What happens when you raise a Health Insurance claim with Policybazaar: A first person account

[00:00:05] Hello and welcome to an all new episode of Policybazaar's Insurance Insights podcast. Today we bring to a very special episode where we delve into the real life experience of dealing with insurance claims. Anybody who buys health insurance, the real moment of truth for them is the point of

[00:00:22] claims. So today we have with us Deeksha Tiwari, a Policybazaar customer who recently navigated the complexities of dealing with hospital expenses while caring for her hospitalized father. She got her claim approved and today she will share her real story with us as to how long

[00:00:40] it took for us, what her experience was like and what advice she would have for all our listeners. So Deeksha let's start from the very beginning. How did you and your father realize the importance of health insurance and when did you buy it?

[00:00:53] When we took health insurance, obviously we did not directly take it from the Policybazaar. A small father's hospitalization happened and in that we had to struggle a lot to get the claim but at the end our claim was not settled again because we were not having

[00:01:11] you can say we were not having any individual whom we can connect with and get our things sorted. That's where we had to pay all the expenses on our own and that was around up to 2 lakh

[00:01:23] rupees which we paid from our own pocket after having a good health insurance. Then I came to know about Policybazaar and then I got in touch with them and I inquired about the policies so I got in touch with an executive.

[00:01:38] She explained me different plans so we chose a particular plan from Policybazaar. After two years my father got hospitalized. We got in touch with our relationship manager, the person was there at the hospital. We had not to worry about filling up the forms.

[00:01:56] Basically the time that was me and my sister we both were the only one who were taking care of our father and for us hospitalization and critical in-list was very shocking so we both were numb.

[00:02:12] Having said that we left our jobs, we were there full time at the hospital because we could not ask our mother to do all those things because to be very honest my mother is a housemaker and she doesn't know how hospitals are formed and all.

[00:02:30] She had no idea. I am very thankful to Policybazaar relationship manager. We just gave him a call and he was there in about an hour. He filled up all the form, all the paperwork was done by him and then even he guided us

[00:02:48] also he consoled us that ma'am you don't worry you stay with your father I'll be there I'll take care of all the chaos which is happening here. There were certain queries which were raised by the insurance company but we were like

[00:03:02] free-minded at that point we were having enough time so that we are focused towards our father's treatment and his health and his well-being. Disha how did you ensure that the health insurance policy which you are buying is right for your family?

[00:03:15] So basically there were three priorities which I was having before choosing my plan for my father especially so the first was his age, the second was the sum insured and the third was which all diseases the insurance company is keeping us protected with.

[00:03:35] So these were the three things and the company which we opted for quite satisfied all my needs. Initially we opted for 5 lakh then at the time of renewal I got it extended up to 10 lakh rupees

[00:03:50] and at the time of third renewal I got it extended up to 15 lakh rupees. I was also having a check on the billing part that Ketna Hamara already expense has been done for the hospital. So second day only our expenses were up to 4 lakh rupees.

[00:04:05] So I was shocked like what because you know nowadays medical treatment they are very expensive and for a normal person it is kind of a mini heart attack after seeing that bill right.

[00:04:17] On the fifth day it was it caused almost 6 lakh rupees that was a point where I started panicking a little bit but then when I had a word with the relationship manager he told

[00:04:30] me that you don't need to worry because in past two years you didn't have any claim. So you have no claim bonus there is something no claim bonus which was added in my father's

[00:04:44] health insurance profile which I was not aware of to be very honest and when I got to know I was at ease ok we are secure now but then at the time of discharge his bill crossed

[00:04:57] almost 15 lakh rupees but then because of policy bazaar our entire claim amount got settled very easily. Many tests were done endoscopic biopsy many kinds of biopsies not only the hospital bill but I was shocked and at the same time I was happy also to know that

[00:05:18] all these tests which were done on my father was also covered in my health insurance. Diksha what was your issuance experience like how much mental bandwidth did it take how much time did it cost you? So the day I had a word with my executive who was explaining

[00:05:37] the plans and everything so I took a day I had a word with my father I had a word with the family and decided to go with a certain company which we opted for and the next day

[00:05:49] I got a call with the executive and I got my policy done I made the payment and everything and the same day I got a call from the verification team I verified all the details of my father

[00:06:03] and the very same day late night I received my soft copies of the documents once the policy was issued so it was a very hassle free experience I didn't face any issue regarding the issuance of the policy

[00:06:14] so it was a very smooth process and after my father's hospitalization I even because see I belong from a very small town it's a tier 3 city and people are not very much aware about health insurance so I myself after going through that experience of my father's hospitalization

[00:06:33] I personally made sure and till date I make sure the people who are not having health insurance they have to have it so I make them aware and I tell them my own personal experience of my

[00:06:45] father's hospitalization I have seen my father for the first time like that because my father is my role model and I've always seen him standing still and being a strong personality

[00:07:00] for me for my entire family and we all always used to look after my father that how strong he is but then when my father was sick at that time my mother was like you are going crazy

[00:07:18] you have to take care of yourself so that you can take care of your father but then Nikshan now coming to the most important question what was your claims experience like because you

[00:07:40] know when your father is sick a family member is hospitalized it can be daunting to deal with insurance processes so what was your experience like whenever you need any help in terms of hospitalization or any test or anything you can just give a call

[00:08:08] to your relationship manager and he'll be there he or she will be there with you in the hospitals doing all the kiosks like filling up the forms and coordinating with the billing team coordinating

[00:08:21] with the hospital staff and everything so I had that in my back of mind so when I got my father hospitalized the first thing which I did was to call my relationship manager and as I've told

[00:08:32] you earlier also he was there within one hour and after that I didn't face any issue regarding the claim because it was such a smooth process you won't believe the doctor told us that he'll be

[00:08:48] discharging our father today so the doctor was on the round around 11 a.m and they told us now he is fit and we are gonna discharge him today and the delay was from the hospital sent to

[00:09:02] be very honest so the hospital was raising all the bills running all the telework which they were doing so but it was time to be our relationship manager that day was there too

[00:09:15] because my father was going to be discharged so at 11 a.m the doctor told us that he's going to discharge my father today and by 2 p.m we were all free from the hospital and we were at home

[00:09:28] would you share any parting advice for all the families that are listening to you guys if you are listening to me to be very honest because you never know next time what will happen right so keep yourself and your family secure by having a health insurance

[00:09:56] and this is my personal experience I'm telling you make a smart decision please thank you for sharing your story with us deeksha and listeners thank you for staying with us we hope that deeksha's experience will be beneficial to you if you still have any questions regarding claims

[00:10:12] or insurance in general just ask us in the comment section below we'll see you again next time