Care health insurance Review – 12 features explained
POSTED BY ON June 14, 2015 COMMENTS (199)
Today I am going to review features of “Care“, one of the good health insurance policies in the market. It was launched few years back and it’s really one of the most comprehensive health insurance products available in the market as on date. So what I will do is, share with you, its features one by one, so that you can know what all it covers, along with few disadvantages in the policy
I digged deeper in its policy wordings and I will explain them in detail, so that anyone who is looking forward buy a health insurance policy can take the decision in a better way by reading this Care review. Here you go..
1. High Sum assured up to 60 lacs is allowed
The sum assured offered by the policy ranges from 3 lacs to 60 lacs. Gone are the days when 2-3 lacs of sum assured was sufficient. Now it’s very common to see people buying a cover of 10-20 lacs. Many people even want to go for a cover of 30-40 lacs also and there are very less options right now if someone wants to buy a high enough health cover. Care gives you an option to buy up to 60 lacs of health cover, and the best part is the high cover comes along with added benefits which we will look very soon
2. Single Private Room (no rent limit)
If you choose the sum insured of more than 5 lacs, then you are eligible for a single private room. The wordings in the policy is of “Single private room” and not some percentage of sum assured.
Most of the policies cap the room rent limit, however this policy caps the room type. Here, if the user takes a room higher than the type eligible he still is required to pay the difference of the room rent as well as all other expenses which increase due to choosing of a higher room type
I love this point especially because room rent limit is such a critical factor while calculation of your claim amount, you can read how room rent limit affects your claim process if you choose the room with higher rent
3. Cashless treatment in network Hospitals
Care has a network of around 4,100 hospitals around the country. If your hospitalization is planned after few days, in that case, you don’t have to shell out any money from your pocket. You can choose to take cashless treatment and the bills will be settled by the health insurance company directly to the hospital.
This is not a special feature in Care. It’s present in almost all the health insurance policies these days. But I thoughts it’s a good mention in this article as we are looking at all the features. Also, note that cashless treatment is an additional benefit which helps a customer. You can always choose to not have a cashless treatment and pay the bills yourself and settle the claim later by submitting the bills. In case of emergencies, you anyways can’t choose cashless treatment.
4. FREE Health Check each year
You also get free health checkup’s facility every year for all the adult policy holder’s lifetime!. There are no terms and conditions for this. Just that the facility is there only for sum assured of more than 5 lacs. Also, the number of health checkups depends on the sum assured amount. You get more detailed checks done when your sum assured is high.
I have realized that a lot of people do not spend their own money for regular health checkup’s, so in a way it’s a great feature in the policy, due to which one will form the habit of regular checkup’s and will be informed about their health issues.
Each year you just need to contact the company and express your desire for the health checkup and they will schedule it for you in one of the centers they have tie-up with and which is also near your house. You can choose the timings and place as per your convenience. You can collect your health reports after 24 hours of the checkups. It’s a really great thing offered by any company.
Below is the health checkup list for various kind of sum assured slabs as per their brochure.
5. Restore of sum insured up to 100% amount
The policy has a feature called restore. In this feature, if there is a large claim in the policy due to which the sum insured is exhausted or reduced substantially, in case of a subsequent unrelated claim, if the sum insured falls short to pay the claim, the policy reinstates/restores to cover to 100%. Let me explain that in detail.
Let me give an example
Suppose you have a 10 lacs sum assured. Now due to some heart-related issue, you were hospitalized and the expenses were Rs 4 lacs. So your remaining sum assured is 6 lacs. You can utilize the 6 lacs sum assured for any purpose.
But if some another hospitalization comes up for an unrelated claim, and the expenses are more than your remaining sum assured, then your sum assured will be restored to the full amount of 10 lacs. Even your other family members can avail for the full sum assured even for the same illness. Note that in case of family floater plan, it’s highly beneficial because even the other family members can take benefit of full sum assured for the same illness.
6. No claim bonus up to 50% of sum assured
No claim bonus is a very simple concept, where you get rewarded if you don’t have any claim in a year. In Care, your sum assured gets increased by 10% of the base sum assured if you do not claim in a year and keeps increasing upto 50%. Which means that if your sum assured is Rs 10 lacs, then if you do not have any claim in a year, then next year it will increase by 10% (10% of 10 lacs) , and your sum assured will become 11 lacs . Again if you do not have any claim in the next year, it will increase to 12 lacs and so on..
So your cover of 10 lacs can go up to 15 lacs maximum if you do not claim for 5 yrs consecutive. A lot of policies (like Oriental Happy Family Floater), they reduce the premium by some percentage as no claim bonus and many people are happy about that, because that means less money going out of their pocket. But truly speaking what you need is the increase in sum assured, not a reduced premium, because every year due to inflation and rising medical costs, you need higher sum assured.
I don’t see a big benefit in saving few thousand or hundreds in premium in the name of no claim bonus.
Super No-Claim Bonus
This policy also gives an additional benefit called Super No-claim Bonus which will cost you extra premium if you wish to take it. In this super no claim bonus facility, your no claim bonus will be 50% extra each year up to the maximum of 100% of sum assured.
What that means is that if you do not have any claims, then within 1 yr, your sum assured will increase to 1.5 times and in 2 yrs, it will double. So if you have a policy of 5 lacs sum assured, then
- Sum Assured in first year – 5 lacs
- Sum Assured in 2nd year (assuming no claim made in previous year) – 7.5 lacs
- Sum Assured in 3nd year (assuming no claim made in previous 2 years) – 10 lacs
And this super no claim bonus is over and above the no claim bonus which you anyways get in the policy. So truly speaking your sum assured can increase anywhere from 60% to 150% in some years if you take super no claim bonus option while purchasing the policy. At the time of applying for the policy itself you need to mention that.
7. Around 170 Daycare Treatments covered
The policy covers around 170 day care treatments (In-patient treatments) , which are mentioned in the policy document. A lot of times you don’t need to get hospitalized for many days or even 24 hours. Some treatments can be done in just few hours. You can get admitted in morning and get things done by the evening or just few hours.
Even these kind of in-patient treatments are covered in the policy. A common myth is that you need 24 hours of hospitalization to claim your health insurance benefits, but it’s not true. Many years back when health insurance was a new thing in India, it was probably true. But not anymore.
Below is a snapshot of the policy terms and conditions pdf and you can see some of the day care treatment names mentioned. There are total of 170 treatment names listed in the document.
Please do not confuse these day care treatments with OPD. OPD treatments are not covered in any health insurance policies
8. Second Opinion and Organ Donor Cover
If there are any expenses which are incurred on the organ donor, then even those expenses (along with hospitalization expenses) will be covered in the policy. The limit for this expense ranges from Rs 50,000 to Rs 3 lacs depending on the sum assured. A lot of times, in critical cases, if there is any organ which needs to be replaced and you get any donor, then you will not have to incur the expenses from your own pocket due to this feature. While this is an extreme care, still we should appreciate that the policy takes care of this point.
Also the policy has a feature called “Second Opinion”. In this, if any of the policy-holder is diagnosed with a critical illness, then the company will arrange a free discussion with a qualified medical practitioner for you. This is great feature, because a lot of times, you want to consult another doctor before taking a big decision like surgery, operation or any hospitalization. The policy lists down the critical illnesses for which you can take second opinion. Note that the second opinion facility is only for sum assured above Rs 5 lacs.
Below are the critical illness mentioned in the policy
- Benign Brain Tumor
- Cancer
- End Stage Lung Failure
- Heart Attack
- Open Chest Coronary Artery Bypass Graft
- Heart Valve Replacement
- Coma
- End Stage Renal Failure
- Stroke
- Major Organ Transplant
- Paralysis
- Motor Neuron Disease
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Major Burns
- End Stage Liver Disease
Each member of the policy can avail the second opinion facility for each illness every year if required.
