Feeling Safe With Your Health Cover? Here’s Why You’re Playing With Fire | Personal Finance News

New Delhi: For many middle-class Indians, having a health insurance policy brings a sense of comfort. You pay your premium, keep the card in your wallet, and go about your life believing you’re protected if something goes wrong. But as chartered accountant Abhishek Walia warns, this feeling of security can be misleading—especially if your policy’s coverage is too low.

Take the case of Suresh, a 38-year-old IT professional from Pune. He thought his Rs 3 lakh health insurance policy would be enough for any medical emergency. But when his father needed urgent heart surgery, the hospital bill crossed Rs 7 lakh. Suresh’s insurance covered less than half, forcing the family to dip into savings and borrow money from relatives. “I never thought I’d need more than what my policy offered. It was a rude shock,” he admits.

Stories like Suresh’s are becoming more common as medical costs in India rise every year. A few days in a private hospital, a surgery, or a critical illness can quickly wipe out years of savings. Many people only realize their insurance is too little when a crisis hits—and by then, it’s too late.

Financial experts say this is a classic case of being “underinsured.” It’s not that you don’t have insurance, but that your cover is too small for today’s realities. Many people stick with the minimum sum insured just to save on premiums, or rely only on the group policy provided by their employer. But with healthcare inflation running high, what seemed like enough cover a few years ago may now fall short.

Rreview your health insurance regularly. Don’t wait for a medical emergency to find out your policy isn’t enough. Consider increasing your sum insured, or adding a top-up plan. If you have a family, make sure your cover is enough for everyone. And don’t just depend on your company’s insurance—having a personal policy is crucial.