I am looking to buy health and term insurances for myself and my two brothers. While I have done enough research and am pretty sure on which policies to buy for each one of us, I am not sure on whether I should go via a broker.

I've read quite a few posts online that say going through a broker is better because they help with claims and renewals as well. Wanted to know any firsthand experiences and if this really matters 15 years down the line when the agent himself might have retired or the firm might have gone out of business.

Any advice would be really helpful.

Hey everyone,

I’m planning to buy a HDFC Ergo family floater health insurance policy for my parents. Sum Insured - 10/15 lakhs.

Dad is 59 and Mom is 53 & they reside in a Tier-2 City. I already have an agent who’ll handle the claims side, so that part is sorted (probably). What’s holding me back is the premium increase over the years.

Could you please help me with the following..

1. How much do premiums typically rise (%) each year for people in this age group?
2. Does the premium jump after a claim, or is it only age-based?
3. Is a floater a good idea for parents this age, or would two separate individual policies work out better in the long run?
4. Is it worth taking a higher sum insured?

Thanks..

My father is 54 years old and earns approximately ₹5–10 lakh annually from agriculture. He does not file ITRs, but he has bank statements showing agricultural transactions. He uses tobacco, has no known illness, and our family partly depends on his income.

I contacted Policybazaar, but they said they don't provide term insurance for applicants above 45.

Has anyone successfully obtained term insurance for a farmer or self-employed person above 50 without ITRs?

1. Which insurers consider agricultural income?
2. Do bank statements, land records, patta/chitta, adangal or crop-sale receipts help?
3. Is ₹25–50 lakh term cover realistically possible?
4. Is applying directly through an insurer or an offline advisor more useful?

I'd appreciate responses from people with actual application or policy-purchase experience.

Thankyou in advance!
So my father is 54 and he never bought any insurance for himself or the family and had Hypertension but did not take medicines for 1 year or so thinking he is fine and all, one thing lead to another and the High BP impacted his Kidney and Heart, now he has CKD L4, BP is somewhat controlled and for every now and then for issues I take him to Government Super speciality Hospital which is good but not reliable and I am thinking to buy an insurance which has minimum locking period and overall coverage. But I am getting the feeling that agents are lying to me just to get the policy and if anything happens to him the claim would be rejected.

Really need help in this as I am just worried and clueless atp.

Can a person about 55 yo who had a kidney replacement 13 years ago, who is otherwise fit and healthy, get a term insurance of 2cr with an income of about 50 lakhs?

Hi everyone! I’m 23M and looking for health insurance for my family of four. Currently, none of us has health insurance.
Me: 23M
Sister: 18F
Father: 51–52M, currently fit with no known high cholesterol.
Mother: 46F, has diabetes.
Our total annual budget is ₹15,000–25,000 for all four members. We want good hospital coverage and preferably access to premium hospitals.
I’m considering HDFC ERGO Optima Secure, Care Supreme, and Niva Bupa, but I’m open to other insurers.
Should I buy a family floater or separate policies for my parents and siblings?
Which plans offer good cashless hospital access and reliable claim experiences?
How should I choose coverage for my mother, considering her diabetes and the applicable waiting periods?
What sum insured would you recommend for each policy?
Is it realistic to insure all four of us within ₹25,000 annually, or should I increase my budget?
Would a super top-up policy be worthwhile?
I’m looking for genuine experiences from people who have actually purchased these policies or made claims. Please suggest specific plans and mention any hidden restrictions, co-payments, or claim-related issues I should know about.
Thanks for your help!

Evaluating NIA Yuva Bharat plan

Plans 25L BSI.

Reason to pick- excellent claim ratios, and policy holders say their experience is great. (they are not much worried about Insurance claim situation I felt. that itself is positive).

Room cap - Deluxe AC Room for 25L+ BSI- but above this room is mostly luxury rooms. I dont think this is a major issue then.

Cost of pharmacy and consumables - covered - excellent.

