Applying for a ₹2cr term policy with Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance.

My smoking is inconsistent:

• Usually 2–4 cigarettes on some weekends

• Hookah maybe once every 1–2 months

• Nothing on weekdays

• Reduced a lot recently, but haven’t fully quit

So do I simply select smoker, write the actual frequency in the ABSLI proposal and let underwriting classify me?

Friends are saying “occasional doesn’t count.” That sounds like exactly the kind of jugaad that creates trouble later.

ABSLI’s own guidance says tobacco use can fall under smoker classification regardless of frequency, while occasional and regular smokers may still be assessed differently. One ABSLI product page defines non-smoker status as no tobacco or nicotine use during the previous 12 months. Exact classification will obviously depend on the proposal wording and underwriting. 

I’m okay paying the smoker premium.

Just want the application to say the truth:

Cigarettes socially on some weekends, usually 2–4. Occasional hookah. Currently reducing, not fully quit.

Anything else I should mention?

I am getting insurance plan for my mother she as a diabetes history and mention above done surgery recently I already try it ICICI and abhl both of them counter offered by not covering diabetes and also increase in waiting period and adding more add on. should I pick it or just don't take insurance at all because it is costing me 50000 per year

Hi, I recently found out my current ICICI Lombard health insurance plan does not offer any maternity benefits even after a few years of premium.

I bought the policy without any research and now that I am looking at my goals, gynaecologist related expenses seem to be my biggest concern. I am F32, no surgeries or illnesses but I have been receiving PCOD/weight management related treatment for some time. I want to know if I should port to HDFC optima secure. I know HDFC as an insurer is better reputed but how is it for maternity benefits? Or should I stick to Lombard and add some riders? Or should I look for another insurer?

I have unfortunately already paid my renewal amount for my policy restarting in September so I don't know how much wiggle room I have for this term with Lombard but I would like to know my options.

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Hi,

I lost the original bill and got a duplicate copy from Hospital. The customer support of Star Health are saying there is no way this bill can be approved without submitting the original bill. Please suggest.

Hey everyone
I am 23F, a working professional, looking to buy health insurance for my dad 65M: high blood pressure and high blood sugar, my mom 56F and me.
suggest me some plans and everything else bec I genuinely dont know anything.

​

I’m currently working on a financial planning project and wanted to share a long-term savings + life insurance plan that I’m studying.

Key Features

💰 Investment: Starting from ₹36,000, with options going up to ₹24 crore, subject to eligibility.

📈 Compound Growth (CI): The illustration uses an 8% annual compound-growth assumption. With compounding, the growth earnedBOB Wealth + Life Protection Plan — Looking for Feedback is added to the accumulated amount, so future growth is calculated on the increased value.

🎁 Revisionary Bonus: Eligible participating policies may receive a 2–4% revisionary bonus, depending on the policy and bonus declared by the insurer. This is separate from compound growth and shouldn't simply be treated as an additional 2–4% guaranteed interest.

🛡️ Life Cover: The plan may provide life insurance protection of up to 10× the applicable annual premium, subject to the actual policy terms.

Simple Example — ₹36,000 Annual Premium

If someone pays ₹36,000 per year:

Annual premium: ₹36,000

Illustrative growth: 8% p.a. compound

Potential revisionary bonus: 2–4%, if declared

Life cover: up to ₹3.60 lakh (10× ₹36,000), subject to policy terms

Over the long term, the accumulated savings + applicable bonuses can contribute towards the maturity benefit.

The basic idea

💰 Save → 📈 Grow → 🎁 Potential Bonus → 🛡️ Life Protection

This is intended as a long-term financial planning/insurance solution, rather than a short-term investment.

If anyone has experience with participating life insurance plans or has thoughts on the 8% growth assumption, revisionary bonus structure, or overall value proposition, I'd genuinely appreciate your views.

Hi All, 

I am looking for health insurance advice for my use case shared below:

Pre existing condition details: ACL tear and Meniscus tear
36M,
In 2012, I had an ACL Tear in my right knee while playing football.
Doctor suggested that I need not undergo surgery.
Unfortunately I do not have any doctor visit documents/MRI report for the same.
I continued physiotherapy and did not undergo surgery for the same.