9 – Avail Medical Treatment anywhere in world
If you have opted for sum assured of 50+ lacs, in that case, you can avail the medical facilities through the world, where-ever you wish to , but it’s limited to only 5 major illnesses. Also, the benefit is available only on reimbursement basis only. Means you first have to spend the money from your pocket and then claim it back later. So I think this will mainly be helpful for the high net worth individuals and not to the middle class. Anyways a good feature, because some people might look forward to this.
10 – Pre and post hospitalization expenses
The policy also pays for any medical expenses related to the claim before and after getting admitted to the hospital. It covers 30 days of pre-hospitalization expenses and 60 days of post-hospitalization expenses. A lot of times a big amount is spent before and after the hospitalization in medicines, checkup’s and other things. It’s very important that a policy takes care of these facts. However, note that this is a basic feature, and almost all the policies in market gives this benefit.
11 – Domiciliary Expenses Covered
The policy covers the medical expenses incurred on the home treatment. A lot of times a patient is not in the condition to the hospital, in which case the treatment can be done at home. The policy will pay upto 10% of the sum assured in this case. The condition to avail this offer is that
- The patient is no in condition to be moved to hospital
- OR, there is non-availability of the room in hospital
Note that there are many illness for which the domiciliary expenses cannot be claimed, please check that list in the brochure of the policy.
12 – Lifetime renewal and no restriction on entry age
Once you buy the Care policy, you can then renew it lifetime. This is one of the most important points one should remember while buying any health insurance policy, because you buy the policy looking at a very long-term and not just for next few years. The policy should be able to help you when you are in your late years, because that’s when you really need it badly.
Also, there is no limit on the maximum age by when you can renew it. On top of it, even the entry is not restricted due to age factor, a person can buy the policy at any age, provided they fulfill the health checkups and the restrictions by the company.
Waiting period of 4 yrs for pre-existing illness
Under this policy, any pre-existing illness will be covered only after 4 yrs of taking the policy. This is a common exclusion in almost all the policies. However if you are a senior citizen, then the coverage for that particular illness might be excluded permanently, because once you cross the age of 60, the chances of you getting hospitalized due to that particular illness is high and it does not make any business sense to cover it.
This is precisely the reason why one should take their parents cover as soon as possible, especially before they cross the age of 60 yrs. Apart from the pre-existing illness, a lot of illness have their own waiting periods from 1-4 yrs, which is a standard thing in any kind of health insurance policies. Also nothing other than accidental hospitalization is covered for the first 30 days of taking the policy. I suggest you read this article which talks about exclusions in mediclaim policies in detail.
Other Points
Below are some other important points one should be aware about
- If your sum assured is more than 5 lacs, then there is no sub-limit on the ICU charges, Doctors fees and Medical fees.
- The policy provides ambulance expenses ranging from 1,000 to 3,000 depending on the sum assured
- There is no age limit of buying a new policy. Anyone can buy the policy at any age, just the minimum age requirement is 91 days for family floater and 5 yrs for an individual policy.
- Maximum 6 people can be covered in a single family floater plan
- The policy like every other policies in market does not offer any dental care treatments
- This plan does not cover maternity expenses, but that’s ok. Don’t over focus on this point, as it’s something you can take after yourself
- You get 7.5% discount if you renew/buy the policy for 2 years and 10% discount of payment of 3 yrs in one-shot.
Disadvantage of Care Policy
Let me mention some the problem and disadvantages of the policy.
1. Average policy, if sum assured is less than 5 lacs
A lot of features are applicable in the policy only when the sum assured is more than 5 lacs, if you want to take a lower cover like 3 lacs or 4 lacs, in that case, Care is an average policy and not the best.
2. Room type capping
You already know that the policy caps the Room type instead of room rent. This was a good advantage also, but at the same time, this can be a disadvantage also. In this case, suppose the room type which your policy allows is unavailable, then you will have to go for some other type of room and in that case you might have to suffer the reduced claim amount. You are tied-up with a particular room type only.
Suppose there is some other policy, which caps the room rent limit at 1% of sum assured and imagine that your sum assured is 10 lacs, then you are eligible for any room with rent of up to 10,000 per day. In that case, you can choose either a single room without AC, with AC or a premium room. It’s totally your wish as far as the room rent is below 10,000. But in case of Care, if suppose you are eligible for a single private room whose rent is 6,000, and the next category of room costs Rs 9,000, then you can’t go for the Rs 9,000 room . You can surely take it, but then your claim amount will get affected. So make sure you think on this point properly before you buy the policy.
It’s totally your wish as far as the room rent is below 10,000. But in case of Care, if suppose you are eligible for a single private room whose rent is 6,000, and the next category of room costs Rs 9,000, then you can’t go for the Rs 9,000 room . You can surely take it, but then your claim amount will get affected. So make sure you think on this point properly before you buy the policy.
I suggest that you also compare Care policy with some other policies like Max bupa plans or Apollo Munich Optima Restore and then take a final decision.
3. Co-payment of 20%, if policy taken after 60 yrs of age
If at the time of entering the policy, the age of the policyholder is more than 60 yrs, then a 20% co-payment will apply. Which means that the policy holder will have to bear the 20% bill amount and only 80% will be paid by the company. But if you enter the policy before 60 yrs, its not the case.
Hence the policy becomes unattractive to senior citizens who are looking for health insurance. In comparision a policy from L&T insurance is better where 10% co-payment applies after the age of 80 yrs. The policy from Max Bupa called Heartbeat, does not even have the concept of co-payment. So the policy from Care scores low on this point.
Premium Chart for Care
Below I have listed down the premium amount 5 lacs sum assured, for various age range with two cases of a single person insurance, and another one is a family floater policy with 2 adults and 1 kid. You can check how the premiums will rise over the years when the policyholder will move to various age slabs. Note that now there is no claim based loading in the premium. Now as per new guidelines of IRDA, a policy premium increases when the policyholder moves in a different age range.
An important point to note in the premium chart about is how the premium is very less in the initial years, when you are below 60 yrs and how it increases when you become a senior citizen :), which is quite natural and explanatory. Also you should not be shocked to see these high premium values in today’s time, because these are all future values, and even though today these premium values might look big to you, but when you turn 60 or 70 yrs, at that time these premium values will look very normal to you.
Snapshot of the Care benefits
Do you want to buy the Care policy?
If you want to buy the policy or want to enquire about it, then just fill up the form below and you will get a dedicated phone call to help you choose the policy and explain you.
I hope you have got a fair idea about the policy. Note that this Care health insurance review is mainly for educating you on various features of the policy. Please check other policies details and make sure you choose the policy which suits your requirements.
Let us know what are the points you liked best about Care and which point you didn’t like ?
EDIT : This is not a paid review. We have started d0ing review’s of various policies and we will do review other products as well. This is just a point by point explanation of each important point in the policy. Also, we have added the disadvantages of the policies, not just positive’s. Care is definitely not the best in market in all respect, but a very good policy considering most of the profiles. Please see the article more as an attempt to help a person understand what all policy provide’s its customer.
Dear Manish
Quite Good Article.two drawbacks noticed in CARE policy 1. Room type capping- single private room for policies upto Rs 10 lakhs /single private room up gradable to next level for above Rs 10 lakhs policie. This is applicable at the time of admission if single private room is not available & hospital should give this in writing and the Religare should accept the proposal.2. Organ donor cover for specified value Rs 50000/- to Rs 300000/-/ AYUSH treatment(Religare recently upgraded CARE as CARE V2 & Ayush treatment included upto Rs 30000/- based on coverage)- These are for limited amount only. In Max Bupa Health Companion no Capping on Room Rent/ AYUSH ,etc. Premium also lesser than CARE
With Regards
Satheesh Rao
Thanks for sharing that SatheeshRao
Yes I also agree….Being an old customer now I think that Care Health Insurance is now not bothering about their old customers, and may be focusing on new ones.
