Upgrading existing policy vs buying top up Health Insurance
I've read Mahavir write earlier on increasing cover at renewal as much as possible till 38-40 instead of a top-up because companies make it very difficult to increase cover at older ages. And that top-up should be looked at only if the price of increasing cover is 20-30% more than buying a topup. The increased cover is apparently pain-free and uncomplicated during claim servicing etc.
However, with the recent ~30%+ announced premium increase even with existing cover, the cost of increasing sum insured is looking increasingly unaffordable. Moreover, this increased cover will again result in increased premiums for the rest of my life. Does the advice then make sense now and what would the pitfalls if say at 38 now, I keep the base cover as it is (10L) and increasing the top-up as needed till old age?
Some articles in ET also more or less advocate going for a top-up than increasing the base cover.
Thanks Vijay for the details.
At 10L SI, your Supreme policy would be 20 L by the time you renew your policy next year. As a claims expert, I can tell you it's a fairly sufficient cover for a family of 4.
I think you should re-visit this question of increasing cover in another 10 years. Your Supreme policy would be sufficient till then. Given your age, think of buying a super top-up policy from Royal Sundaram after about 10-12 yrs, for about 15-25L with 10L deductible.
Sellers have incentive to frighten you into buying more and more cover. Just don't fall into the trap.
Anuj Jindal
Co-founder
SureClaim
Hey Vijay,
What is your current age and what plan are you on?
I'll give you advice specific to your scenario if you can share details.