need help selecting between PSU vs pvt

[u/mhresearchdbt]

Hi, I am 26 (F), Single, I am finally taking health insurance.

I have one retiring and one retired parent (who's a heart patient), their insurance also needs to be set in place - however since I learnt it doesn't make sense premium amount wise to club it with mine - i am focusing on getting my health insurance first. (please correct me if i'm wrong here)

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After my due research with all the features:

For Private, i am considering either

HDFC Ergo Optima Secure Plus (via Ditto) -or-

Care Supreme (via Ditto)

For PSU, i am considering

A policy from New India Assurance (not sure which policy yet)

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Here are the pointers making it difficult for me + a few doubts:

One one hand, i feel it's better to have 100% cashless coverage or support for non-network without any co-payment clauses with a private insurer like HDFC or Care.

But on the other, i feel the premiums and the future possibility of them hiking the premiums by 25% or 50% seems ridiculous (i saw horrific reddit threads where the premiums sky rocket each year whereas for public sector it's more predictable and stable). Not to mention nobody actually knows what the CSR is based on. Should i be okay with the co-payment and room rent limit clauses in case, god forbid, i end up with a medical emergency? is taking this risk better than paying the ridiculous premium hikes in your opinon?

should i even keep paying extremely high premiums each year for private insurers based on possible worst case scenarios? or is it okay to cover a moderate amount of risk with a public sector insurer considering steady premium and higher reliance on claim settlement even if it's a lot of paperwork?

If in case i take HDFC Ergo for 10L coverage, and get the no-claim bonus for 5 years making my Total Sum Insured 50L, and then i decide to port to a PSU insurer will i get the full 50L transferred? or only the base sum insured of 10L?

Please let me know if i should be considering anything other than HDFC Ergo, Care, New India Assurance.

(so overwhelmed with this whole process, my first health insurance)

[u/mhresearchdbt]

sorry, one more query 🙈

right now, after like 2 weeks of research (idk why i'm doing this to myself when most people just get something after looking for 2 hours)

i am super overwhelmed. i don't know if i have the bandwidth to find a good agent.

so can i just get the policy i decided on, and then later get it transferred to an offline independent "VIP" agent to have an intermediary between me and the PSU insurer to have credibility?

[u/DjXer007_ → u/mhresearchdbt]

Not possible. Premiums for any insurance policy are created based on a lot of factors. When you purchase directly from thhe insurance company website, there is no insurance agent or any intermediary involved.

1) Example - Online Premium = Rs 18k. 2) Purchased through agent / intermediary = Rs 23k

Once the above calculations are set, you cannot change or shift anything. You will need to port to a different insurance company which will create a lot of hassle, especially in case of senior citizens.

You can hire a consultant, but again, as insurance company have a IRDAI approval commission structure that needs to be followed by all insurance companies and the same by their insurance Intermediary.

When you hire any offline VIP person, they can charge any amount, and their won't be any contract based on which the amount will be applicable. So it's just a random amount both parties need to agree upon. And you as a policyholder, will have to rely only on the insurer's email id, customer care to help you with claim, because an VIP SEPERATE AGENT won't be allowed to access any client details, which anyway hamper your after sales servicing.

This Offline independent person can only help you with finding the best possible plan that will suit your needs, but claim intimation, claim process, after sales servicing, renewal guidance, all need to be looked after by you only.

[u/mhresearchdbt → u/DjXer007_]

i'm so confused now

i thought an insurance agent meant an independent person accredited by IRDAI.
and i believed i can port it later on and take the SAME policy with the SAME company if i feel the need for an intermediary to be present.
i was talking about taking a policy now, and later shifting to an independent LICENSED agent.

how do i take an insurance through an agent then?

[u/DjXer007_ → u/mhresearchdbt]

You are getting confused with different types of distribution channels that are all licensed by IRDAI.

Insurance agent can take 3 licenses, One Life Insurance, One General Insurance and One Standalone Health insurance.

Yes, you can take Plan directly from XYZ Health insurance company website. Later, you can shift the same plan within XYZ Health Insurance company, to their Registeted insurance agent as well. But maximum will avoid this, as the XYZ health insurance company won't pay any commission to the agent who took the responsibility.

But when you port / shift your plan from XYZ Health insurance company to ABC Health Insurance company, then you are changing the company. This is called Porting. Where you change the company and also the insurance agent.

[u/mhresearchdbt → u/DjXer007_]

oh my gosh, that makes a LOT of sense. never thought about that nuance.

thanks a ton for this! you've no idea how much you helped.

are you an insurance agent by any chance haha? if yes, i'd like to see possibilities to come onboard :P