I am a 49-year-old bachelor having a mediclaim policy from New India Assurance for ₹1 lakh sum assured. I have paid ₹5,436 as premium.

I want to change to some other insurance company. I am a diabetic.

Please suggest a good policy from another insurer.

Raghavendra Prabhu

It is somewhat difficult to get a comprehensive health insurance cover if you are over 40 and have more than a mild form of diabetes. However, a few insurers have now introduced specific products to cater to diabetics and some also issue standard insurances with a premium loading if your diabetes is mild and controlled.

Do retain your New India insurance until you have an alternative that you are comfortable with. If you have mild type 1 diabetes, then you should apply for standard mediclaim insurances. Most insurers will apply a loading of 10-20 per cent on premium and issue you the cover.

Please do declare your diabetes when applying for health insurance. If you don’t, then future claims are likely to be rejected on the basis of non-disclosure.

In these mediclaim insurances, do ensure that diabetes-related conditions are not permanently excluded, but restricted only for the period of pre-existing disease exclusion. Also, when you apply for these insurances, request the insurer for pre-application medical underwriting, where you share your medical details before making a formal application. The advantage of this is that an insurer’s turn-down is not captured in the formal records. Formal rejection of an application may have to be reported when you apply to other insurers in future.

If your diabetes is severe, then consider applying for specific diabetic care products. Star Health and Apollo Munich offer such products, although this is not an exhaustive list.

‘Diabetes Safe’ by Star Health will cover both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. The Star Health plan will cost you about ₹18,000 for ₹3 lakh cover and there is a version available where you need not undergo medical tests. ‘Energy’ by Apollo Munich covers type 1 diabetes. This will cost about ₹20,000 for ₹3 lakh cover. The plan incentivises you to keep yourself fit and measure sugar levels regularly.

The writer is co-founder, www.securenow.in

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