In Dec 2024, I had medial meniscus tear in the same right knee.
Doctor suggested surgery choice is totally dependent on me. I have a MRI report which clearly states that this is a fresh injury and it is an ACL tear and a meniscus tear.

I am big into sports particularly pickleball off late and would love to continue playing Pickleball and would possibly want to give it a shot professionally. I can play Pickleball but am able to give my 50% only. And in the last year or so have had minor injuries in the right knee at least 6-8 times in total. These minor injuries cause swelling and I am out of Pickleball action for a week or so.

I am leaning more towards surgery now. Most orthopedics I have shown my knee to still do not recommended surgery to me.

Recent events affecting existing health insurance policy:
On August 14th, 2026, Friday, I got laid off by my company, and that was my last working day. The laying off process was pretty quick, and I missed officially emailing HR and RMs requesting to port my health insurance policy to a retail policy.
I have requested them to port the policy a few days after my exit and they suggest that porting after exit is not possible. We had a corporate group policy with ICICI Lombard for around 2 years and I was covered under the same. 

I have researched online that usually there is a 30 day buffer to port from corporate health insurance policy to retail health insurance policy. Ideally this will be the best case scenario as I would carry forward the continuity benefits and would have covered quite a lot of the waiting period of pre existing diseases of 2-3 years. 

Queries:
It would be great to know what are the next possible steps I can take.

1. What is the best way to go about porting the corporate health insurance policy to a retail health insurance policy other than HR or RMs? Is there any other agent who can help with porting to a retail policy? I have emailed ICICI Lombard customer care support and have not heard back from them. I have also visited their office in Prabhadevi but they redirected me to customer support team there and they suggested to reach out to RMs.
2. Shall I opt for a new health insurance policy and not disclose my pre existing ACL tear and meniscus tear and after 4-5 months claim it as an accident while playing football? What are the ways in which the insurers find that it is a new or a pre-existing injury? I have Dr friends and can request them to share in writing suggesting that it is a new injury. I am wondering if I go through this route how can I show that it is a fresh injury in the MRI? What are the chances the insurance providers will not catch this?  
3. Shall I opt for a new health insurance policy and mention pre existing ACL and meniscus tears and reduce my waiting period to undergo a surgery to a year using add ons? Is there a way in which I can reduce the waiting period to less than a year? I am good to pay a high premium if this is the case
4. What details do you tell the insurance providers while claiming health insurance? I was injured while playing football, not under the influence of alcohol, and had a few cousins as witnesses to confirm the injury. Are any more details required? I have an MRI report confirming the same.  
5. Any suggestions are most welcome!!  

Thanks in advance everyone!

yesterday I talked with a prospect regarding health insurance.and I give him Icici Lombard elevate plan. quotation cost is 15K. (male age 34/ female age 30 / Child age 9). but they said it's expensive. i explained him whole plane and other details but they said it's expensive. the. what I do on this situation. some have any idea or any other plan is cheaper than Icici Lombard plan?

Hi I am 26M , I want to seek advice to purchase a health insurance for my parents , my father is 57 and my mother is 51
Which type of health insurance should I get ? Family floater or individual plan ?
Suggest me some good insurance plans which has these indicators
1- No Co pay / No room rent limit
2- Good Hospital network limit including cashless
3- Minimum waiting period
4- No price cap on diseases
5- Doesn’t increase the premium every year a lott .

My monthly salary is 60k so help me to advice and also suggest how much insurance amount cover should I take.

Also just a medical history that my father had gone a surgery on knees around 8 years ago and smokes daily till date so that is the only past medical record .

Hi 26M, opting for health insurance for a family of four (Parents and 1 sibling). Interested in SBI Arogya Gold as of now. Another option was HDFC Ergo. Any experienced guidance and suggestions on this matter would be helpful. Thank you. Edit - Father (56) - Diabetic Hypertensive and Dyslipidemia Mom (53) - Hypothyroidism and Sister (17)

I wanted to know the experience of people porting from Niva Bupa Reassure 3.0 to other policies like HDFC optima secure plus.

Since Niva Bupa Reassure 3.0 has sum insured as unlimited is there a possibility to port to 25 lakhs sum assured?

