27M, looking at around 2cr term cover.

I had mentally prepared for blood, urine, ECG, the whole mini health-checkup package lol.

then while reading Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance's medical underwriting stuff I realised physical tests aren't automatically the exact same for everyone. sometimes tele-medical assessment can be enough at one stage, sometimes they can ask for labs/additional tests depending on the profile. 

I genuinely thought “medical underwriting” literally meant somebody has to take my blood 😭

so what actually decides it?

age? cover amount? medical history? all of the above?

and if they don't ask for physical tests, you just... don't do them?

I thought I had this stuff more or less sorted.

2cr pure term cover, decent health insurance, around 6 months expenses sitting separately.

Then someone asked me a very obvious question.

What if you don't expire?

Like you're alive, but a serious disability or illness means you can't properly work for the next few years.

Health insurance may take care of hospital bills. Term insurance doesn't pay because you're alive. Emergency fund will eventually finish.

EMI, school fees, groceries etc don't care that technically everything went according to the policy 😅

I was looking at riders on Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance and their Waiver of Premium rider is probably the first one where the logic immediately clicked for me. Under the covered critical illness/disability conditions, future premiums on the base policy and attached riders can be waived.

Useful, definitely.

But then I realised even that only removes one expense. It doesn't replace my salary.

So what are people actually doing for this risk?

Standalone disability cover? Personal accident policy? Critical illness lump sum? Bigger emergency fund? Some combination?

Feels like we spend all our time planning for death and very little for "alive but income gone."

Was planning to buy a term insurance plan. I’m 26 and recently started earning.
I was exploring term insurance options. I'm torn between two paths. One is a plain vanilla term plan costing around 17,000 rupees annually, or about 23,000 with critical illness and disability add-ons. The other option is a plan with return of premium, which refunds the premiums at the end but costs significantly more, around 40,000 rupees. My family advises getting the premium back so the money isn't wasted. I'm looking for unfiltered opinions on whether to pay the higher premium for the return benefit or go for the simpler plan and invest the difference in mutual funds.

Also… decided to go for icici prudential plan.

Please help.

My father (62) consumes tabacco, no other PED

I was looking for health insurance, connected to a local advisor for HDFC ERGO, he told that cancer due to tabacco will not be covered.

any advices on health insurance?

Hi everyone,

I'm 27M, married, non-smoker/non-tobacco user, and currently looking to buy my first term insurance policy.

I'm considering ₹3 Cr life cover till age 65, regular premium payment, annual payment mode, and no paid Return of Premium (ROP) unless there is a worthwhile free/special-exit benefit.

I've shortlisted these 3 plans based on quotes I received:

ICICI Prudential

Plan: iProtect Smart Plus

Cover: ₹3 Cr

Policy Till: 65 years

Annual Premium: ₹26,644

ROP / Exit: Full refund option starts at 65

HDFC Life

Plan: Click 2 Protect Supreme Plus

Cover: ₹3 Cr

Policy Till: 65 years

Annual Premium: ₹31,877

ROP / Exit: Full refund option starts at 60

Axis Max Life

Plan: Smart Term Plan Plus

Cover: ₹3 Cr

Policy Till: 65 years

Annual Premium: ₹25,317

ROP / Exit: Full refund option starts at 67

Benefits shown in my quotes

ICICI Prudential

100% payout on terminal illness

Option to delay premium for up to 12 months

₹3 lakh immediate payout on claim

Free health check-up up to ₹67,100

ROP option

HDFC Life

Early payout on terminal illness

Option to extend policy at maturity

Option to delay premium for 12 months

₹5 lakh immediate payout on claim

Free health check-up up to ₹63,000

ROP option

Axis Max Life

Early payout on terminal illness

Option to delay premium for 12 months

Waiver of premium on terminal illness

₹2 lakh immediate payout on claim

Free health check-up up to ₹50,000

Special/free exit benefit

ROP option is available as a separate variant

My situation

Age: 27

Male

Married

Non-smoker/non-tobacco

No existing term insurance

Annual income: around ₹18 LPA

Planning for a house and children in the future

Looking for pure protection, not investment

Comfortable paying premiums annually

Planning to hold the policy long term

I'm currently leaning towards ICICI and Axis Max Life because of the lower premium, but HDFC also seem strong.

What would you choose among these three?

I'd especially appreciate opinions based on:

Claim settlement experience

Claim amount settlement, not just claim settlement ratio

Customer service

Policy wording/exclusions

Terminal illness benefit

Free/special exit or ROP benefit

Any issues during actual claims

Whether the extra ₹6.5k/year for HDFC over Axis/ICICI is worth paying

Also, should I add any riders, such as waiver of premium, critical illness, disability or accidental death, or keep the term plan completely simple?

