Bhaskar Jyoti Sarma is Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, SBI General Insurance
I would like to take health insurance policy for my parents who have retired last year. Both are 60 plus now, please recommend a health insurance policy that will take care of the future medical emergencies. Kindly share what will not be covered in the health insurance policy?
Mohan Jadhav, Mazgaon
Generally health insurance plans that are available in the market have restriction on entry age for individuals above 60 years, however there are policies specifically available for senior citizens that provide coverage to individuals above 60 years. Every policy has different coverage and exclusions; you are required to assess the coverage and exclusions individually in order to find a best fit for your family.
I stay at the ground floor and due to the heavy rains in June, the water entered my apartment due to which few of my belongings were damaged. I want to take a home insurance cover that will cover the structure, fixtures, furniture and other expensive electronics in the house. Please share if there exists a cover which takes care of all these against damage from rains?
Prashant Joshi, Parel
The standard Home Insurance policy covers the loss or damage to the insured property due to earthquake, flooding, inundation and other standard covers. Such insurance policy also offers to cover damage to contents due to the above reasons and can be availed to cover such risks.
I have read about the motor insurance policy that takes care of the engine damage during monsoon. Is it a different policy, which insurance company provides this cover, please advise?
Karan Singh, Colaba
The above mentioned damage to the engine of the vehicle is not covered under a standard motor insurance policy. The above cover is available as an Add on cover to the standard policy and can be opted for on payment of additional premium.
There are numerous health insurance policies available in the market, please share with us the litmus test to find the best policy among all.
Dhaval Purandhare, Chembur
There is no such one litmus test available for finding out the best health insurance policy. Any person who wishes to get health insurance should go by the assessment based on the following parameters- Coverage, Exclusions, Claim payment track record, Network tie up for cashless facilities and premium comparison. It is always advisable eventually to look out for a policy that is based on your needs and requirements.
I am newly married guy and want to take a health insurance policy for my wife and myself. How much cover should I take and what are the benefits that are important to look out considering we are only 25 years old?
Sameer More, Sion
Entering health insurance at an early age is always beneficial. When buying insurance for family, you should look for Floater cover as it provides you enough coverage as per your requirement and gives you the benefits of discounted premiums. Assuming that in near future you would want to have additions in your family, you should consider buying policies that cover maternity expenses. Such policies have a waiting period before you are eligible to claim for maternity expenses. Hence buying such covers early in life would be advantageous.
I am a frequent traveler, most of my travels are domestic. Every time I book my ticket, there is a travel insurance option that pops up. Please help me to understand how important is it to take travel insurance for domestic travel. Since the amount is small, I don’t mind paying that provided it really serves the purpose.
Sanjeev Kumar, Nalasopara
Domestic Travel Insurance takes care of any accidental medical expenses that occur in case the person meets with an accident within the travel period. Such products have very small premium however they are of utmost utility in case there is an unfortunate event. Besides medical emergencies these products also cover travel inconveniences such as baggage loss, delay in baggage, flight delays, hotel cancellations etc which can be helpful in case such an unforeseen event triggers.
I and my husband have a corporate health insurance cover from our respective offices of Rs 3 Lakhs each, that makes it Rs. 6 Lakhs combining both the covers. Is the cover adequate or do we need to have a separate health insurance cover.
Harish Dua, Cotton Green
The cover form employer for 3 lacs each member is inadequate in the current situation where the cost of medical procedures and hospitalization cost is rising every day. There are requisite Top Up covers available where the additional cover can be availed at a lower premium with the deductible equivalent to the cover provided by employers. For Eg. in this situation one can obtain 10 lacs hospitalization Top Up cover with a deductible of 3 lacs. Such covers are available at very affordable premium rate.
(The author is Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, SBI General Insurance).