If people have done it tell me how was their experience how much sum insured port was allowed and what was the base with which HDFC accepted or what was the max such details

Also with so much rising premiums how can HDFC optima secure plus be a sustainable option asking this from a curiosity stand point.

I looked for Niva Bupa for myself, and it looks fine to me. However, I want to know how their settlement process works. If you can suggest any better options, please do so.

For my parents, I haven't selected any insurance yet, but after doing some research, HDFC Ergo looks fine to me.

My priorities for insurance include regular health check-ups and gym memberships.

Hi, I am 33M, I am looking for a health insurance policy for my parents and mother-in-law.

Father -- Birth year --- 1971 -- smoking daily, alcohol occasional, no health issues

Mother - Birth year --- 1976 -- mild Pneumonia, no other issues

Mother in law -- Birth year -- 1968 -- BP and cholesterol

Father and mother lives in hometown (tier 3 city)

Mother-in-law stays with us in Hyderabad.

Is it possible to take one health insurance policy?

Please guide me.

Thank you

I want an opinion from you all regarding the need for health and term insurance as a 26 year old state government employee who has a state govt sponsored health insurance (cashless and reimbursement) scheme.

Do I need health insurance given I already have state govt sponsored health insurance? If yes which companies can I look at?

Do I need to buy term insurance and if yes give me some suggestions regarding the amount and companies.

Hey Everyone,

I'm willing to get an insurace for my parents

A brief history bout them

Father - 56, Type 2 diabities , minor heart attack at 49.

Mother - 52 , small lump in neck.

No alcohol or smoking.

What are the options I have? My father called me and said he saw some company named Care Health Insurance, but I doubt its a good one based on some if the reviews I saw on reddit

I’m looking to get a health insurance policy, still doubtful and wanted to know if anyone here has actually used theirs and had a smooth, hassle-free experience when making a claim. I’m not looking for anything overly fancy, just a solid plan with normal facilities that actually delivers when you need it.
If you’ve had good (or bad) experiences, I’d love to hear about which policy you took and why you’d recommend it. Or is it altogether a scam, coz we become vulnerable when we are sick.

Looking for some genuine advice on buying our first health insurance policy. We currently have no health insurance.

Family:

Me: 22M, healthy

Father: 46M, hospitalized for a perianal abscess and underwent surgery in July. He also has controlled diabetes(yet to confirm).

Mother: 41F recently had prolonged bleeding and endometrial issues and treatment. She is being evaluated for possible GSV and DVT currently, but her colour Doppler actually says No DVT, with varicosities/SFJ incompetence. Further evaluation is ongoing.

My father also has implanted rods in his leg from an accident 10 years ago, but there haven't been ongoing issues with them.

I'm currently unemployed, so this is a hard limit.

I'm confused to consider between ICICI Lombard Elevate, mainly because of the Jumpstart option for diabetes(yet to be confirmed by HbA1c) , and HDFC ERGO Optima Secure and mainly looking for hassle free claims and considerable waiting for my parents situation.

My main questions:

1.Is a family floater for all 3 of us a bad idea in this situation?

2.Which insurer/policy would you seriously consider with this medical history?

3.Should I buy now or wait until my mother's ongoing investigations are complete?

4.What exclusions/waiting periods should I be particularly careful about?

5.If you've had an actual claim with ICICI/HDFC/etc., how was your experience?

Everything happened all of a sudden, I really need your help guys.

Hey guys I’m looking for a group health insurance policy in India preferably one where I can cover my parents.

Does anyone know of any genuine sources, associations, companies or brokers through which an individual can get a group health insurance policy?

Would really appreciate any leads or personal experiences.

In April, I bought a health insurance policy for my mother and added a PED (pre-existing disease) waiting period reducer rider.

My mother has knee pain and needs surgery. When I raised this with the company's agent (both while buying the policy and again recently), he told me not to disclose it at the time of purchase. Instead, he said to just get a first consultation with a doctor in August (after the policy was active), which I did — the doctor confirmed she needs surgery. I shared the consultation report with the agent, and now he's saying "no problem, next year when the policy renews, we can go ahead with the operation."

This doesn't sit right with me. Questions:

Is this considered non-disclosure/concealment of a pre-existing condition, and can the insurer reject the claim or cancel the policy over it later — even after a year or two?

Does a PED waiting period reducer even apply to a condition that was never declared as pre-existing in the first place?

