Customers will now be able to opt for a waiting period of just one year for specific illnesses and pre-existing diseases
Bengaluru : Digit Insurance, a unicorn general insurance company offering health, car, bike, travel, home, and shop insurance, announced it will start offering one of industry’s lowest waiting periods of one year for pre-existing diseases and specific illnesses.
Specific illnesses typically have a waiting period of two years, while pre-existing diseases may have a waiting period of up to four years. The offering is aimed at ensuring that more people can make a claim for hospitalization related to pre-existing illnesses or conditions and specific illnesses instead of waiting for longer periods of up to four years.
Talking about the offering, Vivek Chaturvedi, Chief Marketing Officer, Digit Insurance, said, “At Digit, we are trying to reimagine health insurance for Indians. This reduced waiting period is especially beneficial because specific illnesses are hard to diagnose at an early stage and one may need to make a claim within two years of buying a policy. A flat one-year waiting period will ensure more of our customers get access to good healthcare in time of need.”
Most common specific illnesses like arthritis, gastric and duodenal erosions/ulcers, cirrhosis of liver, fibroids, ovarian cyst, haemorrhoids, fissures, sinusitis, tonsillitis, etc, which typically have a waiting period of two years, will now be covered after a waiting period of one year.
“Many don’t realise that there are over 30 specific illnesses and hospitalizations for even some of the common ones like cataract, liver cirrhosis, pancreatitis, ovarian cyst, hernia, etc are not covered during the waiting period. Many of these procedures are often quite expensive and opting for a shorter waiting period will help individuals if hospitalization occurs post one year,” said Chaturvedi.
As previously prevalent, the insurer, however, may ask for a medical test on a case-to-case basis before issuing a policy. Also, the policyholder will need to declare all pre-existing diseases, conditions, and symptoms at the time of buying the policy as the claim may otherwise be rejected in case any of the information is concealed at the time of issuing the policy.
