Topic
Health insurance pays hospital bills on a cashless or reimbursement basis. Insurers are regulated by IRDAI; claim disputes go to the insurer's grievance cell, then the Insurance Ombudsman or a consumer commission.
48 storiesLatest 24 Oct 2026, 19:45 IST
Courts/
The Punjab State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission held that Oriental Insurance wrongly rejected a policyholder's Rs 2.52 lakh claim as a pre-existing disease and dismissed its appeal.
Courts
The Gujarat State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission held that Oriental Insurance wrongly settled a policyholder's claim on a lower sum insured, and ordered Rs 26,085 with 9% interest.
Retirement
PFRDA's 18 September 2026 circular moves NPS Swasthya live: a mandatory super top-up health cover bolted to a pension account. We compare its drawdown maths against a conventional NPS plus standalone health plan.
Insurance
The Supreme Court's 10 July 2009 ruling in Satwant Kaur Sandhu fixed the test for a material fact in a mediclaim proposal: anything a prudent insurer would weigh. Here is what that costs.
Insurance
IRDAI's 29 May 2024 Health Master Circular charges insurers Rs 5,000 a day for ignoring an Ombudsman award and bars any claim repudiation without Claims Review Committee sign-off. Worked numbers and pitfalls explained.
Insurance
IRDAI's 29 May 2024 health master circular fixes the moratorium at 60 months of continuous cover, after which insurers cannot deny a claim for non-disclosure or misrepresentation, except for established fraud.
Insurance
IRDAI's 29 May 2024 Health Master Circular gives insurers one hour to approve cashless claims and three hours to clear discharge, with delay costs charged to the insurer's own fund. Explained with worked numbers.
Insurance
IRDAI Circular IRDA/HLT/REG/CIR/86/05/2019, effective 1 July 2019, standardised the revised Part C request and the new Part D cashless authorization letter behind every hospital cashless health claim.
Insurance
The IRDAI Protection of Policyholders' Interests Regulations 2024 explained: the 30-day free-look, time-bound grievance redressal, and the room-rent and co-pay traps every buyer should check.
Tax
Section 80D lets individuals and HUFs deduct health-insurance premiums for FY 2025-26: Rs 25,000 base, Rs 50,000 for senior citizens, a Rs 5,000 check-up, and up to Rs 1,00,000 combined.
Insurance
The IRDAI Master Circular on Health Insurance dated 29 May 2024 gives buyers a 30-day free-look, a 60-month moratorium and cashless discharge within 3 hours. Here is how each right works.
Tax
Section 80D gives up to Rs 25,000 off your taxable income for health insurance premium, rising to Rs 50,000 when a senior citizen is covered and up to Rs 1 lakh with parents, old regime only.
Enforcement
The government told the Lok Sabha on 12 December 2025 that 1,184 hospitals were de-empanelled and over Rs 231 crore in penalties levied for fraud under Ayushman Bharat PMJAY.
Enforcement
IRDAI imposed a Rs 1 crore penalty on Care Health Insurance on 15 December 2025 over claims-handling lapses, including patient signatures missing from 69 per cent of sampled claim files.
Enforcement
IRDAI's order penalising Care Health Insurance over ESOPs to its non-executive chairperson was stayed by the Securities Appellate Tribunal in 2024 and remains under appeal, undecided.
Insurance
IRDAI's 29 May 2024 Master Circular cut the health insurance moratorium from 96 to 60 months. After five continuous years, insurers can deny a claim only for proven fraud. Here is the arithmetic and the traps.
Insurance
IRDAI's 29 May 2024 Health Master Circular forces insurers to decide cashless requests in 1 hour and clear discharge in 3 hours, with delay costs borne by the insurer. Here is the maths.
Insurance
IRDAI's 29 May 2024 Master Circular forces insurers to decide cashless requests in 1 hour and discharge approvals in 3 hours. Here are your rights, the 60-month moratorium, and the sub-limit traps.
Tax
Section 80D gives a resident individual up to Rs 25,000 for health cover on self and family, rising to Rs 50,000 for senior-citizen cover, with a separate parent bucket taking the ceiling to Rs 1 lakh.
Insurance
The IRDAI (Bima Sugam) Regulations 2024 create a not-for-profit one-stop insurance marketplace. What the rules say, how the 80C/80D tax maths works, and the policy-wording traps that survive.
Insurance
The IRDAI Master Circular of 29 May 2024 cut the health insurance moratorium from 96 to 60 months. After five continuous years, insurers cannot contest claims except for proven fraud.
Insurance
The IRDAI Master Circular dated 29 May 2024 gives insurers just 1 hour to approve cashless admission and 3 hours to clear discharge. Here is what the rule covers and where claims still shrink.
Tax
How Section 80D lets you deduct up to Rs 25,000 for your family's health premiums and up to Rs 50,000 for senior-citizen parents, with a worked example, limits table and ITR pitfalls for FY 2025-26.
