These plans are suited for individuals and families with regular OPD needs -- those managing chronic illnesses and families with young children or elderly members.
'Go for a base cover of Rs 10 lakh and then buy a super top-up of Rs 90 lakh.'
Purchase health insurance early while you are disease-free. 'It might become very difficult to get a comprehensive health cover for someone who has already had cancer.'
Cardiac care plans are ideal for individuals with pre-existing heart conditions or a family history of heart issues. Those who can't get coverage under a comprehensive plan should opt for these plans.
Customers frequently sign without reading the terms and conditions, resulting in a poor understanding of coverage, and eventually leading to partial payouts
'Splitting must result in tangible benefits for the customer, otherwise it will only mean more work for them in maintaining the policy and for their nominees.'
Consider a combination of a base policy and a super top-up policy.
'It's better to be over-insured than underinsured.' 'Ensure your home insurance includes STFI (storm, tempest, flooding, and inundation) cover for protection against monsoon rains.'
A rider is a supplementary cover which can be purchased with the base policy by paying an additional premium.
A crucial point anyone purchasing health insurance must heed is the need to declare PEDs.
Purchase health insurance at an early age, before you incur a disease, as this makes access to health insurance difficult and raises the premium significantly.
Health insurance coverage should be hiked periodically to keep pace with medical inflation, or increase in healthcare costs.
Keep revising the sum insured at the time of renewal to keep it in line with inflation.
'Try to buy a policy with a lower sum assured or one with a deductible.' 'Those whose spouses work for companies must get themselves enrolled into the employer's group health cover.' 'Some public sector banks also offer group health covers to those who open a savings account with them.'
'If something unfortunate happens to an earning member, the family loses the crucial income which would have gone towards paying off debts, meeting the cost of children's higher education, or towards the upkeep of elderly parents.'
Group term insurance is far more cost-effective than an individual cover.
All employees should supplement the employer-sponsored health cover with a personal cover.
Only a small percentage of passengers who traveled on the trains involved in the June 2, 2023 accident in Odisha had availed of travel accident insurance while booking their tickets online on the IRCTC portal.
Avoid discontinuing your SIPs. Persist for at least 7-10 years.
Avoid discontinuing your SIPs. Persist for at least 7-10 years.
Most traditional health insurance plans didn't cover the cost of such treatments earlier, but several recently launched policies do offer such coverage -- some as a rider, and a few as standalone covers, points out Sarbajeet K Sen.
Make sure that the waiting period on pre-existing diseases does not exceed two years. Avoid policies that come with room rent and ICU capping, suggests Sanjay Kumar Singh.
For online plans, the drop-out rate for policy buyers increases if there are too many questions.
The first and most important check you must run is to see if you have adequate life cover.
Real estate giant DLF announced on Tuesday its tie-up with US-based financial player Prudential Financial, Inc for a foray in life insurance business and said the two partners will invest about Rs 10 billion over the next ten years in the venture.
All covers have a war exclusion clause. For cargo, shipping, and aviation industries, war schemes are available.
'Online aggregators offer discounts of 70% to 75%.' 'At a car dealership, the discount is usually in the range of 30% to 35%.'
While Star Health's policy for children is a step forward, it has a low sum insured and comes as a group cover.
With natural and man-made calamities posing a risk to your home, it makes sense to buy home insurance
While buying health policies, customers should reveal any pre-existing diseases. This is the only way to ensure that the insurer does not reject claims.
Instead of getting confused by what agents tell you, check waiting period, claim-settlement ratio, price comparison etc to make the right choice.
Sanjay Kumar Singh draws up a mediclaim policy checklist.
Managing human resources remains a major and under-appreciated challenge for most start-ups.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances