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Insurance Expert - Answered on May 10, 2023

Sanjib Jha is the CEO of Coverfox Insurance. His expertise includes health and auto insurance. He has over 22 years of experience in the financial sector. He has completed his post-graduation from the Institute of Company Secretaries of India.... more

Question by Satish on May 04, 2023Hindi

One of my relatives who had health insurance incurred huge medical expenses year after year, but the insurance company reimbursed whatever coverage was there during the date of admission period. The medical expenses incurred in the following year was denied on the grounds that it could be claimed in the previous year when the patient was admitted, but the insured amount under the policy has exhausted. I seek your as to why it cannot be claimed in the following year as the insurance policy has been renewed. What does the insurance act states.

Ans: Hi Satish, health insurance has to be claimed in the year when the medical expenses were incurred. If the base policy coverage for that year's expense is exhausted and there is no top up plan in support to base policy, then the claim settlement will become an issue as the limit is over. It cannot be adjusted in the next year.

DISCLAIMER: The content of this post by the expert is the personal view of the rediffGURU. Users are advised to pursue the information provided by the rediffGURU only as a source of information to be as a point of reference and to rely on their own judgement when making a decision.

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Insurance Expert - Answered on Jun 21, 2022

Question by S - Jun 21, 2022Hindi

Dear Sir, Greetings of the day. I have got a health insurance of family floater type from Tata AIG for a sum of four lakhs. Recently, I got hospitalised and full four lakhs was paid by Tata Aig. But my hospital bill was six lakhs and sixty two thousand. So there was a shortfall of two lakhs sixty-two thousands. I have an Aditya Birla health Policy of family floater type for 45 lakhs. But it will come in to effect after 5 lakhs expenditure. So I myself paid one lakh from my pocket. And for rest one lakh sixty two thousand only I applied for cashless to Aditya Birla .But they denied it. Finally I paid that amount myself and came home. Afterwards I kept continuous follow up with them. Reconsideration and reminder letter was sent by TPA and Treating doctor. But again it was rejected. Now Aditya Birla employee is saying apply for reimbursement. When Tata Aig is clearing full amount, how come Aditya Birla is denying it? And how can I bridge the gap one lakh between two policies? Tata Aig says you have taken full claim so we cannot make your limit from four to five lakhs this year. Pls advise suitably. Best Wishes

Ans: Hi Mr. Tripathi, greetings to you. To answer your first question as to why Aditya Birla won’t provide you with cashless claim as opposed to TATA AIG is because the policy you bought from Aditya Birla is a ‘Super top up plan’ which basically means it is an addition to your base policy which in your case is your TATA AIG policy.

Super top up policies do not offer cashless claims but only provide reimbursements.

The one lakh gap, unfortunately, cannot be filled at this point. However, while renewing your policy you can opt for increased sum insured with TATA AIG. The insurer will ask you a set of questions and schedule medicals to analyse your risk profile. Post that based on your reports, the insurer will take a decision on increasing the limit.

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Insurance Expert - Answered on Sep 08, 2022

Question by Narayan - Sep 08, 2022Hindi

I have a health insurance policy, running continued from 2012 without any claim up to 2022. In 2021, I ported it to another company. Unfortunately, this year in April my son was diagnosed with Crohn's disease and required repeated hospitalisation. Expenses were taken care of by the insurance company. Now my doubts are: 1. My son is advised to have an injection every 8 weeks continuously for next 2 years. This is expensive and will be done in PICU as a day-care procedure. It might take 10 to 12 hours for the procedure, to be done in PICU (He is 14 years old). How I can get these expenses covered by my insurance. 2. Is there any limit on number of claims, in a year, as I already have many this year? Is there any possibility, that my insurance company might deny the next renewal due to more number of claims?

Ans: Hi Narayan, my best wishes to you and your family. To answer your questions, if your policy has Day Care treatment included in the policy document, then the same can be claimed for. There is no limit to the number of claims taken in a year. However, you can only apply for claims only up to the sum assured value of your health policy.

As far as insurer denying renewal due to number of claims, the answer is no, insurer will not deny your renewal. However, there is a possibility that the insurer will increase your yearly premium based on the re-evaluated risk.

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Insurance Expert - Answered on Nov 24, 2022

Question by K - Nov 24, 2022Hindi

I have a Mediclaim insurance policy (senior citizens) from National Insurance co Ltd. My wife was operated for Knee replacement surgery. Against the claim of Rs 3.48 lakh, the claim was passed for 51000/- only. I wrote to the Insurance co and wanted to know the reason but no answer. I seek your help and guidance.

Ans: Hi KD, hope your wife has recovered. To answer your query, I advise you to check your policy document again. There are many health insurance policies that have capping/limitations on the list of ailments. You can find the same in the policy documents or policy wording.

I suggest you approach your insurance company and inquire about the same and if you still fail to get a response from them then you can approach insurer ombudsman for this issue.

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