Health Insurance: 6 Rights Every Policyholder in India Should Know
Buying a health policy is easy. Knowing your rights is what protects you at claim time. Here are six points, based on the IRDAI Master Circular on health insurance (29 May 2024), explained in simple words.
Six rights to know
- 30-day free look: after you buy a policy you get a 30-day window to read it and return it if it does not suit you, as reported. Some deductions may apply.
- Waiting period limit: insurers cannot impose a waiting period of more than 36 months for pre-existing diseases. A short initial waiting period of 30 days is also standard.
- 60-month moratorium: after 60 continuous months (five policy years), an insurer cannot reject a claim on the ground of non-disclosure, unless it can prove fraud.
- Cashless discharge: an insurer must give the final cashless authorisation within 3 hours of getting the hospital’s discharge request, as reported.
- Portability: you can switch insurers without losing the waiting-period credit you have built up, up to your existing sum insured.
- Clear information: you can ask for a customer information sheet and the full policy wording before you buy.
Simple tips before you buy
- Read the exclusions, room-rent limits and sub-limits, not just the sum insured.
- Declare pre-existing conditions honestly. Hiding them can lead to claim problems.
- Check the hospital network in your city, including Indore, Bhopal or your own town.
- Keep a folder of your policy, premium receipts and hospital papers.
- If a claim is refused unfairly, first write to the insurer’s grievance officer, then approach the Insurance Ombudsman.
This is general information, not insurance or financial advice. Rules can change and each policy differs. Please read your own policy document. Information is from public reports and official pages, checked on 20 September 2026. Details can change, so please confirm on official sources.
