How to avail insurance claims if you have two health policies

-Name withheld on request

Yes, you can buy more than one health insurance policy depending on your need and premium paying capability. It is recommended that you opt for a base insurance policy, for additional needs, look for a high deductible health insurance cover, which is usually available as a top-up cover. You can avail a deductible equal to your base insurance policy and a higher sum assured under the new policy. The premium of such a top-up policy is very low, and you get higher coverage and better benefits. Please remember that the top-up policy will only pay for expenses in excess of the deductible amount. This will be subject to waiting period, pre-existing diseases and other conditions.

If the claim is within one of the Sum Assured of the policy, then you can claim it completely under the same. If the Sum Assured of one policy is insufficient, you can claim under one policy and avail the balance amount under another policy. You must present original bills and documents; You can claim any health insurance policy. You are required to obtain certified documents and stamped duplicate copies of bills from the insurance company from which the claim is made and submit the remaining documents for claims to the other insurance company.

I have a health insurance policy. What happens to the renewal premium if I claim in the current year? And what if I don’t claim?

-Name withheld on request

As with any claim in the policy, generally, your premium will remain unchanged, except changes due to age-limit movement or other factors. However, if it has been a claim-free year, the sum assured is increased by 5%. This is also called a “cumulative bonus”. This increase may continue for each “claim-free year” until the increase in the Sum Assured reaches 100% of the total Sum Assured. Almost all health insurance policies offer this cumulative bonus. It is important to refer to the terms of your policy for details on the rate of increase and the extent of the bonus percentage.

– Atul Deshpande is Head – Claims, Digital & Projects at SBI General Insurance

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