Blog
In-depth analysis on insurance trends, regulatory developments, and market insights.
Appealing a Consumer Commission Order: The 45, 30 and 30 Day Windows, the 50 Percent Pre-Deposit, and What a Revision Is For
An appeal is not a fresh complaint and it runs on a clock with two parts: a limitation period and a pre-deposit. This guide sets out the three windows, what each pre-deposit is capped at, the difference between an appeal and a revision and why it decides where you should file, the sequence from insurer grievance to Supreme Court, and the single most common self-inflicted failure, which is depositing after the window has closed.
Cashless Hospitalisation in India: How the Network, the TPA and Pre-Authorisation Actually Work at the Admission Desk
Cashless treatment is a settlement mechanism between three parties and a hospital, not a feature of your policy. This guide sets out what a network hospital is, what pre-authorisation does and why self-admission usually costs you money, what a TPA can and cannot decide, the three policy terms that convert a cashless admission into a partly reimbursed one, what to carry to the admission desk, and what to do when cashless is refused at the counter.
PMFBY Is Not the Only Crop Scheme: Weather-Based Cover, Livestock Insurance, and What Each One Actually Pays
Three government schemes pay for three different things and a farmer can be in all of them without realising it. PMFBY settles on area yield, weather-based cover settles on a reading from a weather station, and livestock cover is a separate scheme with its own window. This guide explains which one fits which risk, why a good harvest in a bad block can still pay and a bad harvest in a good block can lose money, and what to check before you enrol.
If Your Insurer Fails: What India Does Not Have, What It Does, and Why Three State Insurers Have Negative Solvency
India has no policyholders protection scheme, no guarantee fund and no orderly resolution regime for insurers. What exists is prudential supervision, a ring-fenced policyholders fund, and a requirement to maintain 150 percent of the required solvency margin, which three of the four state general insurers did not meet in FY26. A Rajya Sabha member wrote to the Prime Minister on September 25 seeking a statutory scheme. This guide covers what the solvency number means, what the policyholders fund does and does not protect, and what would change if a scheme were created.
Nominee or Legal Heir: What Section 39 of the Insurance Act Actually Decides, and Why the High Courts Still Disagree
Naming a nominee does not, on the weight of authority, give that person the money. The Supreme Court held in Sarabati Devi that nomination only authorises a hand to receive, on payment of which the insurer is discharged, and the amount remains the property of the estate. A 2015 amendment added that a nominee who is the policyholder's parent, spouse or child is beneficially entitled, and the High Courts have split on how far that goes. This guide sets out the rule, both readings, the Karnataka High Court's 2025 reasoning, and what actually settles the question.
PMJJBY and PMSBY: The Rs 436 and Rs 20 Policies Most Eligible Indians Already Pay For and Have Never Claimed
Two government schemes collect a small annual premium by auto-debit from a bank account: PMJJBY at Rs 436 a year for Rs 2 lakh of life cover, and PMSBY at Rs 20 a year for Rs 2 lakh of accidental death and disability cover. Most eligible account holders are already enrolled without choosing to be. This guide covers what each pays, the 30-day lien on PMJJBY, the auto-debit failure that silently ends cover, and the two different claim routes, because the route is decided by whether you nominated.
Health Claim Rejected for Missing Original Documents: What to Send Instead, and What the Law Requires
Rejecting a health claim for want of original documents has been held deficiency in service and unfair trade practice by consumer commissions, including a September 21, 2026 order where the family had supplied certified copies and offered verification. This guide sets out which documents insurers legitimately need, what certified copies do, how to respond to a deficiency notice, and the escalation ladder with its clocks.
Holding Company Merger With an Insurer: How Regulation 30A Works and What It Leaves Open
Regulation 30A, inserted into IRDAI's registration, capital structure, share transfer and amalgamation regulations on July 30, 2026, gives a non-operating holding company one route to merge into the insurer it owns, with equity shares as the only permitted form of consideration, the policyholders' fund untouchable, solvency above the control level and a board certificate on policyholder impact. It also leaves out conglomerate, sister-entity and multi-step mergers. This guide explains each condition, the approval sequence and the open questions.
PM-RAHAT: The Rs 1.5 Lakh Free Road Accident Treatment Most Families Never Claim
Since the nationwide launch on February 13, 2026, 22,481 road accident victims had received free treatment under the PM-RAHAT scheme across 34 states and union territories as on July 31, 2026, and a ministry review on September 29 put the figure at nearly 25,000 treated with about 13,000 hospital claims reimbursed. This guide explains what the entitlement is worth, how to ask for it at a hospital counter, and where it stops.
Retail vs Group Health Insurance in India: Should You Buy a Policy While Your Employer Has One
Retail health premium grew 20 percent in FY26 to Rs 56,696 crore against 13 percent for group cover, and now accounts for 41 percent of health premium against 39 percent a year earlier. This guide answers the question that data raises: whether the policy your employer buys is enough, what it structurally cannot give you, and how to decide between buying nothing, a top-up and your own floater.