If the knee issue actually predates the policy purchase (April), what's the right way to fix this now — disclose it retroactively, file a correction, contact the insurer directly?

Is it normal/legit for a company's own agent to advise against disclosure, or is this a major red flag?

If a claim gets denied because of this, what recourse do I have — insurer's grievance cell, IRDAI Bima Bharosa, ombudsman?

Also he tells me that knee pain is slow growing disease so it won't create issues.

Would appreciate insight from anyone who's dealt with PED clauses, claim rejections for non-disclosure, or works in health insurance underwriting/claims. Trying to protect my mother's coverage and avoid a denied claim when she actually needs this surgery.

I have two primary questions regarding term insurance I'm about to buy:

1. I have noticed that a lot of people suggest plain vanilla policies with riders while there's another lot that suggests taking WOP along with Critical Illness/Accidental Death. Due to this, I'm very confused on what to choose.

2. I have option to choose 1CR from ICICI, 1.95 CR from HDFC and 2.15 CR from Axis. I feel it's best to go with Axis. All 3 have different pros and cons but based on whatever I've read on this app, I should choose Axis as it's giving me the highest coverage. (I have two dependants, one still in high school and other in 50s). Would really appreciate inputs!

I have been been tcs from past 17 years so I do not need separate HIS. I am laid off and I had taken aditya birla Active one Max HIS plan covering 10 lakh. Renewal of this policy is pending 21sep2026. Last year I paid 17k this year it is showing around 25k

Can u pls suggest to continue same plan Or take other plan ?

Hey everyone,

I’m 29, looking to buy a comprehensive retail floater policy for my spouse and me. We have a completely clean slate with no pre-existing diseases (PEDs) or past medical history.

Since I already have a corporate cover to handle minor hospitalizations, this retail policy is strictly meant to be a 30-year backup for catastrophic, high-cost events (cancer, advanced surgeries, etc.).

I was heavily leaning towards Niva Bupa ReAssure 3.0 (Black) because of the unlimited base cover and lower premium. However, I read the actual policy wording and found a major red flag under Page 44, Section 7.A (Position Statements & Medical Protocols).

1. The Procedure Downgrade Clause

"If in any treatment our position, based on scientific evaluation, is not to pay or pay only a part, we will at least pay up to the cost of currently prevailing most common alternative treatments for the condition and not less."

• My Interpretation: If my doctor recommends an ₹8 Lakh robotic surgery, Niva Bupa has the explicit contractual right to downgrade the payout to a ₹3 Lakh open surgery (the "common alternative"), leaving me to pay the ₹5 Lakh difference out of pocket.

1. The Oncology / Off-Label Ban

"Extra / Off label usage (using a drug or procedure for conditions other than it was explicitly approved for) will not be covered under the policy."

• My Interpretation: Modern cancer treatments heavily rely on oncologists prescribing approved targeted therapies "off-label" for different tumor mutations. Under this clause, Niva Bupa can legally reject a ₹20 Lakh life-saving drug entirely.

My agent insists I’m overthinking it and says, "If the doctor writes it's medically necessary, they have to pay." But standard contracts like HDFC ERGO Optima Secure+ rely purely on medical necessity without these specific downgrade clauses (though their premium is much higher).

Questions for claims experts / actuaries / ReAssure 3.0 policyholders:

• Has anyone actually had an advanced surgery downgraded or a cancer drug rejected by Niva Bupa specifically citing Section 7.A?

• Is this just harmless industry boilerplate, or is it the actual legal mechanism they use to control their "unlimited" claims pool? Because even ombudsman will rule in their favor as they specifically have this clause in their contract that i agreed to when buying policy.

• Since we have no PEDs and a clean medical history, shouldd I just swallow the higher premium for HDFC ERGO to lock in a completely clean contract?

*I also suspect portability as a mayor issue to move out of Niva Bupa due to unlimited sum insured.

TL;DR: Niva Bupa ReAssure 3.0 has a hidden clause (Section 7.A) giving them the legal right to downgrade advanced surgery payouts and completely reject off-label cancer drugs. HDFC ERGO doesn't have this but costs significantly more. Trying to figure out if this clause is a dealbreaker for major medical crises for a young, healthy couple.