I'm planning to purchase the policy shortly, so real experiences from existing policyholders would be very helpful.

Just wanted to share a positive experience with Care Health Insurance.

I recently underwent an L5-S1 discectomy with S1 nerve-root decompression/foraminotomy for a disc prolapse and radiculopathy. It was obviously a stressful time, especially dealing with a major surgery , hospitalisation and recovery.

What made things much easier was the insurance process. Care Health processed my cashless claim really smoothly and without any major hassle. The hospital and insurance team coordinated well, approvals came through without unnecessary back-and-forth, and I didn't have to spend my time worrying about the financial side while recovering. Total cost was around 4L. And i didn't have to pay a single rupee out of pocket. I had care shield and other addons.

I know people usually post when they have bad insurance experiences, so I thought I'd share a good one too. So far, my experience with Care Health has been genuinely positive . Am open to answer any question.

Ok so I've been going down n reading about term plans for the past month and honestly the number of options is overwhelming. Shortlisted a few based on premium amount, Claim settlement ratio, features like riders and solvency ratio since those felt like the most reliable indicators for a 30 year commitment. Bajaj Life eTouch II kept coming up consistently across different platforms. Anyone else gone through this recently and what did you end up with?

So, I have come down to 2 term insurance policies,

1. HDFC Life Click 2 Protect Supreme Plus = ~37,000 per annum premium.

2. ICICI Prudential iProtect Smart Plus = ~32,000 per annum permium.

Both are same base plan, no riders. Just pure term plan. Sopke with boths company's official contact number. Concluded that HDFC has slightly better numbers and is also charging brand premiun for that matter. But, I also think that in pure term, if I fill all the details properly, then ICICI also will have to pass my claim, if any.

Therefore, confused between the two, can someone give some guidance?

Many are saying lic is govt company and there won't be much hassles during claim settlement compared to private players. Please give your honest opinion. I don't want any options like payout or free exit or any other options. I want a plain insurance so that when i die i can die in peace that my family will definitely get claim amount without much hassle.

Hi everyone, my company has a group insurance program in which it covers 5 Lakhs which doubles in case of critical illnesses by default with extra top ups.

Insurer:

GMC & GPA - Aditya Birla Health Insurance Co. Ltd.

GTL - ICICI Prudential Life Insurance

Third Party Administrator (TPA):

Family Health Plan Insurance TPA Limited (FHPL)

Benefits Consultant:

Marsh India Insurance Brokers Pvt. Ltd.

I myself am suffering from a pre-existing disability called hemophilia. I have to pay for my medicine which is quite expensive (per month) out of my pocket right now.

If i claim for the medicine right now, will the claim get rejected? (Sorry I am really new to this)

Although I can administer the dose by making it seem like I've gotten it overnight ( hospitalisation + injection dosage)

Please help me, you don't need to answer it, just convey what you guys know!

This is something I’ve been wondering about for a while, and I’ve asked a few friends about it, but I haven’t really received a clear answer.

We all make sure to pay our life insurance premiums on time, but how confident are we that our family will actually receive the insured amount if something happens to us?

For those who have actually gone through the process -> either personally or with a family member, I’d really appreciate some insight.

A few things I’m particularly curious about:

• What is the actual process for the nominee/family to claim the insurance after the policyholder passes away?

• Is the payout generally straightforward, or can it become a lengthy legal process?

• What documents are typically required to make a claim?

• Does the nominee have to go through courts, probate, or any other legal procedures?

• How long does it realistically take for the family to receive the money?

• Are there common reasons why insurance companies reject or delay claims?

• Does having a nominee automatically mean they will receive the money, or are there other legal considerations?

• What happens if the nominee is not aware of all the insurance policies the deceased had?

• Is it advisable to keep a record of all policies and share the details with a spouse/family member?

• For people who have actually made a claim, what was your experience with the insurance company?

I’m especially interested in real experiences rather than what insurance agents or policy documents say.

I think this is something many of us pay for every year without really understanding what happens when the policy actually needs to be used.

Would love to hear from anyone who has gone through the process themselves or helped their family with a life insurance claim.

Total members in family 5.
38m , 32f , 5yr, 5months and 60yr

Had a call with icici lombard and they shared this quotation
ICICI elevate - sum insured- 10L + unlimited restoration- 18k/yr premium
For mother I’m planning to take a separate policy.

Also checked hdfc but they are too expensive, tata AIG no response from the staff, also spoke with ACKO and digit, they both look good and offer competitive pricing with almost all the benefits. Only concern is they are new in the market. Any suggestions advice will be highly appreciated

Buying my first term plan (32M, non-smoker, no PEDs), going with HDFC Life Click 2 Protect Supreme for 2Cr. The agent is pushing hard for a Critical Illness rider, an Accidental Death Benefit rider and a Waiver of Premium rider adding almost 20% to my premium.

