Hiding Health Facts Can Lead to Repudiation of ClaimsOne of the most important aspects associated with taking up health insurance is the time whenclaims are filed. After all, is that not the very point of taking up health cover in the first place?However, reports from IRDA state that an increasing number of claims on medical health insuranceare being repudiated, or not being honoured, by providers of health policy.However, that does not give the full picture. While there may be an increasing number of healthpolicies that may be repudiated, there are also a large number of policies that have been honoured.While technical glitches and not adhering to policies with regard to claims of health policy covermay be reasons for delays, the vast majority of reasons why health policy may be repudiated orannulled, have to do with hiding of health facts.Medical Checkup: Most providers of health polies tend to make availability of insurance benefitscontingent on the successful completion of medical checkup. This is more the case when peopletaking up health cover tend to be of and above a certain age group. The medical checkup involveschecking of certain elementary and predetermined criteria with reference to pre-existing conditions,to be confirmed through approved diagnostic centres.Repudiation of claims: Complications arise in honouring of health cover when there is enough reasonor ground to repudiate the claims. One of the main reasons why such repudiation could occur is lackof honesty in terms of disclosure of pre-existing conditions or ailments on the part of the insured.While insurance benefits are for everyone, it is also standard regulation that the health policy not bemisused for personal gains.It is important to go through proper medical checkup and adhere to standards of disclosure of pre-existing conditions or ailments when people take up health polies. If it is found that certain healthfacts have not been shared or have been withheld, the policyholder may be deprived of insurancebenefits, and the entire health insurance policy may get annulled.Grievance Cell: It is not a one-way track after all, when it comes to health cover. While people whohide health facts away and do not disclose their health conditions may not get away with partialdisclosure, it is also a fact that there is room for grievance redressal if there is repudiation ofmedical health insurance under insufficient grounds.If your claim on health insurance has not been honoured, you could appeal to the regional insuranceorganisation, or the Chief Manager of the grievance cell of the organisation. Another option is toapproach the office of the Insurance Ombudsman.However, it is important that health facts be shared in their actual reality for insurance benefits tobe accrued when they matter the most.