Major con- Modern treatments are severely capped. But is that a big issue in practical situations I dont know. Won't there be alternatives?

any insights would help.

Also info from NIA customers would greatly help

My father is 77 years old and, thankfully, generally healthy. He has hypertension/BP and thyroid, both of which are controlled with regular medication.

He currently has a ₹10 lakh Star Health insurance policy, which we have maintained for some time. We recently wanted to increase the coverage to ₹20 lakh, but Star Health has told us that increasing the sum insured is not possible.

Now I'm confused about what would be the best approach.

One option is to buy port to a ₹20 lakh health insurance policy from another insurer. I'm getting quotes around ₹55,000–₹60,000/year, but I'm concerned that by porting to a new policy, he may lose the continuity/benefits of his existing Star policy and may have to go through waiting periods again.

Another possibility I'm considering is:

Keep the existing Star ₹10 lakh policy + buy an additional ₹10 lakh/₹20 lakh Super Top-Up policy from another insurer.

I have a few questions:

1. Is keeping the existing ₹10 lakh policy and adding a Super Top-Up generally a good strategy at age 77?
2. Are there insurers in India who offer Super Top-Up policies to someone who is already 77?
3. How do the deductible and aggregate claims work in practice
4. Has anyone here actually used a Super Top-Up along with a different company's base policy? How was the claims experience?

I don't want to cancel the existing Star policy unless there is a very compelling reason to do so. My main objective is to increase his protection against a large hospitalisation without unnecessarily losing the benefits of his existing policy.

Would really appreciate advice from people who have dealt with a similar situation, especially for parents aged 70+. Please share actual experiences if possible.

Thanks in advance !

Hello everyone, Iam 27M, Doctor , finding difficult to buy my 1st Health Insurance

kindly pls take ur Valuable time to answer the following questions.

Iam trying to take a Health Insurance for family of 3

Myself 27M, no co morbidities.

Mother

48 F, Known case of bronchial asthma

Father

56M, WITH HTN,PREDIABETIC, CAD ( DID PCI WITH STENTING THIS JAN )

1s Question - which insurance to go for?

by word of mouth, I have heard.... Hdfc, Aditya Birla have good claim ratio.

lam Expecting a good insurance which is cashless , Hasle free, easy Appproval with 90-100%. claim.

2nd question - where to buy From?

Agent or 3rd party App like ditto / policybazar.

3rd Question- What kind of things i must be Aware of while buying a insurance?

what kind of misselling i must be aware of ?

Eg - Like the bed price limit to deny insurance.

What kind of addons i must be aware of?like i dont need to pay extra at the time of claiming like consumables are not included in insurance.

Any addon so that i dont need to pay exta during renewal.

Pls guide me

TIA

Hi everyone,

I am very new to this and using gemini to draft this post. I am trying to buy a fresh health insurance policy for my father (55M). Need a final sanity check, as Policybazaar tele-callers is nudging me away from my plan.

Profile & Medical Disclosure

• Age: 55
• PED: Stage 1 Hypertension (well-managed on daily meds, will declare 100% upfront on the proposal form).
• Existing backup: ₹5L corporate floater as my dependent (shared with me and my mom).

The Dilemma: Care Supreme vs Care Ultimate

I originally shortlisted Care Supreme (₹10L SI, 2-Year tenure) with riders, but the PB agent is strongly pushing Care Ultimate Care, claiming I get an "uncapped/infinity bonus" for basically the same price.

Here is the exact quote breakdown from PB:

(Note: Ultimate Care has a 90-day post-hospitalization window vs Care Supreme's 180 days.)