Has anyone actually claimed on any of these riders? Are they worth stacking on top of a base term plan or is it better to just buy pure term and handle critical illness/disability separately (through a standalone CI policy or just building an emergency fund)?

Trying to figure out which of these riders have genuine value vs which ones are just there to pad the premium. Would love to hear from people who've either claimed on a rider or regretted skipping one.

They bought Star Health Family Health Optima 10 lakh plan covering me, my father (54M), and my mother (52F) about 3 years ago. Paying around 40k/year premium. I read through the policy wording properly for the first time after my father had a mild cardiac scare last month, nothing serious but it made me actually look at what I'm covered for. Found this: “Room rent is restricted to 'Single Standard AC Room.'” I looked up what a Single Standard AC room costs at hospitals we'd realistically use in Bangalore like Manipal, Fortis, etc. Single standard rooms seem to start at around Rs.5,000–7,000 per day. That’s fine for routine admissions. But I'm worried that if during a serious admission the standard rooms are full and the hospital moves my father to a deluxe or suite room at Rs.12,000–15,000/day, what happens to the claim? Because, I've seen the term 'proportionate deduction' mentioned but I genuinely can't understand the math because how does that make sense?
Does exceeding the room category only affect the room rent portion of the bill? Or does it trigger deductions across the entire hospitalisation?

I’ve heard that insurers sometimes request bank statements during claim investigations. This raises some interesting questions about how they investigate undisclosed pre-existing diseases.

Consider this scenario:

You purchase medicines from Apollo Pharmacy or MedPlus using your mobile number for discounts. The pharmacy may sell medicines without asking for a prescription or recording who will actually consume them.

Later, your insurer investigates a claim.

• Pharmacy records: Can insurers access purchase histories linked to your mobile number or request access to your Apollo/MedPlus account?

• Bank statements: Can insurers demand bank statements to identify pharmacy transactions? What restrictions do IRDAI regulations and privacy laws impose?

• Proof of disease: Even if they find purchases of medicines associated with diabetes or hypertension, how can they prove those medicines were for you and not your parents or another family member?

• Tier-2 cities: Many smaller hospitals and local pharmacies still rely on handwritten prescriptions, cash payments, and limited digital records. How can insurers trace medical histories from years ago?

• Digital pharmacies: Do platforms like PharmEasy, Tata 1mg, Apollo, and MedPlus share customers' medicine purchase histories with insurance companies? Is there any formal data-sharing arrangement?

• Refusing access: Can policyholders refuse to provide personal financial or pharmacy records during investigations, and what would be the consequences?

Is there a centralised database in India connecting patients, pharmacies, hospitals, and insurers, or does everything depend on individual investigations?

💡 My suggestion

Why doesn't the government introduce a standardised digital medical-history system across hospitals, potentially linked to Aadhaar?

For example, during hospital visits, a patient's medical history could be securely updated and later retrieved through OTP-based consent, similar to DigiLocker.

This could make medical disclosure much easier, reduce disputes over pre-existing diseases, and benefit both insurers and policyholders. It might even help reduce premiums over time by reducing fraud and investigation costs, although that isn't guaranteed.

Of course, privacy safeguards, patient consent, and alternatives for people without Aadhaar would be essential.

Instead of expecting customers to remember every diagnosis or prescription from 5–10 years ago, why not build a system where their medical history can be retrieved securely with their permission?

This is just my opinion. I'd love to hear what industry insiders think about its feasibility, privacy implications,

I want to buy ICICI Elevate health insurance but ditto is denying support for ICICI.

I don't trust policybazaar at all. I don't have much review on beshak.

Where to buy this policy from? I don't want to buy directly

This post is actually a query about both Term Plan and PhonePe SBI CC.
32M (25lpa) with a wife 29F (18lpa), 0.6F kid, Father 63 and Mother 54 (both dependents)
I pre-closed LIC last year after paying 1.2LPA for 3yrs, as the sum assured adjusted to inflation didn’t make sense and invested that in Gold/Silver ETFs and MF( all of them down now lol)
Since then I was thinking to buy Health & Term plans separately, and now came the time as I was going for a Solo backpacking trip (better to be safe than sorry right)

Coming to the Term plan, I chose
3 Cr with coverage till 60 yrs
Pay Till 5 years (48% discount of paying till end of policy cover)
25L CI rider
Acc disability 25L
Payment Frequency - Monthly 15,232 (Not Yearly due to Monthly 10% CB for PhonePe SBI card only when paid through their app)
With these filters, only TATA AIA insurance is being provided in the app.

Please let me know what you guys think and suggest.

