When a medical claim arises, is a reimbursement product better or the one which pays a lump sum amount to the insured? Also, what are the advantages of buying health plans from a life insurer?Both a reimbursement product and the ones paying a lump sum (benefit) amount have their own advantages and disadvantages. While a reimbursement policy is intended to indemnify the actual hospitalisation expenses incurred subject to sum assured, a benefit policy is a named ailment or surgery policy which will only pay a flat amount, irrespective of actual expenses incurred.The key difference is that policies paying a lump sum have no correlation with the end usage of payment. Generally, insurance covers a restrictive list of ailments or surgeries, while a reimbursement policy is more exhaustive in coverage but indemnifies only the actual expenses. These two products complement each other.In the Indian market, 95 per cent of the policies sold are indemnity-based. Life insurers generally offer  benef

General Insurance: Rakesh Jain

Business Standard

Chief Executive Officer of Reliance General Insurance, answers your queries

Readers' Corner: Rakesh Jain

We had applied for a health insurance floater cover for my father-in-law and mother-in-law from a standalone insurer.