Regular mediclaims do not cover hospitalisation outside India

Two years back, I took a health cover for my 20-year-old son. He went to Australia last year for higher studies and met with an accident there. When I claimed money for my son’s treatment, the insurance company denied to pay, saying payment can’t be made as the boy had met with an accident outside the country. While taking that health cover, I had gone through the fineprints of the policy and nothing of that sort was mentioned there. What should I do now?
— Rajan V
It is not clear if the hospitalisation expenses have been incurred in Australia. If so, please read your policy document carefully. All hospital expenses reimbursement policies (popularly called mediclaim policies) issued in India will reimburse the hospitalisation expenses incurred within the country only.

In your son’s case, if the hospitalisation expenses were incurred outside India (Australia), the Indian insurance company will not entertain the claim. It doesn’t matter where the accident has happened. In this regard, general insurance companies issue policies especially designed for students going out of India for further studies under the title ‘Student Travel Medical Insurance’. Such policies are issued in dollar denominations and applicable worldwide for two years. It would be advisable to take such a policy for your son for the remaining term of his studies.

I am 28 years old. My father had bought an endowment policy with a sum assured of just Rs1 lakh. The idea at that time was to have some tax benefit as I was helping him in his business and hence filing a tax return. Now, I am looking to buy a policy of sum assured of at least `5-6 lakh and this time too, the main motive is to save more tax. I am pretty sure I will not be buying a Ulip but am confused about other types of life insurance policies (money back, endowment or term plan). Which policy should I opt for? — Rajesh
Insurance should not be purchased only with a tax-saving motive. Life insurance is about insuring yourself adequately so that your dependent family’s quality of life does not undergo any drastic change in case of your death. To advise you on your insurance needs, it is important to get a holistic view of the present and the future. Secondly, it is always advisable to separate investment and insurance. For insuring yourself, take a term insurance plan and choose a separate investment avenue such as fixed income security, small savings plan, equity or debt mutual funds etc as per the timeframe of your investment horizon and your risk preference.

My father is buying a flat in his own name. Can I take a home loan on my name for the same? —-Unnikrishnan
If your father is going to be the owner of the property, he will have to be a co-borrower of the loan along with you. However, remember that if you are not the co-owner of the said property, you will not be able to claim tax deduction benefits on the repayment of the loan taken for this purpose.

The writer is CEO, Apna Paisa, a price & features comparison engine for loans, insurance and investments. He can be reached at hrdna@apnapaisa.com