[PatienceWins]

Is it recommended to port a policy when there is a medical condition that has happened after taking the policy?

I did not use the policy to cover hospitalization expenses, but the advisor says it is better to stay with the current policy as the medical condition will have to be raised as a pre-existing condition while porting, which may not be covered in new policy or may result in higher premium. I wanted to port because of the "1% of sum insured room rent" limit with the current policy.

For the other family members, I am considering either HDFC Optima Secure or Care Plan for porting.

[ghodlur]

Folks a query or you may call it dilemma.

The premiums for my Family floater plan with Niva Bupa has reached 50k levels for a SI of 20L with NCB of 20L and restore option of 20L making it 60L coverage for a family of 3. Should I look for an alternative to reduce the premium or continue with Niva Bupa. I have had 1 claim during covid in 2021 in the 10 yrs of relationship with Niva Bupa. Although I cannot say the claim process was pretty smooth, the job got done with me struggling from the hospital bed to get the claims approved and payment to the hospital.

I have checked on cover fox and could see for my age the premiums of most of the Insurance cos are in the 50K range with an exception of Acko where the premium came around to 35K. I am wary about these new age Insurance providers but have been thinking why the heck not? Anybody have a health insurance from Acko and have had a claim? How smooth is the process, documentation, post sales service etc? Should I gamble with the Acko or stick to the tried and tested Bupa?

[self_driven]

Originally Posted by PatienceWins

Is it recommended to port a policy when there is a medical condition that has happened after taking the policy? I did not use the policy to cover hospitalization expenses, but the advisor says it is better to stay with the current policy as the medical condition will have to be raised as a pre-existing condition while porting, which may not be covered in new policy or may result in higher premium. I wanted to port because of the "1% of sum insured room rent" limit with the current policy.

For the other family members, I am considering either HDFC Optima Secure or Care Plan for porting.

Even I was considering porting to a different company during my last policy renewal. Turns out that a porting request has to be submitted to the new provider 1.5-2 months in advance, post which the new provider sends a quote. Upon receiving your confirmation, the new provider then gets in touch with the existing insurer to obtain your track record, basically health condition, claims history, etc. When you think the process is near completion, the new provider will require a health report (of entire family in case of floater policy) stamped by a doctor to check for pre-existing medical conditions. The new insurer can increase the premium, in addition to imposing a waiting period, if any pre-existing condition is found. Basically a long process involving a lot of back and forth between the two providers for 2 months. In the end, I decided it was better to renew with the existing provider and be done with it. Next year, I'll consider upgrading to a better plan though.

Originally Posted by ghodlur

I have checked on cover fox and could see for my age the premiums of most of the Insurance cos are in the 50K range with an exception of Acko where the premium came around to 35K. I am wary about these new age Insurance providers but have been thinking why the heck not? Anybody have a health insurance from Acko and have had a claim? How smooth is the process, documentation, post sales service etc? Should I gamble with the Acko or stick to the tried and tested Bupa?

No personal experience with Acko but their plans look good on paper. Unlike motor insurance, they do have a list of hospital network available on the website which is a good thing. I'd still suggest to wait for other members to chip in.

[PatienceWins]

Originally Posted by self_driven

Even I was considering porting to a different company during my last policy renewal. Turns out that a porting request has to be submitted to the new provider 1.5-2 months in advance, post which the new provider sends a quote. Upon receiving your confirmation, the new provider then gets in touch with the existing insurer to obtain your track record, basically health condition, claims history, etc. When you think the process is near completion, the new provider will require a health report (of entire family in case of floater policy) stamped by a doctor to check for pre-existing medical conditions. The new insurer can increase the premium, in addition to imposing a waiting period, if any pre-existing condition is found. Basically a long process involving a lot of back and forth between the two providers for 2 months. In the end, I decided it was better to renew with the existing provider and be done with it. Next year, I'll consider upgrading to a better plan though.

Thanks

The pre-existing condition in this case was a critical illness (Lymphoma) which cannot be detected now even if they do a health checkup. The policy was not used for reimbursement as it was done from my corporate policy. This occurred long back. The advisor says any pre-condition needs to be raised even if it is not there now as they it could become a violation if they find it later. If I continue with the current policy, it is not an issue as the condition occurred while the policy was in force. It seems it is better to stay with the current inferior policy than going through the trouble of porting for the family member and port only other family members to the family floater plan.

