Then, I have to search for a new insurance plan while already dealing with the stress of being unemployed.

Aggregators are just like sales agent and typically get their comission for bringing in customers. So they try to get the phone number the moment a person visits their website even for comparision purposes. The comission usually adds up to the premium amount in case of auto insurance. I think it would be same for health and life insurance as well. Buying directly from insurance provider will save you money. They have no role in claim settlement.

Having had an experience of taking a break between my jobs and having met with an injury to my knee requiring a surgery, it cost my close to 2L which I had to pay out of my pocket. Having had the experience, I decided to have it just in case.
If you have analyzed the medical inflation over the past few years, having a cover of 5L on your prime + risk years of 45 (especially with the work induced lifestyle ailments) wouldnt be really enough.

One more factor to consider here is the later age you enter medical insurance, the higher amount of premium you pay + standard and existing ailments exclusions as well.
By entering at a young age, these conditions will be out in case if the insurance have to be availed at a later stage.

Dear All

I have had a HDFC Ergo Optima Restore Family Floater Policy for the last 15 years now for My Wife, My 2 kids and myself ( Age Me-53, Wife - 48, Kids 21, 16). There have been zero claims in the past 15 years.

Earlier it used to be Apollo Munich Family Floater Policy, then it got bought over by HDFC Ergo a few years ago and has become HDFC Ergo Optima Restore Family Floater Policy.

We have a base coverage of 10 Lakh, and a Multiplier Benifit (I think it is some kind of No claim Bonus) of 10 Lakh, so total coverage of 20 Lakh and with 10 Lakh Restore.
It started with a premium of Under 20,000, Last year the premium was around 44K and this year it is showing me a premium of over 50K inclusive of GST.

My Wife is in a corporate job and we get a family Medical Insurance through that with a cover of around 6 Lakh.

Now my renewal date it 29th April and I am thinking if I am paying too much premium for too less coverage and if I should port to a different Insurance Company.

Any advice from experts here will be highly appreciated. Should continue with the existing HDFC Ergo Family Floater Optima Restore Policy or if I should port to another company ?

Styler

Had a question about health insurance cover for senior (80+) people.

A family member never cared about health insurance when they were younger. By good fortune and good genetics, they are still in good health in their 80s. What are the options for covering such a case? The quotes I get seem to have very high premiums with very low coverage, 50k yearly for 1-2 lakhs cover. Seems more sensible to just save up that kind of amount, and some more, and keep it in reserve for a medical emergency, instead of opting for such a policy.

I understand that given the age, it probably doesn't make business sense for an insurance company to issue a higher cover policy or a lower premium. But just wanted to check if I missed any options.(Thanks in advance for any replies!)

I have the same notion and logic. With uncertainty of job continuity and stability in the private sector, one never knows when one would need insurance in case in between jobs.

Taking insurance after 45 /50 has it own challenges since lifestyle related ailments would usually have kicked in. Higher premiums and exclusions/ waiting periods and what not. I prefer paying premium for 10 years when I don't need it rather than uncertain/incomplete coverages when you need it the most.

I got a quote from Care Health Insurance. They give a better coverage at the same premium.
Is this a good company ? Any first hand review of Care Health Insurance ?

Porting to another company would require you to give atleast one month notice (may be more in certain cases) to the existing company.

As your policy is due for renewal on 29th April you cannot port this year, I think.

Thanks

It is a real pain to deal with these Insurance Agents.
I was in chat with a direct employee of Care Insurance and he tried to pull a fast one on me.
I asked him for the list of Cashless hospitals. He sent me a link to check :
https://www.careinsurance.com/health...hospitals.html
I checked and did not find Max and Aakash Hospital in Delhi as my brother is a consultant at Aakash. I inquired from this person and guess what he sends me a screen shot showing Aakash Healthcare listed. I was surprised because when I searched it would not show up. I looked carefully and found that Aakash Healthcare shows up under list of Excluded Hospitals. He had taken a screen-shot of the name of the Hospital without showing Excluded List in the left menu.

I just sent him this message:
"So you do such frauds with clients. You expect everybody is a fool.
Because of people like you people have lost trust in Insurance companies.
My advice to you is. It's better to be honest in future."

He first said he is new and didnt know, his manager told him. But later he apologized.

You don't need to give any notice to the previous company. But the new company needs time to process the paper work for porting. You will need soft copies of past 3 years insurance policy. It can still be done especially since you have had no claims for many years. Talk to a good agent.

I had ported to care about 3 years back. It took about a week.