Guides & analysis
Insurance, decoded.
Plain-English guides to what your policy actually covers, and the IRDAI rules behind it. Every figure sourced to a primary source.
32 articles
Term insurance riders explained: which add-ons are actually worth paying for
Riders get ticked in the final thirty seconds of a term insurance purchase, for a few hundred rupees a month each. Here's what each one actually pays for, and the question to ask before you add any of them.
LifeTerm vs ULIP vs endowment: why mixing insurance and investment costs you twice
A plan that gives you life cover and your money back sounds like a free lunch. It usually isn't. Here's what each rupee of your premium actually buys in a term plan, a ULIP and an endowment policy.
LifeHow much term insurance cover do you actually need
A term claim can be paid in full and still leave your family short. The cover amount, not the brand, is the decision that matters. Here's how to size yours in ten minutes.
MotorTwo-wheeler insurance: what you actually need and what to skip
Most riders buy the cheapest two-wheeler policy on the screen and assume they are covered. Here's what each part of the policy actually does, the renewal trap on new bikes, and the add-ons worth paying for.
MotorHow to claim car insurance after an accident: the step-by-step
The accident is the easy part. What you do in the next hour decides how much of the repair bill you actually get back. Here is the car insurance claim process, from the roadside to the settlement.
HealthHow much health insurance cover do you actually need in India
Your sum insured is the ceiling on what your insurer pays in a year. Here's how to arrive at a number you can defend, instead of one a comparison screen picked for you.
HealthMaternity cover in health insurance: the waiting period and limits people miss
Maternity is one of the few benefits in a health policy that is almost never simply covered. It usually sits behind a multi-year waiting period and a fixed cap that has nothing to do with your sum insured. Here's what to check.
HealthFamily floater vs individual health insurance: which one actually fits you
A family floater gives everyone one shared sum insured, not one each. That is cheaper in a normal year and painful in a bad one. Here's how to tell which structure fits your family.
HealthSuper top-up vs top-up health insurance: how to add cover cheaply
Top-up and super top-up plans are the cheapest way to raise your health cover, but the deductible rule that decides whether they actually pay you is different in each. Here's the difference, in plain terms.
HealthWaiting periods in health insurance: the clock that decides when you're actually covered
Your health policy starts today, but not everything is covered today. Here are the different waiting periods stacked into your plan, what each one blocks, and when each one actually ends.
HealthPorting health insurance: what you keep, what you lose, and the trap in the new policy
Portability lets you switch health insurers without starting your waiting periods over. But it protects your history, not you from a worse new policy. Here's what actually transfers, and the one check people skip.
HealthCashless vs reimbursement: why the money deducted is the same either way
Cashless feels free and reimbursement feels like a fight. But the deductions that shrink your payout are identical in both. Here's how each claim route works, and when you don't get to choose.
HealthHealth insurance for parents: where the fine print bites hardest, and what to check
Buying cover for your parents is where policy caps bite hardest, because seniors claim more and the fine print is built to limit exactly that. Here are the five terms that actually decide the policy.
TravelTravel insurance: what it actually covers, and the medical number that matters most
Most people buy travel insurance for the visa stamp and never read it, then discover at the worst moment that the medical cover had a cap or an exclusion. Here's what it actually covers, and what to check.
MotorNew car insurance: which cover you actually need, and the two add-ons worth their price
Third-party insurance is mandatory, but it pays for the other car, not yours. Here's what actually covers a new car, and the two add-ons that are worth their price only while it's new.
MotorWhy your car insurance claim got rejected, and how to avoid it
A car insurance claim can be rejected for reasons that have nothing to do with the accident itself. Here are the most common ones, including the flood trap that surprises everyone, and how to avoid them.
GuideClaim settlement ratio, explained: what it really tells you (and what it hides)
A 99% claim settlement ratio sounds like a guarantee. It isn't. Here's what CSR actually measures, the difference between settling by count and by value, and why it tells you less about health insurance than you'd think.
HealthCo-payment in health insurance, explained: the share you pay on every claim
Co-payment is the share of every claim you pay yourself, and it stacks on top of room-rent and sub-limit deductions. Here's how it works, when it's worth choosing, and how to avoid it.
HealthWhy your health insurance claim got rejected, and how to fight back
Most health claim rejections come down to a handful of clauses nobody reads at purchase. Here are the seven most common reasons, and the IRDAI rules that let you fight a wrongful one.
HealthDisease-wise sub-limits in health insurance: the caps hiding inside your cover
Your ₹10 lakh policy can still pay only ₹40,000 for a cataract. That's a sub-limit: a cap on a specific treatment, sitting quietly inside your cover. Here's how to find every one.
LifeWhy life insurance claims get rejected, and how to make yours bulletproof
A life insurance claim is meant to be simple: the insured dies, the nominee gets paid. Most rejections trace to one thing, non-disclosure, and a single law decides whether it can sink your claim.
MotorNo-claim bonus on car insurance: how it builds, and how one claim wipes it
A no-claim bonus can cut your own-damage premium by up to 50%, built over five claim-free years. But a single claim usually resets it to zero. Here's how to protect it.
HealthNo-claim bonus in health insurance: free cover that a claim can take back
Every claim-free year, your health cover can grow for free through a cumulative bonus. The catch: a single claim can shrink or reset what you've built. Here's how to read the rule.
MotorOwn-damage vs third-party car insurance: which cover you actually need
Third-party insurance is legally mandatory, but it pays nothing if your own car is damaged or stolen. Here's the difference between third-party and own-damage cover, and which one you actually need.
TravelPre-existing conditions in travel insurance: the clause that pays ₹0 abroad
Your travel policy can show a $100,000 medical cover and still pay nothing if a hospitalisation abroad is linked to a pre-existing condition. Here's the clause that decides it, and how to check yours.
HealthPre-existing disease waiting period: the 36-month rule, explained
If you have diabetes, hypertension or any prior condition, your policy won't cover it from day one. Here's how the pre-existing disease waiting period works, the IRDAI 36-month cap, and how to reduce it.
HealthRestoration benefit in health insurance: the refill that has fine print
Restoration refills your sum insured after a big claim exhausts it. Sounds great, until you read whether it covers the same illness, how often it triggers, and when. Here's what to check.
HealthRoom-rent limit in health insurance: the cap that shrinks your whole claim
A room-rent cap looks harmless until a claim. Through proportionate deduction it shrinks your surgery, ICU and medicine bills too. Here's how it works, with the maths.
LifeSurrender value in life insurance: why you get back so little, and when to wait
Quit a savings or endowment policy early and you can lose half your premiums or more. Here's how surrender value really works, the GSV vs SSV rule, and the paid-up option most people miss.
LifeTerm insurance fine print: the traps that can sink an otherwise simple policy
Term insurance is the most honest product in life insurance, but the fine print still matters. Non-disclosure, rider definitions and payout structure decide whether your family actually gets paid.
MotorZero-depreciation car insurance: what it covers and whether it's worth it
Without zero-depreciation, the insurer knocks depreciation off every part it replaces, and you pay the difference on each claim. Here's exactly what the add-on waives, and who should buy it.
MotorIDV in car insurance: the one number that decides your theft and total-loss payout
IDV is the one number that decides your theft and total-loss payout, and most people rubber-stamp it at renewal. Here's how it works, and how to check yours in two minutes.
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