[jalanrishikesh]

Originally Posted by PatienceWins

Is it recommended to port a policy when there is a medical condition that has happened after taking the policy?

I did not use the policy to cover hospitalization expenses, but the advisor says it is better to stay with the current policy as the medical condition will have to be raised as a pre-existing condition while porting, which may not be covered in new policy or may result in higher premium. I wanted to port because of the "1% of sum insured room rent" limit with the current policy.

For the other family members, I am considering either HDFC Optima Secure or Care Plan for porting.

Your advisor is right, you will have to declare any new disease while porting to new Insurer. I too am facing the same dilemma. But if you have continued coverage for 4 years or more than while porting they should reduce the waiting period by the same amount. I was told by my advisor that nowadays instead of loading, they apply waiting period. But their proposal you will come to know after applying for porting only. Some insurers like Care have separate add on also for reducing waiting periods.

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Folks a query or you may call it dilemma.

The premiums for my Family floater plan with Niva Bupa has reached 50k levels for a SI of 20L with NCB of 20L and restore option of 20L making it 60L coverage for a family of 3. Should I look for an alternative to reduce the premium or continue with Niva Bupa. I have had 1 claim during covid in 2021 in the 10 yrs of relationship with Niva Bupa. Although I cannot say the claim process was pretty smooth, the job got done with me struggling from the hospital bed to get the claims approved and payment to the hospital.

I have checked on cover fox and could see for my age the premiums of most of the Insurance cos are in the 50K range with an exception of Acko where the premium came around to 35K. I am wary about these new age Insurance providers but have been thinking why the heck not? Anybody have a health insurance from Acko and have had a claim? How smooth is the process, documentation, post sales service etc? Should I gamble with the Acko or stick to the tried and tested Bupa?

You can use Ditto website to comapre different policies, download their Terms and conditions and plan details to compare properly. I too wanted to port and saw Acko details but its missing on some features which are usually offered by standard insurers. I forgot the details but that's why I decided not to look into Acko further. They do offer lower premium.

[ashwinsid]

Hi.

I have HDFC Ergo health insurance (no claims since a decade).

My previous renewal was in 2021 during which I paid Rs.12,000++ for two years policy.

Now when I try to renew,it says cost is Rs.19,000 for one year policy (coverage is Rs.3 lakh + 1.5 Lakh cumulative bonus coverage amount)

There is no indication why the rates are so high. Called customer care and they said all insurance rates are high now etc etc.

I have health insurance coverage from my wife's office insurance too and this HSBC Ergo was what I started before marriage and was continuing it.

Does it make sense to renew paying such high rate? Or is there a better option like porting to some other insurer? Not too savvy with these factors so would be helpful if I can get inputs.

[jalanrishikesh]

Originally Posted by ashwinsid

Hi.

I have HDFC Ergo health insurance (no claims since a decade).

My previous renewal was in 2021 during which I paid Rs.12,000++ for two years policy.

Now when I try to renew,it says cost is Rs.19,000 for one year policy (coverage is Rs.3 lakh + 1.5 Lakh cumulative bonus coverage amount)

There is no indication why the rates are so high. Called customer care and they said all insurance rates are high now etc etc.

I have health insurance coverage from my wife's office insurance too and this HSBC Ergo was what I started before marriage and was continuing it.

Does it make sense to renew paying such high rate? Or is there a better option like porting to some other insurer? Not too savvy with these factors so would be helpful if I can get inputs.

Some health insurance premiums have gone up after covid by as much as 50 %. Depends on your age also. Check if you are entering the next age bracket like 30-35,36 - 40 etc. This your insurance company can let you know. You will have to do some research too if any new feature or benefit is being added in your current plan.

You can apply for porting too but you will have to declare any new disease while porting or buying a new policy. Which can lead to additional waiting periods in some cases.

[scorpion_blore]

I have a health insurance base policy for 10L. I've taken a super topup for 50L (kicks in after 5L).