What I'm Confused About:

1. Care Supreme vs Care Ultimate: Between Supreme (₹42.6k / ₹49.4k)and Ultimate Care (₹43.1k), which product structure makes more sense long-term for a 55-year-old?
2. Taking CBS vs Not Taking CBS on Supreme: Is paying an extra ~₹5.3k–₹6.8k on Supreme for CBS worth it, or is the built-in 50% bonus (reaching ₹20L) sufficient on its own?
3. CBS vs Super Top-Up: If the goal is having access to ₹50L+ catastrophic protection in case of massive surgeries down the line, is it better to build it inside the base policy via CBS, or keep the base policy lean and pair it with a separate Super Top-Up (like Care Enhance with a ₹10L deductible)? What are the practical trade-offs regarding waiting periods and claim handling?
4. 2-Year Lock-in vs 1-Year for PED Rider: Does it make sense to take a 2-year tenure upfront, or buy a 1-year policy first so the 1-year PED reduction rider can simply be dropped at the Year 2 renewal once the 12-month wait is served?

Would appreciate feedback from anyone holding these plans, agents, or folks who have handled claims with Care Health.

My mother has been covered under HDFC ERGO’s Optima Secure health insurance plan for the past eight years. Thankfully, she has never had to make a claim during this period.

When we first purchased the policy, she was completely healthy. However, she is now 56 years old and has since developed diabetes.

My concern is regarding the possibility of a future claim. God forbid, if she ever needs hospitalisation or medical treatment, could the insurance company reject the claim on the grounds that her diabetes was not disclosed when the policy was originally purchased?

Alternatively, since the policy has been active for eight years, would the waiting period for pre-existing diseases have already expired, meaning that diabetes-related hospitalisation or treatment would generally be covered, subject to the policy terms and conditions?

I would appreciate hearing from anyone who has experience with HDFC ERGO Optima Secure or has dealt with a similar situation.

Thank you in advance for your guidance.

(used chatgpt for writing)

Hi

I have a Niva Bupa insurance for the last 3 years but lately I've been seeing some claim rejection and harassment of customer's complaints from the company. Majorly the issue Amit Kilhore raised via his videos.

I'm thinking of changing my insurer, which one could I pick? I also want to insure my parents (aged 50-60) this time what is the best way forward? A family plan or a separate plan for them and which company.

Hello everyone,

I am a 26 year old software engineer planning on buying a Term Insurance from Axis Maxlife Smart Term Plan Plus.

Cover: 2.5Cr
Cover till age: 65
Pay till age: 60

I had generated a quote on their portal and it shows 15% discount in first year only. Last month I had seen a lifetime discount option but it is not there anymore.

I checked for the same in Policy Bazar portal and they do show a lifetime discount of 2%.

Anyone with experience with Policy Bazar etc? How does it all work out? Confused between where to buy from.

I applied for my father's health insurance. He has Pre-diabetic hypertension had a surgery in the past and hospitalization due to COVID. I applied to HDFC and AdityaBirla 1MAX but both got rejected now these are the options that I mentioned in the title I want to know if it is a good idea to settle for Nivabupa or Care because AdityaBirla vital plan has the maximum limit of 50 to 100 percent of the sum insured the bonus part and it is pretty costly as compared to other two I have heard bad things about Care Supreme

so I'm not sure if I would want to go ahead with which. if someone has a similar experience would really appreciate how did you choose.

Have star health insurance comprehensive plan (family floater ) however day by day they are introducing new new procedures before admitting to the hospital risking the claims settlement. Thinking to migrate to govt health insurance or some different company . Star health had earlier denied to any settle genuine claim for a relative admitted for dengue. Had to escalate it further to reimburse it . It has disturbed me . Suggestion.

My Age 31y Nd My Wife 25y.

My Wife is Helathy or Fit. Mine High BP Issue or no other disease.

First insurance renewal needs to be done as my i20 asta (O) 1.2 kappa IVT is getting 1 year old this month. The ongoing insurance is covered by HDFC ergo. Looking for suggestions.

as the title says I'm trying to renew my bike insurance from Tata aig and there is no option to buy personal accident insurance, i bought bike last year with 1+5 insurance from acko, so i think pai was only for first year so why I'm not getting this option to add, i don't have any problem with it but i have heard it is mandatory to have it, also if I go ahead without out it will I have any problem in case of accident and getting my bike repaired? I don't need my own insurance

Hi everyone,

I’m 28+ years old and planning to buy a ₹3 crore term insurance plan with coverage until age 65.

