Moneycontrol launched the second edition of its marquee offering – Moneycontrol-SecureNow Health Insurance Ratings – that has now become the go-to health insurance buying guide for individual insurance-seekers – on November 20.
To listen to the podcast, click above. To read the podcast conversation, scroll down.
The first edition was launched last year, with an aim to make the complex health insurance buying process simpler for our readers.
The exercise involved sifting through more than 78 products offered by over22 companies and analysing nearly 10,000 data points. The result? An easy-to-use guide with all the complex data around pricing, features and claim settlement neatly transformed into three product lists – A, B and C – to help you choose the most suitable health insurance policy.
Also read: How to use Moneycontrol-SecureNow Health Insurance Ratings
Choosing the right product is important because it will have implications not only at present, but also in future, as you age and get accustomed to the higher risk of hospitalisation.
To discuss the nitty-gritties of this mammoth exercise, Moneycontrol caught up with Kapil Mehta, Co-founder, SecureNow.in.
Here are the edited excerpts:
-It is satisfying to see some products that were ‘C-rated’ last year making it to the ‘A’ list this time round. They were refurbished and re-launched with better features, indicating that insurers are listening to what our rating and insurance customers have to say.
-I have noticed that the waiting period for pre-existing diseases has been steadily coming down from four years to two years.
Also read: Suffering from diabetes or hypertension? Inform insurer before buying health insurance cover
-The number of products that have room rent sub-limits is constantly coming down has also increased, which is a positive development
-On the flipside, however, there is a rise in products where disease-wise sub-limits are creeping in, compared to last year
-There is perception that health insurers drag their feet when it comes to paying claims, but close to 70 percent of insurance companies have a claim settlement rate of 90 percent or more.
-With the IRDAI standardising definitions of certain terms such as pre-existing diseases, there are fewer grey areas now, which has made the claim settlement process simpler.
-We handle over 150 claims a day and my sense is that out of every claim of Rs 100, Rs 85 gets paid, while policyholders have to fund Rs 15 out of their pockets. These deductions are made by insurance companies typically for non-essential items, consumables etc. This has been a source of dissatisfaction.
-In the last one year, we have seen a greater number of companies offering additional consumables cover to pay for the expenses that are not payable otherwise.
-(Despite dissatisfaction around claim settlement) I believe, by and large, the number of satisfied claimants is high.
-What we have observed is that most claims get rejected in the initial policy years – 1-4-year period. This is typically on the grounds that pre-existing diseases were not disclosed. This remains the most common cause.
-Then, there are cases when the insurers reject claims on the grounds that hospitalisation was not necessary. Here, however, if the claimant pushes back, there chances of claims getting paid are higher.
-It’s the doctors who have to decide whether the treatment and hospitalisation were necessary or not.
-While using the ratings, avoid overanalysing - thinking too much could lead to analysis-paralysis. Keep it simple.
-The product ecosystem is dynamic and insurers will keep launching newer, improved products. If you realise, at a later stage, that there is a better product available in the market, you can always port with necessary disclosures around health history.
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