As a service person we purchase the medical policies thinking that it will be financially beneficial at medical emergency/Accident.
But now I believe that I was wrong as these people make me wrong.
Being a genuine claim of Road Accident and even after submitting all document/reports, proofs now Care Health Insurance is denying to give claim settlement.
Sorry to say but, you have opened my eyes and now I will never recommend any one for Care insurance.
Secondly I will share my case with higher authority so that everyone should be aware of Care Health Insurance reality.
What is the reason for claim decline? they must have given some rational for it ? Is it as per terms and conditions ?
Hey Manish, Thanks for this great information it helped a lot. I am definatly buying this health coverage plan for my family. Also can you sugggest some gud plan for my fater who is 60+ of age. Thanks
Hi Manish
Thanks for asking your health insurance question. We will get on call with you and help you resolve your query. Please fill up your details at
http://jagoinvestor.dev.diginnovators.site/solutions/buy-health-insurance-policy
We will call you back
Manish
Hi Manish sir,
Please suggest which is better healtcare plan, Religare Care or HDFClife Assure Plan.
Also is best Critical illness plan for 40yrs person.
Thanks
Naren
I would recommend Religare Health . Its a great policy for most of the people . However there are many things which should be discussed before finalizing one. Do you mind sharing your details with us so that we can connect you to our health insurance partner for a call back and assistance – http://jagoinvestor.dev.diginnovators.site/solutions/buy-health-insurance-policy
hi,
thanx for a good article, and my query is about a health that i want to buy for my mother her age is 48 yrs and last yr she was hospitalize due to B.P issue and a disease name septicemia so please suggest which policy would be better to cover the pre disease as sum assured is for 4 to 5 lakhs..
Hi Palwinder
We got your details over email. Your issue will be resolved. Let our experts connect with you
Is it true ?
I went through the ‘Policy Wordings’ of Religare Care and it is noted there that Single Private Room means ‘Room shall be the most basic and the most economical of all accommodations available as a single room in that Hospital. But in this respect when I asked one representative of Religare, then he explained that if in a hospital the cost of most economical room is Rs 5,000/- and cost of next tier room is 7,000/- then at the time of admission if the room cost Rs. 5,000/- is not available then the room which cost is Rs. 7,000/- then that room will be treated as most economical and then claim amount will not get affected
Yes, looks correct
Not exactly, this option is available if you are insured for 15 lakhs and above if you are insured for lower amount you get single private room and may be you have to share the charges if you opt for room with higher cost
Dear Manish,
What is the claim ratio for the Religare health insurance?
I want to know which is the best company for claim ratio.
You can get it from IRDA website
Hi Manish,
Thanks for the article, It was cleaner & simpler to understand.
However i am bit confused with Religare CARE (Health Insurance) & Religare ASSURE (Critical Illness Benefit) products. As per your article, Religare CARE covers appx 15 critical illness, however i found similar set of critical illness being covered in Religare ASSURE. Why these two products are in place altogether. Please educate me to understand their difference.
Hi Deepak
CARE takes care of hospitalization in those cases, ASSURE gives you a lumpsum money !
I must say what a wonderful and clear post on religare care review you have here. I’m very sure that this would help so any people like me to choose a better insurance.
Thanks 🙂
hello,
I need suggestion on what policy should I take for my father (DOB 22/10/1956) who has already undergone ByPass surgery in 2008. I am looking for 4-5 lacs health policy. As of now he is covered under Parental Policy offered by Employer’s Insurance Company but it is only till I dont resigned so I am looking for some other better Insurance Policy
Thanks
Hi Amanjeet
Thanks for sharing your health insurance requirement. I think the best think you can do is leave your details at https://www.coverfox.com/jagoinvestor . And you will get a expert assistance on selecting and buying the right policy for you.
You can then take the decision.
Manish
Congrats Manish !!! First of all thank you and team making a positive difference to many lives of common fellas like us. Really I am benefitted by knowing that this policy also can be purchased by a NRI as well. Let me be little specific I want a cover of 15 to 20L for my wife (She stays with me in Sharjah and 49+ yrs of age having High BP & Cholesterol for which she takes medicine regularly) Medical Insurance. Please advise how to go about it. Can it be done from Sharjah or she has to go to Bhubaneswar(Odisha) where we usually stay in India?
Hi Pulin
I think if age is above 45, medicals will be required . But lets do one thing . I think a detailed discussion is surely required. Hence I suggest you head over to http://coverfox.com/jagoinvestor and fill up the form there. You will then be taken care by coverfox in nice way with good service .
Manish
Hi Manish !
Thank you very much for a quick and sage advice. I will be in touch with the cover fox & if need be arise I will do the medicals in my home city. Once again the very best wishes for your good work of knowledge dissemination.
Regards,
Pulin.
Great
Hi,
Very good review, thanks for it, a question I had was around adding people to the plan in future. I am looking for a policy for me and my wife and we plan to have children after a year, I wanted to know if the plan will premiums etc will change if I want cover to be provided for my future children.
I also see that maternity benefits are not covered by this plan, can you confirm this?
Thanks
You can add your kid in plan later, but premium will surely add up , but not by a big amount
Also, maternity is not covered in this plan. However its not a major factor to consider
Manish,
This is good policy as per market standards. Thanks for the post.
As per the IRDA ratings and reviwe, Religare CARE health insurance policy has the highest claim settlement ration. I have pulled out the following details from IRDA (as per latest AR 2013- 2014, Page: 26-27)) for information. This is a good decision making tool rather that going with the marketing gimmick of the insurance companies.
Company Claim Settlement
———————————————————-
Max Bupa Health Insurance 59.07%
Star Health and Allied Insurance 66.06%
Star Health and Allied Insurance 67.21%
Religare Health Insurance 79.92% (highest)
Apollo Munich Health Insurance 65.59%
Cigna TTK Health Insurance Data not available (new kid on the block)
Thanks for your comment Atanu
Hi Manish
I wanted to know whether any health insurers cover treatment of hepatitis B or is it an exclusion like HIV ?
You will have to check about it in insurer policy document. I am not sure on this
Hi Manish,
I am planning to go with a policy of Religare Care for myself 39yrs, wife 32yrs and kid 4 yrs for 25 lakhs as it will benefit for my tax planning as well for Rs.25000/- premium.
Apart from that I am also planning to take a single/individual premium on my wife’s name for Rs.10 or 15 lakhs. Please suggest whether its advisable to go with another company. If Yes, which one will you suggest.
Regards
Sanjay
You can look at Max Bupa or L&T as option
Thanks Manish will go a head with your advice.
Hi Sanjay
I think the best think you can do is leave your details at https://www.coverfox.com/jagoinvestor . And you will get a expert assistance on selecting and buying the right policy for you.
You can then take the decision.
Manish
I happen to reach Cover Fox 2 to 3 weeks back and raised a query but till date there is no follow up / communication from them.
Medimanage is better on the service aspect.
I have already shared about you complaint with coverfox, they told me that they tried to contact you 4 times , but you were not reachable. They will get back to you and please talk to them
I was away for couple of days and I’m back.
Thanks Manish !
Indeed one of the transparent and best articles. I am still awaiting for the comprehensive comparison of the health policies as mentioned above in the comments.
Myself (age 30) and my wife(29) are having 1 lakh health insurance provided by our employers. But I want to take health insurance for my parents (dad-63, mom-52) as well along with us. So, I am thinking of family floater in two pairs; first for me and my wife and other one for mom and dad together. Is that appropriate thinking? Also, we don’t have baby till now, but in future will a baby can be added in the family floater? Is that normally considered in such policies? I am thinking of going for Religare only. Please suggest!