Insurance
The IRDAI Master Circular of 29 May 2024 mandates 1-hour cashless authorisation and 3-hour discharge approval, with delay costs paid from the insurer's shareholders' fund. Here is what it means for your claim.
Insurance
IRDAI's 2024 Master Circular consolidates eight regulations into one policyholder rulebook. We explain your free-look refund rights, grievance redressal and the wording traps that still decide claims.
Insurance
IRDAI's 29 May 2024 Health Insurance Master Circular explained: the 1-hour cashless rule, No Claim Bonus portability, the 5-year moratorium and express consent for your medical records.
Insurance
IRDAI's Protection of Policyholders' Interests Regulations 2024, effective 1 April 2024, double the free-look to 30 days and merge eight rules into one. Here is what you get back and what to watch.
Insurance
IRDAI's 2024 Insurance Products Regulations merged six product rulebooks into one principle-based code. What it changes for surrender values, tax deductions and health-claim wording, explained.
Insurance
IRDAI's 29 May 2024 Health Insurance Master Circular mandates 1-hour cashless approval, no claim rejection without committee review, a 60-month moratorium and a standard CIS. Here is what each clause means for your payout.
Tax
Section 80D lets you deduct up to Rs 25,000 on health insurance premium, Rs 50,000 for senior citizens and Rs 1 lakh combined, with a Rs 5,000 check-up sub-limit. Old regime only.
Insurance
IRDAI portability lets you switch health insurers without losing waiting-period credits or your accrued no-claim bonus - provided you apply 45 to 60 days before renewal. Here is exactly how it works.
Tax
Section 80D lets you claim up to Rs 1,00,000 in FY 2025-26 when parents are senior citizens. Here are the limits, a worked example saving Rs 23,400, and the scrutiny pitfalls to avoid.
Insurance
The IRDAI Master Circular dated 29 May 2024 mandates cashless authorisation within 1 hour and discharge within 3 hours, with the insurer bearing overstay costs. Here is what changes for policyholders.
Insurance
IRDAI publishes two very different ratios: CSR for life insurers and ICR for health and general. Here is how to read each one, plus solvency, before you buy.
Insurance
IRDAI's May 2024 Master Circular cuts PED waiting to 36 months, harmonises grace periods at 15/30 days, drops the incontestability moratorium to 5 years and extends free-look to 30 days for every channel.
Tax
Section 80D gives up to Rs 50,000 for a senior-citizen parent's health cover and Rs 1 lakh in total, but only in the old regime and only on non-cash premiums. Here is how to claim it for FY 2025-26.
Insurance
Section 80D of the Income Tax Act 1961 lets old-regime taxpayers claim up to Rs 1,00,000 a year for health insurance premium, preventive check-up and senior parent medical bills. Here is the working math.
Insurance
IRDAI's 2024 regulations cap life-claim decisions at 15 days, health acknowledgements at 24 hours, and impose 8.50% penal interest on every day of delay.
Insurance
IRDAI's 29 May 2024 Master Circular slashed the health insurance moratorium from 96 to 60 months. After 5 years of continuous cover, insurers can only repudiate on proven fraud.
Insurance
IRDAI's 29 May 2024 Master Circular makes cashless health insurance settlement mandatory at any hospital with 60-minute pre-authorisation and 180-minute discharge windows. Here is what changes for Indian buyers in 2026.
Insurance
IRDAI's 2024 portability regulations compress the switch window to 30-60 days before renewal and force a 5-working-day decision. Here is what credits travel, what does not, and the worked maths for a Rs 5 lakh floater.
Tax
Section 80D lets old-regime taxpayers claim up to Rs 1,00,000 for health insurance premiums and senior parents' medical bills in FY 2025-26. Here is the full break-up.
Insurance
IRDAI's 2024 Master Circular cut the PED waiting period from 48 to 36 months and the moratorium from 96 to 60 months. The catch: portability and the 24-month specific-disease clock can still trip you up.
Insurance
At least 14 health insurers have filed for premium increases in early 2026. We track which companies raised rates, by how much, and whether the hikes are justified by claims data.
Insurance
Relying solely on your employer's group health policy is a financial risk. Here are the seven critical gaps that most corporate policies have, and how to fill them.
Insurance
New portability rules make switching health insurers easier, with mandatory acceptance of waiting period credits and a 15-day guaranteed transfer window.
Insurance
IRDAI has released the draft framework for Arogya Sanjeevani 2.0, a revamped standardised health insurance product with higher sum insured options, no room rent limits, and mandatory wellness benefits.
Insurance
Room rent sub-limits are the most misunderstood clause in Indian health insurance. Here is how a Rs 5 lakh sum insured can shrink to Rs 3.5 lakh or less when you actually need it.
