Posts Tagged ‘Cheapiest Mediclaim Policy’

Cheapiest Mediclaim Policy

Advertisement

Five years ago, Jagdish Kumar (name changed)wanted to buy mediclaim for his family. He spoke to many agents to get information on different policies. He found it a challenge to get coverage for his parents at the budgeted premium. That is when someone suggested the family floater mediclaim as an option. The premium rates for family floater policies were a minimum Rs20,000 per year for Rs5 lakh sum insured (SI). Jagdish thought of settling for a lower sum insured, to remain within his budgeted premium. But then he happened to visit a nationalised bank for some routine bank work and discovered something startling. The bank was offering family floater mediclaim (including coverage for parents) for an annual premium of Rs12,000 to its customers. The insurance policy was from a government insurer. There were no medical tests; premium rates were not age-specific; there was no co-pay (the part of the medical expense to be borne by the policyholder); and no loading (premium increase) in future years due to claims. The bank manager was not hard-selling the product, unlike unit-linked insurance plans (ULIPs). It seemed to be a perfect match for his requirements and he signed up to ensure that his family is protected for healthcare costs. Soon, he realised that the insurance cards he was supposed to have received from his third party administrator (TPA) had not reached him. These cards were an important document proof for getting cashless services during hospitalisation. The policy was supported by only one TPA and, hence, there was no option of getting a TPA of his choice. It took a long time and a lot of calls and continuous follow-up with the TPA based in another city to get insurance cards. The next hurdle was at the time of policy renewal. The auto-debit feature did not work. Jagdish issued cheque payments before the expiry of the policy. The cheque had to be from the same bank as the policy was only for accountholders. In the following year, Jagdish did not receive a renewal letter. However, he remembered the expiry date and sent the premium payment well in advance. The insurer did send him an acknowledgement of the premium receipt each year and, hence, it was the proof of continuous policy coverage.

Read more...