Hi Spicerjet
Yes, religare is a good policy in your case. Still you do some discussion with Coverfox team on this .
I think the best think you can do is leave your details at https://www.coverfox.com/jagoinvestor . And you will get a expert assistance on selecting and buying the right policy for you.
You can then take the decision.
Manish
I would like to know if i can opt for a health cover form India for my entire family. I am planning to move to Japan from September for a year or two. Can we get international cover. Please suggest.
Yes you can take it, just make sure you inform them about it. However understand that to claim you will have to come back to India
Hi,
I have been looking for a health insurance that covers hospitalisation due to natural disasters and terrorist acts. I seem to be at a loss. Icici does cover but the product mix is not great. Any inputs will be helpful.
Regards
Jayashree
Thanks for your comment Jayashree
Hi Manish….very useful article.
I had 2 doubts. Please be kind to clear them for me.
1. On the religare website, they have mentioned something caked Tenure. What sites it mean, wrt health insurance ?
2. What does critical illness cover mean ? If a particular policy doesn’t have critical illness cover, then does it mean that care in the ICU may not be fully covered ? Because critical illnesses are generally managed in the ICU
THANKS IN ADVANCE !
1. Can you share where exactly its mentioned ?
2. Critical illness policy is totally different thing and in that you get a lumpsum amount if you are diagonised with a critical illness. In regular health insurance you will be covered for that and ICU care will be paid for.
Manish
It’s mentioned on the religare health insurance website. On the right side of the page, where they provide a quote…. I’ll send you a screen shot
Please give me exact location. I am not seeing it
I’ve sent you a screenshot on FB messenger
I still cant see anything like “caked tenure” in screenshot . Note that you have written “caked” in your initial comment . What is your main query regarding that ?
I’m sorry ! ‘ called’ , not caked. My mistake
there’s something called Tenure on the website
Hello Manish,
I have a doubt. Since room limit is capped at “most economical single private room” , so if I chose a room above this cap, will all other expenses require co-payment from us at the same ratio?
Yes
Hi Manish
I have this policy from the last 3 years , and i always had a doubt on the single private room capping . I asked this question to them like this . If a person holding religare policy with 4 lac SA, his room limit would be 4000 rs, and may be eligible for a single AC room , where as if there is another single room without AC and cheaper than 4000, then the person having 5,7 or 10lac SA will end up being in lower quality room.
To this they said that Single private room with AC would be the minimum room quality they will reimburse. Not sure how far its true , but generally these days all good hospitals have AC rooms, and hence i decided to go with this plan looking at the other good features of this policy
Let me know your views
As far as I know, if the lowest single room is without AC, you will be given that one only ! .. But as you said, a good hospital will always have AC with single room . So its safe overall to go with this.
Manish
Hi Manish,
I have a Health Insurance cover from my employer of 3L coverage this covers myself, spouse, parents.
Also my brother having a health insurance cover from his employer of 2.5L which also covers parents.
Would like to know whether we require any other coverages for parents.
Or if require whether we can combine this two while claiming?
Or do I need to purchase top-up/super topup for us and parents?
Thanks in advance.
Yes, you should be getting it for your parents, because it might get removed very soon !
You can surely combine both policies, but anyways take a good policy for them
One more plus point of Religare..Religare covers NRI as well where as apollo doesnt do that.
Thanks for adding that point !
Hello sir,
I am just a fresher aged 21. What is the best time for me to take health insurance and how much should i assure? Should i take a family floater even if my parents have their own health policies?
Hi Chirag
I suggest you take it right away. Earlier is better. Go for Religare Health Insurance, as its a good one for youngsters.
I think the best think you can do is leave your details at https://www.coverfox.com/jagoinvestor . And you will get a expert assistance on selecting and buying the right policy for you.
You can then take the decision.
Manish
Thanks for a good review! Would you recommend Coverfox as a broker? Can you recommend more such brokers?
Hi Arun
There are very less brokers who are into retail. Two suggestions I can give are
Coverfox.com and Medimanage.com
I have some feedback about Coverfox. I had some pre-existing diseases, Coverfox told me that I would not get mediclaim from any popular private companies. They discouraged me strongly and said that in their experience all such proposals were denied in the past. I approached the particular company via a different channel and got my proposal accepted. Coverfox was not accurate in their assessment and were hard selling some other options. Such misjudgment is not expected of a company that advertises itself as a specialist in this field.
Hello Arun,
Thanks for your feedback.
As a policy, all our advisers recommend health insurance plans that have the maximum chances of going through, specially in cases where there are multiple lifestyle diseases declared. This is because we have observed that more often than not customers feel dejected in case of a declined proposal and then completely drop the idea to insure themselves.
In your case, we did check with this particular insurance company in question before advising you against applying – The insurance company did mention to us that the *chances* of rejection are very high. We hence recommended another government insurance product. When you applied directly you were lucky to go through and get the coverage – That’s all.
We have no reason whatsoever to discourage you or any customer from buying any product or insurance company and “hard selling” another – as we earn EXACTLY the same brokerage from each insurance company.
Anyways whatever be the case, we are happy you are now covered through a Health Insurance policy. Ensure you renew this policy and continue it for lifetime. Do let us know in case you need any service with this policy or any other insurance policy in the future we would be more than happy to help.
Regards.
Mahavir Chopra
Hi Manish,
I need your guidance in a different aspect of insurance. I hold a Future Generali Accident Insurance since last 2 years (no claims so far) & due date of next premium is on 28th July. Recently I saw news that Irda has imposed Rs. 50 lakh penalty on Future Generali for violating various norms http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/banking/irdai-imposes-rs-50-lakh-penalty-on-future-generali/article7306070.ece
In view of the same, I am bit confused whether to discontinue policy & opt for new insurer or continue with it? Please provide your comments on it.
It would be immensely helpful to lot of people if you to post a generic article on this aspect for all insurance providers in scenarios of IRDA or other entities imposing fines or some bad news in general.
Hi Manish,
Awaiting your valued comments. Please guide whether to change insurer or continue with them in such scenarios. It would be helpful to lot of insurance customers.
This needs to be considered very seriously when people have to decide for health or term life insurance reneval as the premium will rise after switching to new insurer. The factors needed to consider are to forgo noclaim bonuses & waiting time for pre-existing diseases for health insurance and face increase in premium for term insurance if they decide to opt for new insurer.
I dont think there is any issue with that penalty. Those kind of penalty has come on LIC and ICICI also , that does not mean much .
Continue !
Manish
Hello Manish,
I saw an ADD from Religare that, for Term insurance they will return the Preminum amount which we paid. I have HDFC term insurace in which they dont return the Premium amount. Should i go ahead close HDFC and buy Religare? Please Advice.
Its a different plan with higher Premium . So compare both products and then buy it .
Does it cover critical illness ? Guess their ‘Assure’ policy does cover critical illness but not Religare Care
No they do not !
Does this policy cover critical illness? I don’t think so, otherwise this is a great policy for the premium bracket. Thanks.
No it does not have critical illness cover !
Dear Manish,
Jagoinvestor is highly respected site. I suggest to avoid further misconception please do similar analysis of Apollo Munich Restore and another policy.
I feel you owe it your well wishers like us!
Regards
Hi Skimmer
Definitely, its coming up soon !
Nice review.. but most of the benefits mentioned here are also covered in max bupa health companion and apollo munich optima restore with nearly same premium. Some minor changes there. All three companies are giving good services too. So better u compare all these three or same type of other policy. Thank you.
