Health insurance is one of the most misunderstood financial decisions in India.
Not because people are careless —
but because no one explains it in simple, real-life terms.
At its core, health insurance has one job:
That’s it.
It is not:
It is a financial shock absorber.
When a hospital bill arrives suddenly —
health insurance decides whether:
Life insurance pays when someone dies.
Health insurance is tested while you are alive, stressed, and vulnerable.
That makes it very different.
During a claim:
A good health insurance policy works quietly in the background. A bad one makes a hard day much harder.
Most standard health insurance policies cover:
Most standard health insurance policies cover:
If you are admitted for more than 24 hours due to illness or accident.
Medical tests, consultations, and investigations done before admission.
Follow-up medicines, tests, and consultations after discharge.
Treatments that don’t require 24-hour admission (like cataract surgery, dialysis, chemotherapy, etc.).
Covered up to a defined limit.
Conditions you already have — covered only after a few years.
This is where most misunderstandings happen.
Many policies do not fully cover:
This does not mean the policy is bad.
It means you must know the rules before trusting it.
Many people say:
“I already have health insurance.”
That sentence alone means nothing.
What matters is:
Two people may have:
and still have very different claim experiences.
The most common mistake is this:
Choosing a policy based on premium or popularity.
Lower premium does not always mean smarter choice.
A famous company does not automatically mean smoother claims.
A policy can look perfect on paper
and still fail you in the hospital.
There is no single “best policy”.
A good policy depends on:
A policy that works brilliantly for one person
can be risky for another.
This is why generic advice often fails.
Health insurance is not tested:
It is tested:
That moment decides everything.
A good experience means:
This happens only when the policy is chosen correctly.
You don’t need to become an insurance expert.
But you do need to understand the basics well enough to ask the right questions.
This Knowledge Hub exists for exactly that reason: