Indian health plans’ sum assured may be inadequate abroad

Published in Mint on May 24 2016, Written by Abhishek Bondia I am going on a Europe tour next month with my family and my travel agent is pushing me to buy travel insurance. I have a family floater policy, which gives me and the family global coverage. Do I need to still buy the travel […]

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Deductible and its application are key to top-up health plans

Published in Mint on  Apr 26 2016, Written by Abhishek Bondia My family and parents are covered by a general insurance policy by my employer. I want to buy a top-up health insurance plan. Shall I take it from the same insurer as my employer’s? Explain what top-up plans are. —Avijit Acharya Top-up plans are […]

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Survival period in a critical illness rider is usually 90 days

Published in Mint on  Apr 19 2016, Written by Abhishek Bondia When is the payment made if one has a critical illness rider with a life insurance policy? —Biju Jose The benefit of a critical illness rider is paid when the insured is diagnosed with one of the specified illnesses and lives through the survival […]

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First goals, and then products

Published in Mint on Mar 07 2016 The basics of financial planning don’t change for women investors. Setting financial goals, discovering your risk appetite and finding products that are in line with your comfort and your goals continue to be the cornerstones of financial planning. The products remain the same, but some have added benefits […]

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Pre-existing ailments are not covered for specified periods

Published in Mint on, March 03,2016, Written by Abhishek Bondia I am 31 years old and underwent laparoscopy for kidney stone removal in 2011. A health insurance company said I won’t be covered for any kidney-related procedure for the next two years and my premium will be higher than for a normal person (without medical […]

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Rating health insurance products

Published in Mint on, Jul 03, 2013, Written by Kapil Mehta As an insurance broker, I interact with health insurance buyers every day and come across their issues firsthand. The barrage of questions is overwhelming—Should I buy health insurance products or that? Is the private sector better or the public sector? Why was this claim […]

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Underwriting in critical illness plans is more stringent

Published in Mint on, Jul 02 2013, Written by Kapil Mehta I am looking for a health insurance policy for my father aged 52. He is a tobacco user (consumes 6-7 sachets of gutkha in a day). If we take a health policy without disclosing this fact and later in case he suffers from any […]

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For group health insurance you need to cover 10 lives

Published in Mint on, Jun 04, 2013, Written by Kapil Mehta I am 53 years old and self-employed. Is it possible to take group health insurance? —Jagadish CA There are two requirements that you will need to fulfill to buy group health insurance. First, you need to cover at least 10 lives. Second, the lives […]

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It’s hard to get insured for an ailment after it’s diagnosed

Published in Mint on, Apr 23 2013, Written by Kapil Mehta I am a patient with paralysis. I want to buy health insurance. Is paralysis covered under pre-existing diseases? If not, what are my options? —SP It is hard to buy insurance for an ailment after it is diagnosed. Existing paralysis will be considered a […]

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