Jignesh
We will review other policies as well and then add the comparison chart of all in the review articles
Manish
Hi Manish,
Fantastic review. even though it may seem paid, it makes no difference as this product really is “amongst the best” if not “the best”. And to all the readers who feel it is paid review and hence wrong, instead of commenting on whether it is right or wrong why dont you yourselves analyse any other products and tell us where Manish is wrong and also enlighten us about the better features in any other product?
Also Manish, you forgot to add that ‘single private room” is the most economical AC private room available in the hospital. that is also an advantage because say I have a policy of 10 lacs and if it were 1% room rent capping, I will easily get best AC room in any hospital as of today. but what after say 30 years? with Religare I am rest assured that if not a “big” AC room I am entitled to atleast a “small” but surely “AC” room.
Dislcaimer: I am not paid by Religare.
Thanks for sharing that 🙂
Hello sevan,
I cannot find AC room mentioned in the policy wordings. According to what I can read in their policy, “Single private room means a hospital room where a single patient is accomodated and which has an attached toilet(lavatory and bath). The room should have the provision for accomodating an attendent. Such room shall be the most basic and the most economical of all accomodations available as a single room in the hospital.”
“Most basic and economical Room with AC only available in hospital wherein single patient can be accommodated with attached toilet and provision for attendant to stay as per policy T&C.
If in hospital there are multiple rooms with AC then eligibility of customer will be most basic and economical room(with attached toilet and provision for attendant to stay ) out of those as per policy T&C.”
this is the exact lines as per the mail that the customer service of religare have sent me.
If you are still in doubt, you can mail them asking the clarification and you will get a reply with the exact words..
Hello sevan,
I talked to them over the phone and they confirmed that if the hospital offers a non-AC single private room with an attached bathroom then it will be the room given to us and any further upgrade will cost us extra money.
@ Rachit:
got confused with your reply. so called the customer care and got the exact reply that you got. then I told him about the clarification mail that i had received from their back end team 1 year back regarding the same and he told he will ask his manager to contact me. the manager did call me back and explained that it is indeed a single private “AC” room and if needed they are ready to send the modified wordings to respective mails if I drop in a query mail to their team.
you can get the modified wordings mail too by contacting them.
Thanks.
Manish
How about the stability of this company, as compared to public sector insurance companies, which I consider to be the highest…(correct me if I am wrong)?
Also the premiums you mentioned as one get older are as on today…..So do they also increase once we get to that age … Please clarify…
Thanks
Chandra
Yes Chandra
It will increase even for existing customers (unlike life) , but thats true for health insurance in general , not just this policy . Regarding stability, I think on that aspect, surely PSU would be more stronger anytime !
Hi Manish,
Thanks for your wonderful service.
I would like to see the similar reviews for Critical Illness Policies also.
Regards,
Bala
Which companies you want ?
Hi Manish,
I wanted to know the best Critical Illness Plan. Kindly do the needful.
Regards,
Bala
Hi Bala, as of now I have not reviewed them .
Hi Manish,
Very good article. Medical insurance plan looks good but what about services provided by Religare i.e. any survey or any instances where customers mentioned their experience about services offered by Religare. It happens many times that plan looks good but services are horrible.
Thanks and Regards
Kranti
Yes you are correct . There is no public data available for any company, not just religare . So I am not sure from where we can take that data . Based on my interactions with Coverfox and Medimanage , they have shared that when they interact with companies, they have found Religare and many other companies sensitive enough compared to other PSU companies.
Manish,
In my opinion, your articles became popular and your blog came to fame for three reasons
1) Very good content quality, covering many topics which even popular sites did not cover.
2) Unbiased content. (It was unbiased and it appeared unbiased).
3) Your paid services like Financial Planning were transparent and had no conflict of interest.
In fact, many like me went for your paid services because of your reputation and the credibility earned through your blog content.
I don’t know whether this article is biased or not. But, things like a link to buy a policy through Cover Fox looks like you get affiliate income. I am not here to say, if it is right or wrong. 🙂
It is right .
But thats an association . We send interested buyers to coverfox and they take it forward.
But surely we are not paid for writing an article and we do not write anything wrong about the policy . We write what is the fact and if some one feels that they want extra hand holding and a broker support, then they can take coverfox help , else one can buy it from a local agent or directly by company
I hope I have made myself clear 🙂
Manish
Hi Ram,
Why dont you just try and compare religare health plan with Royal Sundaram Life Line which I thought is much superior!!! Your view pls…
thats right.
Royal Sundaram has all the benefits mentioned above for Religare “care” plus no room rent capping..
thats just fantastic.
but only negative point is they dont have a “pure” online issuance of policy. we have to give our details and the customer care gives a call back. its they who fill the proposal form and will mail the policy once payment is made through cheque.
Hi
I will check out that policy and review it soon
Nice article Manish.
Im at a opinion it s a good product presentation , If its paid Adv also not a issue, As a professional ur giving
detailed analysis,
its the customer choice to see and buy.
earlier also u have covered various products .
People want everything should be free, I would like to ask them what’s there contribution to society. Can they ever match your efforts.
Keep doing the great work 🙂
Thanks
Hi Manish
I used your recommendation and bought a policy from Coverfox. The policy was rejected and no refund has been done even after repeated emails and phone calls.
Their service is utterly TERRIBLE
I am sorry Manish, I have a lot of respect for your articles and opinions but from now I will take your advice with a pinch of salt…
I have just emailed Mahavir Chopra of Coverfox on this issue . He will get back to you by today .
Manish
Hi.
Apologies for the bad experience.
Can you provide your coverfox order number please. Will look into this immediately and resolve in 3 hours.
Regards
Mahavir
Hi
As per our records the refund has already been processed on 2nd June 2015. In all probability this is stuck at your bank.
We are sharing the settlement details on your email address which you need to take up with your bank.
Please do not hesitate to write us back in case you need any assistance.
Regards
Mahavir
Hello
You have only shared with me a 20 digit number which couldn’t be used for any purpose.
Anyway, I verified with my bank and they asked me for to provide the following details:
Exact refund amount
Exact refund date
Refund reference number
Exact transaction date and amount
Since you said that “As per our records the refund has already been processed on 2nd June 2015” , am sure you can provide me with the full details.
Apologies for contacting you on a public forum : no one seems to reply to my emails/call me back on time.
Like you, am looking for a speedy resolution to getting my refund back.
Thank you!
Hello
Can you please forward me your last email (that did not get a response) on soman.soni@coverfox.com with a copy to mahavir@coverfox.com
Thanks.
Hi Manish,
Thanks for the informative article.
In your experience, how often and by how much do charged get revised upwards over time.
By the time one reaches the highest age bracket, is it likely that the premium also would have risen many times over?
Thanks,
geeta
Geeta
Thats exactly what the premium chart shows above . It will increase as per the age bracket change . It will be high in the 60’s , till then it would be slow change .
I’ve had this health insurance for about 2-yrs now. Made use of the free annual check-up once. Worked very fine indeed. I think this 3-yr payment option is probably a newer feature? Didn’t exist when I subscribed the policy.
May be you should put a strongly worded disclaimers (& disclosure) for such articles distancing yourself from any financial/commercial interests?
VS
Thanks for sharing that .
Manish you are doing a fabulous job we all trust you please keep this noble cause going.
Thanks for your comment
Hi,
Thanks for this detailed analysis of this product.
But Apollo Munich and ICICI LOMBARD has the same product and features as well. Have you done any analysis on Apollo Munich OR ICICI LOMBARD. Would love to hear your take on this .
Regards
Not yet , but I will do that in coming times .
Manish
Very Informative article Manish, thank you. If same information is provided by our friend then we would have thanked him 10 times but if any professional is providing for the sake of readers benefit then readers should not feel like promoting product by professional.
