Article · 15 min read

How to choose a health insurance policy (with a shortlist)

Pattabiraman Murari · Freefincal Free Intermediate India

Freefincal is fee-only, sells no insurance, and says the quiet part out loud: the day your job goes, so does your corporate cover, and an insurer can decline you later if your health has slipped. It hands you a named base-plus-super-top-up shortlist (Niva Bupa, ICICI Lombard, HDFC Ergo, Care) so you can act, not just read, before you resign.

• The instant you lose the job you lose the group cover, so a personal policy must already be active, not a next-month to-do
• Structure roughly 10 lakh base plus a 40 to 90 lakh super top-up to reach high cover cheaply, around 20,000 to 25,000 a year under 45
• Waiting until your health worsens risks outright rejection, which is the real cost of delaying the purchase past your last salaried day