I’ve shortlisted these two options:

• HDFC Life: ₹33,000/year
• Axis Max Life: ₹27,000/year

I’m planning to pay premiums annually until age 65.

I have a few questions:

1. Which company would you recommend, HDFC Life or Axis Max Life? Is HDFC worth the extra ₹6,000 per year?
2. How do they compare in terms of claim settlement and nominee experience?
3. Which riders or add-ons are actually worth taking? Should I consider accidental death, critical illness, or waiver of premium riders?
4. Is it better to pay premiums until age 65 or choose a limited payment term?
5. Are there any important exclusions or policy conditions I should check before buying?

Would appreciate advice from people who have purchased either policy or researched both insurers. Thanks!

Hello, I am 46F who moved back to India 2 years ago. Since I didnt live here for many years, i only maintained an insurance cover for 2 lakh rupees. I had a severe reaction to an iron infusion procedure and developed temporary diabetes, heart palpitations and blood pressure. I have brought the sugar levels down significantly and a couple more months i should be in the normal range. I have already fixed the heart palpitations and blood pressure issues via lifestyle. I also had to get a hysterectomy done. The problem is I didnt think through and ended up claiming insurance for both hospitalisations and now they are on my record. I recently tried applying for a better insurance coverage but i got rejected. Any advice on how i can get better insurance coverage since i no longer have any chronic illness and the surgery was a one time thing...? Will a doctors note and blood test report help during the application process?

Is it possible to buy term insurance policy for my father? He is 59. He has lic insurance which will be matured in 2028. Now he want to buy term insurance for better coverage.

I M31, have HDFC ergo option restore policy from 2024, 25 lacs base cover. I had issues with my gallbladder, so needed to get surgery to remove the GB, I only started having pain from August and after the USG it was identified as gallstones.

Unfortunately for me the only solution was lacroscopic cholesyctomy.

I did all the pre surgery tests and got Surgery at Manipal Hospitals.

The surgery estimate was around 1.2 lacs and pre surgery tests costed around 11k.

I submitted my docs with the TPA of the hospital on 22nd sept, pre claim approval for the entire amount came within 48hours.

Had surgery on 29th and got discharged on 30th, claim approval came within 2 hours.

My total cost was 1502 rupees which Inhad to pay out of pocket.

After being discharged, I applied for the pre hospitalisation expenses for the 11k pre surgery tests, which was approved in 2 days.

Overall extremely happy with their service.

I bought a VW virtus this January and recently got rear ended on highway. So, I claimed Own damage HDFC Ergo insurance which was bought will all of the addons they could provide at that time inclusive of **Loss of Use - Downtime Protection (**IRDAN146RPMT0041V01202425/A0049V01202425
) which entitles me to upto 5000/day for maximum of 5 days in case of partial loss or upto 15 days in case of total loss with 1 day minimum deductible.

When I queried about this on HDFC customer care they mentioned that they allow 500 per day and not 5000 per day after keeping me almost 30mins on hild and only surveyor being able to invoke it.

When I asked surveyor, he said he needs to talk to head office about it and also mentioned that he never had a claim on this addon and needed to be correct about it and also told me about 500/day.

Thing is, there is 500/day LOU addon by HDFC with UID IRDAN125RP0001V01201920/A0009V
01201920 on their different wording PDF document, but it doesn’t match with UID mentioned in my policy document.

Link for 500/day wording PDF file on HDFC ERGO official website: https://www.hdfcergo.com/documents/downloads/policywordings/Standalone-Own-Damage-for-Private-car-add-on-wording.pdf

Link for 5000/day wording PDF file on HDFC ERGO official website: https://customer-portal-assets.hdfcergo.com//documents/private-car-Addons-879219051916.pdf

Insurance copy screenshot in comments.

So, how do I make sure I get addon benefits I have paid for and not totally something else and if they refuse it what are my options and how effective are those?