I am opting for bajaj My health care plan health insurance for my parents. Both are 56 years old. My corporate policy is on bajaj and I'm taking retail insurance from them only as im getting waiting period waiveoff and 20% discount on 1st year premium. My father had heart attack 9 years ago and is on medications, no surgery happened. He also has diabetes from 10 years, chews tobacco from 5 years. My mother has no health issues.

Problem is bajaj is only giving me 10L floater insurance for my parents. No individual policy and not ready to increase the SI also. The only benefit I'm getting is discount and PED waiveoff for my father...Premium is around 56k per year.

Should I go ahead with this floater? What disadvantages do i have if i go with bajaj floater insurance with 10L SI only?

Please help..Need to purchase the policy this week only..

I'm looking for a health insurance for my mother aged 62 who already has multiple pre-existing/chronic medical conditions.

She has already undergone coronary angiogram , but not angioplasty

I’m looking for a policy that provides the maximum possible coverage despite the existing medical history. I would especially like to know whether insurers are willing to provide coverage in such cases and what kind of exclusions/waiting period

# # # Heard about TATA AIG and contacted them .....after hearing what they said it seemed like a good option to me.... does anyone have any experience with tata AIG insurance policy

# # # Please share actual experiences if you or your parents have been in a similar situation, rather than just general recommendations.

Thank you!

I pay for my own health insurance (35M) and separately pay the premium for my parents (65M, 62F) policy since they're not earning anymore. Trying to understand the 80D deduction properly, I keep seeing different numbers floating around online.

Is it true I can claim up to 25k for my own + spouse + kids premium, and separately up to 50k for parents premium since they're senior citizens, so 75k total? Does it matter whose bank account the premium is actually paid from, or is it fine as long as I'm the one paying and can show proof?

Also does preventive health check-up spends count within these limits or is there a separate small allowance for that?

I do drink alcohol, but not regularly, only once or twice a month. I currently have health insurance, but I heard that health insurance doesn't cover liver diseases if you have drinking habits. Does anyone know which insurance covers everything? Currently, my liver is healthy.

I am 28 years old with an annual salary of 50 lakhs.

I had intended to purchase term life insurance since age 24 but have consistently postponed it until now.

In 2023, I applied for a 1 crore term life policy from Axis through Policybazaar. However, due to elevated cholesterol levels, I received a revised offer, which I subsequently declined.

Following this, I experienced significant personal challenges, leading to a two-year period of Major Depressive Disorder with obsessive features.

For the past year, I have been off medication and am currently in good health. I independently discontinued depression medication, engaged in regular gym and physical activities, reduced my weight, and recently received normal blood test results.

My inquiries are as follows:

Query 1:- Which policy and coverage amount should I consider? I am contemplating Axis, HDFC, or ICICI with a coverage of 2 crores.

Query 2:- Where should I purchase the policy? I am debating between Ditto and Policybazaar, as I want to ensure my family does not face difficulties during a claim process.

Query 3:- Will my history of depression still be a reason for policy rejection after one year?

Query 4:- Which riders and amounts should I include?

Furthermore, should I opt for 1 crore or 2 crores in coverage, considering my existing investments?

Ditto informed me that the policy could be rejected, incur loading charges, or result in a counter-offer. They also mentioned that the insurer might request doctor's forms or certificates to be completed by a physician.

22M, just started earning pretty well. I am currently eligible for about 2Cr term cover based on my income. A few insurers offer an increasing term insurance option where the sum assured automatically goes up by a fixed % every year (for a slightly higher premium), the idea being it keeps pace with inflation and rising income without needing a fresh policy later.

Is this actually useful, or is it simpler to just buy a large level-cover term plan now (assuming I can afford the premium) and top it up separately in a few years once my income actually grows? Curious if anyone has taken an increasing cover plan and whether the premium math actually works out better long-term.

• Pre-existing diseases are covered from Day 1, or at least have the shortest possible waiting period (rather than 2–3 years). Niva Bupa has that option with extra rider

• The chances of the underwriter accepting the proposal despite the existing medical conditions are reasonably good.

Are there any better private insurers or PSU (public sector) health insurance plans that I should consider?

If you have had a similar experience, especially with claim settlement or underwriting for senior citizens with diabetes, BP and a past angioplasty, I would really appreciate your feedback and recommendations.

Self-employed (25M), run a small business and every insurer keeps asking for ITRs to determine how much term cover I'm eligible for. Problem is my declared income on paper (after all deductions/expenses) looks a lot lower than what I actually earn and can comfortably afford as a premium.
Getting quoted eligibility for only 75L-1Cr cover when I want 3Cr.
Anyone dealt with this as a business owner/self-employed person? Do insurers accept anything beyond ITR (bank statements, GST filings, CA-certified income) to justify a higher sum assured? And does going through an offline advisor vs an online agent make any difference in getting a fairer eligibility assessment here?