Health insurance?

[Yogesh Sarkar]

Planning to get a Health Insurance soon and was wondering which company would be best for it and has the most hassle free claim procedure and maximum number of tie-ups with hospitals for cashless facilities.

Any pointers about which type of health insurance to get would be most welcomed as well.

 

[anupmathur]

YS, whichever one you settle for, make sure their Head Office is in Delhi.
And preferably, buy from an agent/office near your house. These things come in handy when you have to make a claim. It's not always that you'll get to a Mediclaim approved hospital for cashless service. At a nearby hospital you might need to pay and then ask for reimbursement. It is important to inform the company of hospitalization within 24 hours or so, otherwise they might not honour the claim.

I've been using Oriental Mediclaim & Accident Insurance for twenty years. Cannot say how GOOD they are, but I have no complaints either.

 

[Yogesh Sarkar]

Thanks for the tips sir, btw how much of a help would a company’s head office being in Delhi be?

As for getting it from near the house, well I’ll surely do that. I have a credit card from HDFC and one of their branch is 300mtrs from my house and Oriental’s office is behind it (my bike is insured with them).

Btw any other major player I need to check out? As majority of the banks (including HDFC) seem to be offering Bajaj Allianz's health insurance policy.

 

[anupmathur]

YS, I have seen New India Mediclaim people frustrated because every approval has to come from Madras. It is VERY important to deal with Delhi based companies only.
Oriental is, like New India, National etc.., part of GIC of India.
The private players are best avoided, IMO. There's a whole lot of lying and mis-representation going on!

 

[Yogesh Sarkar]

Sir how good is Oriental's cash less facility? Do they have enough hospitals listed and is it entirely cashless or does one has to claim it later?

 

[joie de vivre]

YS, Instead of going by insurance co. have tie up with maximum hosp. just find out which are the best hospitals you wanted to get treated and find out which mediclaim co. have tie up with them. after all quality/service of treatment should be first.

 

[anupmathur]

YS, the list of approved hospitals is long - I'll have to check in their booklet.
We have never needed any major hospitalization in the family. Thank God. And that is how it should always be!
At our local hospital, we need to pay and then file a claim; this is where the neighbourhood agent becomes instrumental. Used this facility only twice in twenty years. Worked out fine.

 

[Yogesh Sarkar]

YS, Instead of going by insurance co. have tie up with maximum hosp. just find out which are the best hospitals you wanted to get treated and find out which mediclaim co. have tie up with them. after all quality/service of treatment should be first.

Getting it with the hope that I wouldn’t need to use it ever (so haven't thought about it), just that I am the only person in my family who doesn’t have medical insurance, so need to get it.

YS, the list of approved hospitals is long - I'll have to check in their booklet.
We have never needed any major hospitalization in the family. Thank God. And that is how it should always be!
At our local hospital, we need to pay and then file a claim; this is where the neighbourhood agent becomes instrumental. Used this facility only twice in twenty years. Worked out fine.

Sir plenty of hospitals in 2-3kms radius of my home, so I guess that shouldn’t be a problem. Don’t want to get into the trouble of filing a claim, hence number of hospital is a major criteria, more so due to the fact that I love to travel and in case of an accident in another state, cashless facility would be really handy.

 

[setuniket]

Best way IMO is look for good hospitals nearby, check if the particular TPA listed in List of Licensed TPAs as on 24th March, 2009 has an agreement with that hospital or not. If yes select the insurance company which has the agreement with that TPA and well buy the policy.

Read the policy conditions carefully and see if they fulfill your need or not. check the websites of all the Health Insurance providers and compare them in premium.

The list can be accessed through Welcome to IRDA

btw every insurance policy has this 15 day time which allows you to review the terms and if you do not accept the terms the company will refund your money.

Also go through the websites of TPA's..

 

[dheeraj]

I'm having a new india policy and TPA being medi-assist.the corporate policy is also with them and so far no issues..last 3 years.they will be more clear and hassle free.private players usually come out with some hidden clauses at the last min and especially when you will be in no mood to listen to them.
check for exception clauses and what "pre- existing" means