I feel 50L is less, and want to take another super topup for 1cr. I feel having a super topup that kicks in after 50L makes sense considering the current policies. But I don't see insurance companies offering such an option. Any suggestions on what can be done?

[Vinod_nair]

Renewed my and wife HDFC Ergo Medical Insurance for one year.
Age 63
Paid 55,899/-
Insurance amount 500k
Multiplayer benifit 500k
Total 1M.

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Should I gamble with the Acko or stick to the tried and tested Bupa?

After numerous interactions with the health insurance cos and checking the quotes online, I realized that none of the health Insurer are ready to accept a Pre Existing Disease (PED) without waiting period. Some even came up with a ridiculous suggestion of going for separate health Insurance for myself and my family. I had given up hope of any reduction in the premium with Niva Bupa when I chanced upon their Zone categorizations and premiums based on that. I found that although I stay in Bangalore for the past 4 yrs which falls in Zone 2, I was paying a premium calculated for Zone 1 i.e Thane since my address reflected in the policy was that of Thane. So I requested for an address change to Bangalore, post which my renewal premium actually reduced from last year's. I should have done this 4 yrs back, could have saved more actually but nevertheless. The only catch in this modification is that any claim in zone 1 will incur some additional expenses, how much is not clear while for Zone 2 the claim will be passed in full.

Have done the renewal of the health insurance with Niva Bupa for this year.

[gopi_rm]

Guys, I am getting the following quotes for a new Star Health Family Floater policy (I am 34 with wife and a 3 years old kid and no pre-existing illness):

• Rs. 28.5K for 20 lacs SI
• Rs. 31.5K for 25 lacs SI
• Rs. 37K for 50 lacs SI

I feel that I can go for 50 lacs SI since more SI is better. Please give your feedback as I don’t have much knowledge in health insurance.

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by gopi_rm

Guys, I am getting the following quotes for a new Star Health Family Floater policy (I am 34 with wife and a 3 years old kid and no pre-existing illness):

Seems very high. At your age and similar cover (20 lakhs, including self + wife + kid), I had a policy from ICICI Lombard for ~21.5k. Premiums have increased earlier this year but even then, the difference is quite high. Check the ICICI Lombard website for their quote.

PS: this is for their top tier policy, so increased NCB, unlimited reset, pre/post-hospitalization cover and so on.

[Satkaj]

As per my experience I would suggest to divide your health insurance between 2 insurance companies.

I had been diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma type of cancer. While under United insurance which is almost 20 yr old policy does not cover Targeted Chemo therapy ( immunotherapy). I am only been offered 20% of total treatment. To my surprise I was told that all changed in 2021-22 when I renewed my policy which went unnoticed completely. Fortunately I also had Bajaj which almost covered 100% .

Even now I am struggling to get my claim through United for my Bone marrow transplant but been assured that if it will be covered with Bajaj. The catch is , I might have to continue taking my Targeted Chemo which my overlap my Bajaj limit.

Hence guys, we never know first of all for which disease you will need cover. If you have missed fine prints and the intent of Insurer when you are in dire need of your money. Treatments are expensive , any amount of policy depending on your illness might seem tiny
to keep your self afloat .

So I humbly suggest to have 2 PRIVATE COMPANY POLICIES . Difference in premium wouldn’t be much but I bet you will be far better secured.

Take care .. cheers

[msdivy]

Originally Posted by ashwinsid

I have HDFC Ergo health insurance (no claims since a decade).

I am in the same boat. HDFC sent a renewal quote for the same SI but the premium is double now !! I am checking alternatives.

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Have done the renewal of the health insurance with Niva Bupa for this year.

Any feedback on Niva Bupa, in terms of claims? Their REASSURE 2.0 looks good. Any other suggestions?

[shri]

Originally Posted by msdivy

Any feedback on Niva Bupa, in terms of claims? Their REASSURE 2.0 looks good. Any other suggestions?

I had a chat with ditto. They are not recommending this as there have been issues in claim settlement in recent times after some management rejig in Nica Bupa.

Any feedback on Icici's new offering MaxProtect?
https://www.icicilombard.com/health-...max&source=nav