Fifteen years ago, I was diagnosed with bone cancer. A major surgery followed, and an implant was put in. The surgery was successful — it rid me of cancer completely. As is often the case with bone cancer, I needed neither chemotherapy nor radiation. After five years of periodic follow‑up scans, I was officially declared cancer‑free.
After the first insurance claim during my surgery, we tried to increase my coverage under our family medical policy. The insurer refused, saying it would be possible only after I was declared cancer‑free. Five years later, once I was medically cleared, we tried again — and were refused again.
Today, I’ve been cancer‑free for more than 15 years with no recurrence. Last year, I underwent a leg amputation because my implant became severely infected — a complication completely unrelated to cancer. The heavy medical bills forced us to rethink our insurance needs, so I once again tried to increase my health‑insurance coverage.
Since my existing insurer wouldn’t increase my sum insured, I reached out to PolicyBazaar. Their sales advisor assured me — repeatedly and confidently — that my medical history would not affect my eligibility. I was fully transparent with him. He recommended Aditya Birla Health Insurance, praised them endlessly, and encouraged me to pay the premium so they could begin the evaluation process. I paid for coverage for both myself and my husband.
Within an hour, I received an email from Aditya Birla saying they would conduct an evaluation. A few hours later, without any evaluation or conversation, I received another email saying my application was rejected — but my husband’s was approved.
After multiple agitated phone calls, PolicyBazaar finally admitted the truth:
My application was rejected because of my past cancer history — the very factor their advisor had assured me would not be an issue.
I shared this on social media so others could be aware, and so companies like these are held accountable for the way they treat people.
What followed was unexpected. Many friends and acquaintances reached out to tell me they had faced similar experiences. It became clear that what happened to me is not an isolated incident — it is a symptom of a much larger problem in India’s health‑insurance ecosystem.
For most of us, health insurance is supposed to be a safety net — a system built to protect us when life becomes unpredictable. But what happens when the very system meant to safeguard us becomes opaque, discriminatory, and financially exploitative? My recent experience forced me to confront this question in a deeply personal way.
Discriminatory Underwriting
Underwriting is meant to assess risk. But when underwriting relies on outdated assumptions rather than current medical reality, it becomes discriminatory.
Cancer survivors — even those who have been disease‑free for a decade or more — are routinely denied coverage or charged exorbitant premiums. This is not science‑based risk assessment; it is stigma disguised as policy.
In my case, the rejection was based solely on a 15‑year‑old medical history with no recurrence. No evaluation. No conversation. No nuance. Just a blanket “no.”
This raises a fundamental question:
Should insurers be allowed to penalize people for medical histories that no longer reflect their present health?
The Growing Problem of Mis‑Selling by Aggregators
Platforms like PolicyBazaar have made insurance choices simpler and more accessible — but they have also created a new problem: aggressive sales practices that prioritize conversions and targets over consumer protection.
Consumers trust these platforms because they appear credible and convenient. But convenience without accountability becomes a trap.
The Cost of Refund Delays
When an insurer rejects a proposal, the premium should be refunded promptly. Yet many consumers — myself included — are told to wait 8–10 days or more.
In my case, ₹1,01,000 was held for over a week without providing any service.
For insurers, this may be a small amount.
For consumers, it is significant.
For the system, it is unacceptable.
Holding consumer funds after rejecting a proposal is not just inefficient — it is financially exploitative.
Senior Citizens Are the Most Affected
Most of us — especially senior citizens — purchased health insurance decades ago, when coverage options were limited and medical costs were far lower. Today, we urgently need higher coverage, but face:
- age‑based discrimination
- medical‑history discrimination
- arbitrary underwriting
- refusal to increase existing coverage
- rejection of new proposals
This forces us to rely on our families and/or our savings for expensive medical treatments, many of which are age‑related. This is neither fair nor sustainable. If the insurance industry is to serve the public, it cannot exclude the very people who need it most.
How Do We Protect Ourselves?
While systemic reform is essential, we can take steps to protect ourselves:
- Insist on written confirmation of eligibility before paying premiums
- Ask brokers to disclose underwriting criteria upfront
- Avoid making payments until all medical history is reviewed
- Document all conversations
- Escalate immediately if mis‑selling occurs
- File complaints with IRDAI when necessary
Awareness is the first line of defence.
What Needs to Change
My experience has made one thing clear: India’s health‑insurance ecosystem needs urgent reform.
We need:
- transparent underwriting guidelines
- fair treatment of long‑term cancer survivors
- accountability for mis‑selling by brokers and aggregators
- faster refund timelines
- protection for senior citizens seeking higher coverage
- clear communication from insurers
- penalties for misleading sales practices
Insurance should not be a maze. It should not be a gamble. It should not be a privilege reserved for the young and perfectly healthy. It should be a system built on fairness, transparency, and trust.
A Final Thought
I am not sharing my story to complain. I am sharing it because silence allows broken systems to continue unchallenged.
If my experience can help even one person avoid the same frustration — or spark even a small conversation about reform — then speaking up is worth it.
We deserve better.
And it’s time the system reflects that
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