What type of insurance cover should a senior citizen buy?

Name withheld on request

It will help if you buy a sum assured equal to your last annual income along with a minimum amount 10 lakhs. There is a limited advantage of buying the sum assured in parts. In fact, the risk may be that at a later stage, the insurer may refuse to increase the sum insured. The advantage of buying the Sum Assured together is that the waiting period on the PED will run simultaneously. So, after a block of 4 years, you will have the full sum assured. Also, with the higher sum assured, you get No Claim Bonus on the full sum assured.

I want to buy a term life insurance policy. I have recently quit smoking. It’s been almost six months now. Can I buy it from an online portal as a non-smoker? Also, will my nominee face any problem at the time of claim?

Name withheld on request

Insurers have varying policies regarding reclassifying smokers as non-smokers. Some insurers consider up to five years as the minimum interval required before an ex-smoker can be reclassified as a non-smoker. It is best to check with the specific insurer and fully disclose your smoking status.

Non-disclosure or misclassification may result in claim rejection. At the time of claim, the insurer may make necessary inquiries to ascertain your smoking history. If smoking status is found to be mis-declared, the insurer may deny the claim, especially in the first five years of insurance.

My child is ten years old and he has nephrotic syndrome for about three years. Will they get a health policy?

Name withheld on request

You can take a health insurance policy for your son. While the presence of a major health condition reduces the likelihood of a health policy being issued, it does not make it void. In such a situation, the insurance company can underwrite the policy in other ways. For example, the insurance company may specify ‘nephrotic syndrome’ as a pre-existing disease and exclude it for a specific waiting period of between 2 and 4 years. Second, insurers may want to issue policies with a fixed load on the standard premium, exclude the disease as a pre-existing disease, and cover after 2 to 4 years. Third, the insurer may permanently exclude certain diseases and issue the policy. This will allow you to claim for all other diseases except for the specifically named exclusions.

You need to apply for a policy with a major health insurer. Given their size, their ability to accommodate deviations from standard risk is high.

Abhishek Bondia is the Principal Officer and Managing Director of SecureNow.in.