Thanks for your comment
Nice article Manish.
You have already shared the disadvantages so definately its not paid by Religare. As you have clearly mentioned about association with coverfox so definitely you are earning some commession or referal amount but I Don’t see anything wrong in that.
People want everything should be free, I would like to ask them what’s there contribution to society. Can they ever match your efforts.
Keep doing the great work 🙂
Thanks Sanjay !
Hi Manish,
A very good, impartial and detailed review. Loved reading it.
Just wondering if this policy can be compared with Apollo Munich Optima Restore since it offers similar features?
Yes Prasad
I will also review Optima Restore soon and you could see the comparision chart !
Hi Manish,
Nice article about the detail benefits of Religare-Care plan.It helped me to study the product more in detail.
@Prasad, though Apollo munich offers a similar kind of product named Optima Restore, the restore or the re load part does not work in the same manner.
It has a condition that the entire Basic S.I +Bonus needs to be exhausted then only company will restore the S.I and that amount can be claimed from future claim onwards .
Say I have a S.I of 5lac and I claim for 4lac for xyz treatment, now again I am hospitalised for some other ailment and my claim is say 3lac, company will pay me only 1lac which is balance left in Basic S.I. The balance 2 lac I need to pay from my own pocket. Once this claim is settled now company will restore 5 lac and this restore amount I can utilise for future claims only.In short you cannot club your balance basic S.I +restore anytime for a given claim.
I find Royal Sundaram’s Lifeline as one of the best plan available in market now because I have purchased it recently after a through study and comparison from other company.
It offers good features and plus point as compared to Religare Care is that it has no room rent capping even for S.I starting 2lac onwards. Also the health check up offered is irrespective of claim and NCB does not reduce during claims.
Manish kindly give your views on that same.
Hi Pragati Chauhan
I will be reviewing those policies very soon . Just give me some time !
Lifetime renewability is now mandated by IRDA, no big deal. Other than that, yes, the article title in the newsletter that was delivered to my inbox, itself sounded like it was a paid article but now its clear those doubts are unfounded.
Thanks Vijay !
Finest article in my opinion. I am a newbie in the finance field and even find it hard on how to judge a product. Such reviews made me aware atleast on what to look for in a policy. Now I’m more informed and can make better decision with the help of points. An article is put with broad audience in mind therefore I see no point in why people complaining.
I highly appreciate this initiative of Jagoinvestor and also looking forward to more these kind of articles.
Thanks.
Thanks Anil
Inspite of your protestations it seems that there is a Quid Pro Quo over here. Can you confirm that evven if someone buys a policy by going thru this blog & clicking on the links you do not get paid? Who is the ‘we’ here?
Reviews should be authentic & unbiased. You need to improve your style of unbiasedness to not only be unbiased but also appear to be unbiased.
Please do not copy paste like a parrot same old staid reply ….
We do not get paid …. Show you care for your readers by giving individual replies & not like people at a call center who copy paste one answer for all queries.
Wish you Good luck.
Hi Krishna
Thanks for your views about us and our intent in writing this article. It shows that you have very deeply observed things in the article. I would like to know if you think if the article has any value in it and will help anyone who wants to understand what this policy is all about?
Also , we would be talking about other policies as well , and we will be stating the facts as it is , we have never twisted things and will not do .
Manish
Hiiii to everyone
It’s very shameless and annoying when some people commenting and blaming that this is a paid article.
If the so called scholars treat them so much intellectual why don’t they themselves critically examine the positivity and negativity of the plan and take their personal decision why they are blaming a guy who is doing such noble cause to educate a common man regarding all the financial tools. I was silently observing the idiotic comments of some stupid guys and only wanted to convey them please don’t demotivate others if you yourself are negative. I m the biggest fan of this blog just for it’s ideology and reach to masses for financial literacy.
Manish you are doing a fabulous job we all trust you please keep this noble cause going.
Thanks Rupesh !
manish
good review,i am glad ur doin it for this product,i hav this policy and also hav apollo munich optima restore, i hope it helps people understand.
heena
THanks
Given the barrage of negative comments, just wanted to say that [1] I’ve learned and gotten lot more info from you in past, so carry on undeterred [2] plus you reply to comments in person which is rare and helpful [3] you writer clearly and don’t look down at your readers as stupid is also refreshing [4] other people who claim not be biased are also except that people don’t show them mirror or they are afraid to see so [5] as you say reader should always trust no one but himself so even if it is paid, as long as it is factual and true, it’s not bad.
I totally agree with the point made above.
Everyone wants everything for free and that too good quality ,unbiased , simple English ,no strings attached advice and yes served on a platter. A little deviation and people want to drag you down and weigh you against a morale scale. I am sure Manish does not live on fresh air and water . Even if he is biased or this article is paid (WHICH IT IS NOT) . Readers are requested to use there own head.
Thanks Joel !
Thanks Ashish
Hi Manish ,
I read through the blog comments and I feel the recommendation to go with a particular brand for health insurance is not well received by the readers.
I have been a old member of Jago Investor now, and from time to time you have been informing and motivating readers to enable the personal finance planning. In December 2014, you initiated Action week and helped lot of readers ACT for their pending life insurance and health insurance needs. I did my independent research and found Religare to be the best health insurance product and purchased it, as you are now showing the benefits of this policy in your article. I also went for Life Insurance policy based on your recommendations.
I found the article truthful and in the interest of common man to save his time and effort to choose the best health policy available in the market.
You have also marked clearly the intent and disclaimer to the article while its review.
I would welcome such reviews provided they are unbiased and unpaid and a clear disclaimer put ahead of the article.
Such efforts will definitely help save time, energy, money for the needy people who would like to receive trusted advice and I believe Jago Investor is the right forum to review best products in the market that are available today.
Keep up the good work and hope to receive many more features in your upcoming articles.
thank you
Kapil Gupta
Thanks Kapil
Dear Manish, A good review, and impartial, I would say. But I have few queries. Premium for higher age bracket (60+) is really high, for which you said that the premium amount is with a future value. Can you tell us what will be the future amount of the insured amount i.e. Rs 5.00 lakhs? It will also be pea-nut after, say,15-20 years. Also, what is the loading for Pre-existing Disease? The chart you provided is for people without having illness, you said. Thanks.
The rates provided are applicable even in future . Means if a person turns 70 , he will still be paying what is shown in the chart . But having a policy would surely help in future
Loading for pre-existing illness is not a standard number, its a very complicated calculation and can only be shared on case of case basis .
manish
Hi Manish,
I am following you since long, and this time you have started describing finance products in particular, this is nice to have unbiased report but it would even be better if some comparison would be added with the other best options available in the Market.
I do believe in Jago Investors team and not agreed to the adverse comments.
Keep continue the good work !
Hi Rajesh
I want to do seperate reviews of differnet policies and once I do it for 3-4 policies, i will put a comparision chart. You would agree that if I put comparision chart, in a way its a review of other policy also . A chart generally compares two or more products at high level . There can be many small things which does not get captured into a chart ! .
So just wait for some more months . I will put that as well
It’s really a good article.
Can we have another article which details the various factors required for a Health Insurance by comparing all the major health Insurances giving the advantages will be really helpful to the readers to decide the health insurance to go with.
Hi Narasimha
Here is that checklist – http://jagoinvestor.dev.diginnovators.site/2015/02/buy-health-insurance-in-india.html
Nice Information. Thanks Manish.
Hi,
suppose i take coverage for 3 years in a go, can i claim 80D tax rebate for 3 years showing it’s bill ?
I am not clear on this . I guess you can take the full amount benefit only in the first yrs . But I will have to check it !
Its still not clear ! . I will find that out !
Hello Mohit/Manish,
one can take the benefit of mediclaim premium only for the financial year in which the premium (even though premium has been paid for 3 years) certificate has been issued .
