Endorsement In Health Insurance

Alia, 25 years old, bought a health insurance policy with a high sum insured thinking it would cover her hospital-related expenses if she gets hospitalized in the future. A few months later, she met with a small accident and was hospitalized. When she applied for a claim, she learned that the insurance company denied her claim. It turned out there was a mismatch in the date of birth mentioned in her health insurance policy document and the documents she submitted to the hospital. So, she had to pay the entire hospital bill from her pocket despite having health insurance.

To prevent something similar from happening to you, you must go through your policy document after the insurer issues you the health insurance policy. You should check if the personal details, nominee-related details, medical details, add-ons (if any), etc. are mentioned correctly. If there are any errors, inform your insurer and have them rectified - to avoid any hassles later.

Making such corrections and alterations to the policy, after it is issued, is referred to as ‘endorsement’. In this article, let’s learn in detail about endorsement, its types, and more.
 

What Is Endorsement?

As discussed above, endorsement is the process of making alterations, i.e., adding, removing, or changing your insurance policy’s existing terms.

For example, you can raise an endorsement request if your date of birth is not mentioned correctly. You can also add riders to your existing health insurance plan through endorsement.

Certain endorsements can be carried out during the policy term, while others can be done only during the renewal of your health insurance policy.
 

Two Types Of Endorsement

Here are two types of endorsement you should know about -

• Financial Or Payment-Related Endorsement

  This type of endorsement entails making modifications to your policy that may directly affect your premiums. A financial or payment-related endorsement can only be carried out at the time of renewal of your health insurance policy.

  Some examples of financial or payment-related endorsements in health insurance include -

1. Making changes to your date of birth that, in turn, will change your age.
2. Adding new members to the policy (spouse, newborn baby, etc.).
3. Removing insured family members in case of death or separation.
4. Making changes to height or weight.
5. Changing your policy’s sum insured.
6. Adding riders to the policy.
7. Changing your city when the policy includes geographical pricing.

• Non-Financial Or Non-Payment Related Endorsement

  This Type Of Endorsement Includes Making Those Changes That Do Not Impact The Premium Amount Of Your Health Insurance Policy. Unlike Financial Endorsement, A Non-Financial Endorsement Can Be Carried Out At Any Time When The Policy Is In Effect.

  Some examples of non-financial or non-payment-related endorsements in health insurance include -

1. Making alterations to basic details like name, etc.
2. Updating or making changes to your mobile number, email address, etc.
3. Making changes to education, occupation, bank details, PAN/Aadhaar number, marital status, etc.
4. Changing details pertaining to the policy’s nominee.

Let’s understand both these types of endorsements better with an example.

Two siblings, Riya and Simran, buy separate health insurance policies for themselves. Let’s say Riya’s email ID is misprinted in her policy, and Simran's date of birth is mentioned incorrectly in her policy.

So, in this case -

• Riya can raise an endorsement request at any time during the policy term - and it won’t have any impact on her premium.
• Simran can raise the endorsement request only at the time or renewal - and changing the date of birth will impact her premium.

Steps Involved In The Endorsement Process

The process for carrying out an endorsement in your health insurance policy is as follows -

• Raising The Request

  If you need to change anything in your policy, the first thing you need to do is raise an endorsement request with the insurance company or the platform you purchased the policy from. You will have to inform them about the changes you need to make.

• Submitting Documents

  After raising the request, the insurance company will evaluate the changes to be made and accordingly ask for additional information and documentation to support the endorsement.

  This, however, will majorly depend on the change you want to make. If, for instance, you need to change your email address, you won’t have to submit any documents. But, if you want to add new members to the policy, you may need to submit some documents.

• Making The Changes

  The next step involves making the changes requested. In case of a non-financial endorsement, the insurance company or the aggregator may make the changes themselves, or send you a link and ask you to make the modifications yourself.

  Financial endorsements will be made by the insurance company only. During policy renewal, you will need to pay the revised premium - and the changes will come into effect after your policy is renewed.

• Receiving The Updated Policy Copy

  After this, the insurance company or the aggregator platform will send you an email mentioning the date by which your endorsement will be processed. They will then make the changes or alterations, and send you the updated policy document.

Wrapping Up!

After you receive your policy document, make sure you go through it carefully and check if all the details are mentioned correctly. If there’s any mistake, you can contact your insurer and get them corrected through ‘endorsement’. Endorsement also includes adding new family members, riders, etc. to your existing health insurance policy. Certain endorsements may affect your health insurance policy’s premiums. So, make sure you’re aware of this before going ahead.