So always do cost benefit analysis (getting discount on 3 year premium V/S getting tax benefit separately for all the 3 years by paying premium separately).
After doing this analysis you will find that in most of the cases paying indvidual premium separately for all the 3 years scores over the other one.
Thanks for sharing that Dinesh .
Welcome Manish
I initially thought it to be a paid article but at the end i understand it is not.
Good article. It ll save lot of time in research for those who want to buy health insurance.
Thanks Gaurav
Hi Manish,
Nice Article…Thanks for sharing the product review.
I have the following questions :
I am already having Apollo optima restore of 3 lakhs sum insured, as i din’t have any claim from last year, it suppose to become 6 lakhs by now. now I am planning to increase my sum insured my age is 37 and my wife at 32 with one kid of 5 years.
My first question : 1) Do you recommend TOP up plans for the same insurance company in my caseApollo super top up. or Its good to for another company to avoid conflict of interest and avoid billing issues both being from same company.
2nd question : L & t MedisureSuper_Top up seems like to cheaper Top up policy , do you recommond this for me as as top up or Apollo Super Top up or do you recommend any other top up policy.
Please advice.
Thanks,
Shravan
1. It does not matter actually form what I understand . Because the top up policy is triggered only beyond a certain sum assured. I am not 100% sure if there is any advantage by taking same company policy. I will have to check this with a bigger expert 🙂
2. At this moment, I have just an understanding of top up and super top up as concept , The recommendation cant be done at the moment , as I have not studied them , If you want to take it up asap . I suggest connecting with Coverfox on this . You can go to https://www.coverfox.com/jagoinvestor/ and fill up your details and they will get back to you
Hi Manish,
Thank you for the review. I have the same policy and its heartening to see you like it and give your stamp of approval. Just to add, for larger sum insured, the single private room is upgradeable to next level. What made me buy this policy was the recharge option which I found very attractive for a floater. The apollo munich one (optima restore) is loaded with false promise.. the restore option may not work as intended! With religare care, the recharge option is “what you see is what you get”. Perhaps, the only thing going against religare is that its a new company for health insurance, and we don’t have enough data about claim settlement ratio. This is a risk that i was willing to take (as I am still young :-))
Hi Arun
I am not 100% clear of the recharge facility in Appolo Munich as of now . I will study it when I do its review. Also claim settlement is something which need education . I will write a separate article about it soon !
Hello Arun,
Yes you are right.
RESTORE benefit in apollo is little bit tricky. The sum assured gets restored only when your existing sum assured becomes zero.
For example: if you have a 5 lacs of sum insured and you claim something for 4.9 lacs during the year, so now there is a balanced of Rs. 10,000 only for the remaining year and in the same year another claim comes for let’s say 2 lacs then apollo will pay you Rs. 10,000 only and the balance 1.9 lacs from your pocket. This is bcz as per apollo for restore to happens your initial sum insured has to become zero which was not the case.
But in case of religare “You get what you see” that is as soon as you claimed for Rs. 4.9 lacs then immeditaely sum insured became again 5 lacs for the remaining part of the year.
But one point of caution, the recharged/restored sum insured cannot be used for the same person if the treatment is for the same disease for which claim was made for Rs. 4.9 lacs
Manish, will you get a commission from this post. I think you should put a disclaimer at that start of the article if you are getting any commissions or not from Religare.
Hi Sam
Thanks for sharing your view. I wanted to write a point by point explanation of the policy. If you notice I have added 3 disadvantages of the policy also (1 disadvantages added out of another co-payment related comment by some other reader). I guess I gave an impression that it was a critical review, but no, the article is more of a detailed feature explanation.
We are not paid by Religare for anything related to this review. We are from now on going to review many more policies (health, auto, life) and this is a start of reviews. So mainly this was a new kind of article which many readers were not ready for. I just realised that writing BAD about something is seen as review in today;s world . But the policy is really good in many terms with some disadvantages too (which I have added in the article)
I think I need to carefully plan my articles and not write each point in detail, because that can give an impression of paid articles.
Thanks for genuinely sharing your views and mind, its a sign that you care for this blog 🙂 . Keep visiting
Thanks Manish for the review. I was looking to buy a policy and found this article useful. but i noticed that this one is very expensive the moment i add my mother( 71).
They seems to be calculating the premium based on oldest member. do you recommend any other policy for such cases?
But thats how any insurance premium will work. Its not just Religare, but any other company also will give it to you at high premium only . As the age of your mother is 71 .
I think you should try it once from Oriental
Manish
Thanks Manish for the quick response. i will check out Oriental as well
Why does it look like a paid review? The article itself starts with “one of the best health insurance policy available in market”, isn’t this should be left for the conclusion at the end of the article?
Hi Ashesh
Thanks for sharing your view. I wanted to write a point by point explanation of the policy. If you notice I have added 3 disadvantages of the policy also (1 disadvantages added out of another co-payment related comment by some other reader). I guess I gave an impression that it was a critical review, but no, the article is more of a detailed feature explanation.
We are not paid by Religare for anything related to this review. We are from now on going to review many more policies (health, auto, life) and this is a start of reviews. So mainly this was a new kind of article which many readers were not ready for. I just realised that writing BAD about something is seen as review in today;s world . But the policy is really good in many terms with some disadvantages too (which I have added in the article)
I think I need to carefully plan my articles and not write each point in detail, because that can give an impression of paid articles.
Thanks for genuinely sharing your views and mind, its a sign that you care for this blog 🙂 . Keep visiting …
Manish
Thanks for the clarification Manish. You just changed the opening statement og the post from
“Today I am going to review features of “Religare Care“, one of the good health insurance policies in the market. ” to “Today I am going to review one of the best health insurance policy available in market, called “Religare Care”.” and did not even mention it. How can I trust you or the website?
Ashesh
I definitely changed that and many other things after I saw that many people reacting that its a paid blog. I do not focus on the article words and how its sounding to others, and just write what comes in my mind at the time of writing. I think the article is giving an impression that the article is paid for. I also added the co-payment point in detail in the article after Dinesh Jain comment (earlier it was in the bullet points) . Also I had added a section about the company and how 2 PSU banks are partners in it , but I have removed that also , because I think thats giving a lot of readers impression that I am trying to push the company way beyond it deserves.
I know once a person makes up an impression, its tough to change it , but from my side I can say that the article is not paid by anyone . Its a point by point explanation of each feature in detail. Also, I realise that most of the readers equate writing bad points with “review” . A product which has more good points and less bad points if written is seen with doubt, which we cant blame it on anyone. Its like that only in the world of finance. I will also be writing about more reviews on various other products like health, auto insurance etc, which is coming up next (not next article)
Regarding trust, I strongly suggest that you do not trust anyone. Trusting any website, person is always dangerous. At any point of time, an investor has to listen to everyone and then finally use their own judgement and logic. I have already covered the cases when the policy is good, and when it would not work like in cases of senior citizens or when someone wants a high class of premium room etc, also if someone wants a lower cover.
Sadly, the article has given a very wrong impression to readers (many others, not just you) about the intent on article. I seriously doubt if the article is helping anyone or not?
Anyways, I still invite you to keep reading articles and filter out things which does not fit your reading criteria. I am confident, that you will still find lots of valuable content.
Manish
Thanks Manish for the detailed reply. I have been a long follower of this blog and the idea of going it rogue might have made me overreact. It is possible that you wrote it with all good intention but then we have all been wary these days “Jago Investor” 🙂 I will look forward to your other articles in future and my best wishes.
Welcome Ashesh
I can understand your reaction and I also accept that the article was a bit on positive side and less on negative side, but that does not mean a paid article. I will 100% agree that the article promotes Religare Care, its not a paid promotion or a sales promotion . Its just a pure promotion. and I will promote other health insurance products in future as well. If some point is bad, I will mention it and if something is good, I will mention that also.
Anyways, lets close this conversation now :).
And I hope you have your health insurance in place, Religare care is really a good product. You should look at it and see if fits your requirement or not. Even L&T has a great product and Max Bupa too .. I will be doing their reviews also very soon.
Manish
Hi,
Thanks for this detailed analysis of this product.
But Apollo Munich has the same product and features as well. Have you done any analysis on Apollo Munich. Would love to hear your take on this .
Regards
I will be doing the review for that also very soon
I think jagoinvestor has started promoting products. Otherwise this blog used to be customer centric till now.
Hi Rajan
Thanks for sharing your view. I wanted to write a point by point explanation of the policy. If you notice I have added 3 disadvantages of the policy also (1 disadvantages added out of another co-payment related comment by some other reader). I guess I gave an impression that it was a critical review, but no, the article is more of a detailed feature explanation.
We are not paid by Religare for anything related to this review. We are from now on going to review many more policies (health, auto, life) and this is a start of reviews. So mainly this was a new kind of article which many readers were not ready for.
I think I need to carefully plan my articles and not write each point in detail, because that can give an impression of paid articles.
Thanks for genuinely sharing your views and mind, its a sign that you care for this blog 🙂 . Keep visiting …
Also the point of “customer-centric” . I can just tell you, that writing bad things is not customer centric. If a policy has good features, I think its fair to share about it . I have also shared some disadvantages too . Please check points yourself. Also I will be writing about more policies in future
Manish
Apollo munich – Optima restore also has almost all the features mentioned here.
it would have better if two or three similar policies were compared. it looks as though religare is being promoted!!!
Hi Praveen
Thanks for sharing your view. I wanted to write a point by point explanation of the policy. If you notice I have added 3 disadvantages of the policy also (1 disadvantages added out of another co-payment related comment by some other reader). I guess I gave an impression that it was a critical review, but no, the article is more of a detailed feature explanation.
We are not paid by Religare for anything related to this review. We are from now on going to review many more policies (health, auto, life) and this is a start of reviews. So mainly this was a new kind of article which many readers were not ready for.
I think I need to carefully plan my articles and not write each point in detail, because that can give an impression of paid articles.
Thanks for genuinely sharing your views and mind, its a sign that you care for this blog 🙂 . Keep visiting …
Manish
The only tricky part with RELIGARE is if you have taken the policy before the age of 60 and as and when the renewal comes post age of 60, then renewal premium is a grey are. This is what i have already experienced for one of my client renewal.
Now what does this mean.
Lets take the example of a couple aged 59 (59 being the age of eldest spouse), then for them premium for Rs. 10 lacs is Rs. 30,353 .
Now when the next renewal comes(60 being the age of eldest spouse), as per a layman by going through the premium chart one would say that, renewal premium would be Rs. 35,986. But this is where the catch is.
As per the policy of religare, if you make an entry post the age of 59 (that is from the age of 60 onwards), you are liable to pay 20% as co – payment. So in the premium chart, premium mentioned post the age of 59 is only for the people who make a fresh entry and its not the renewal premium.
Taking my above example of couple, renewal premium will not be Rs. 35,986 , because the copule has made entry before the age of 60 , hence 20% co-pay will not be applicable for them bcz of which renewal premium will be Rs. 35,986 + x% of 35986. For me the grey area is this x%.
Still i haven’t got the answer from religare what this x% will be whether 10%, 15% or 20% or ?????
So manish, i think you should mentioned this also as one of the point in the “disadvantage of religare policy”.
Also it would be better if you can get more clarity on the same from Mahavir.
Thanks for sharing that Dinesh
I have made a seperate point regarding co-payment in the article
I think Brand Promotion should not allowed in the blog.
Hi Gaurav
Thanks for sharing your view. I wanted to write a point by point explanation of the policy. If you notice I have added 3 disadvantages of the policy also (1 disadvantages added out of another co-payment related comment by some other reader). I guess I gave an impression that it was a critical review, but no, the article is more of a detailed feature explanation.
We are not paid by Religare for anything related to this review. We are from now on going to review many more policies (health, auto, life) and this is a start of reviews. So mainly this was a new kind of article which many readers were not ready for.
I think I need to carefully plan my articles and not write each point in detail, because that can give an impression of paid articles.
Thanks for genuinely sharing your views and mind, its a sign that you care for this blog 🙂 . Keep visiting …
Manish
Hi Manish, I have been following you on internet for few years but I don’t recall you reviewing a product. Are you marketing the said product in this blog? In either case, readers would have appreciated if you had mentioned it.
Hi Kapil
Thanks for sharing your view. I wanted to write a point by point explanation of the policy. If you notice I have added 3 disadvantages of the policy also (1 disadvantages added out of another co-payment related comment by some other reader). I guess I gave an impression that it was a critical review, but no, the article is more of a detailed feature explanation.
We are not paid by Religare for anything related to this review. We are from now on going to review many more policies (health, auto, life) and this is a start of reviews. So mainly this was a new kind of article which many readers were not ready for.
I think I need to carefully plan my articles and not write each point in detail, because that can give an impression of paid articles.
Thanks for genuinely sharing your views and mind, its a sign that you care for this blog 🙂 . Keep visiting …
Manish
This is a good policy indeed.
Its been 3 years since I have taken it for my father at an entry age of 73.
Besides, the no claim bonus 10% return per year upto 5 yrs, is an important plus which I have gained.
Lets not forget the free annual checks…
Rajiv
Yea .. I know . thanks
In premium chart the values shown are for how much sum insured?
Sorry , I forgot to add that .. Its 5 lacs
Suppose, I buy this policy today at the age of 40 yrs for a premium of Rs.8,000 p.a.. Suppose, premium for a 65 year old is Rs.18,000 at present. When I turn 65, my premium will be Rs.18,000(as at the time of buying policy for the age-group) or it will be revised mid-way. I hope I have been able to convey my query clearly.
Yes, it would be Rs 18000 that time
Thanks. Some of our friends are very critical of the original review. Yes, all of us see you in high regard and reliable. Hence, I think they may have shared their impression quite frankly. That’s the beauty of this blog. I feel this will make you more cautious in future and make this blog as reliable as it is today. May you flourish. May this Blog prosper and continue for many many decades to come for the benefit of its member and others.
Thanks for your comment Raman
Manish, You have mentioned 5 lacs as sum assured at the beginning of the para.
I added it later after your comment . I had originally forgotten 🙂
Is this really a review. Most of it sounds like a paid article. Sorry if I am mistaken and I offend you, but that is my impression,
Hi Ram
Thanks for sharing your view. I wanted to write a point by point explanation of the policy. If you notice I have added 3 disadvantages of the policy also (1 disadvantages added out of another co-payment related comment by some other reader). I guess I gave an impression that it was a critical review, but no, the article is more of a detailed feature explanation.
We are not paid by Religare for anything related to this review. We are from now on going to review many more policies (health, auto, life) and this is a start of reviews. So mainly this was a new kind of article which many readers were not ready for.
I think I need to carefully plan my articles and not write each point in detail, because that can give an impression of paid articles.
Thanks for genuinely sharing your views and mind, its a sign that you care for this blog 🙂 . Keep visiting …
Manish
No offense Manish. Just thought I should share my initial impression. Have a very good opinion about your blog on the whole.
Manish, I would appreciate in addition to one policy you also give comparison with next two best policy. Also, it would be great if you can provide some excel file or table with comparison of top 3 policy with same assured amount / other same level for better comparison purpose.
comparative chart will be helpfull
Yes it will be there once I review some more policies