How a Simple Health Policy Renewal Turned Into a Lesson in What Not to Do and What Businesses Should Fix

I had a top-up health policy with one of the largest insurance providers in India, which recently came up for renewal.

When I tried to renew the policy online, I saw a premium of INR 20,200. The premium that I paid last year was INR 10,200, and this was double that.

So, I called customer care to understand why there was a steep increase. They told me that since my son turned 21 this year, he is now considered an adult under the policy, which led to a higher premium.

I was curious, and I asked them, “What if I remove him from the current policy and buy a separate one just for him?”

I was told his standalone policy would cost just a little over INR 3,000. That left me even more puzzled.

How does an INR 3,000 policy suddenly cost over INR 10,000 just because it’s bundled with ours?

But, of course, there’s a catch.

If I opt for a new policy for him now, he would lose continuity benefits and have to go through a waiting period again.

That’s not a risk I’m willing to take, so I’ve decided to go ahead and pay the higher premium this year. At the same time, I’ve also decided to start a new policy in his name so that by next year, I won’t have to deal with this inflated cost again.

What’s frustrating is that I had to figure all of this out on my own.

We talk about AI-first and digital transformation in everything we do nowadays. Given this context, shouldn’t businesses proactively help customers navigate such scenarios?

Instead, everything feels confusing and reactive.

When I checked with their business team on why such a huge difference exists between bundled and individual premiums, their response was:

That’s how it works. We don’t have control over it.

Honestly, it doesn’t feel like digital transformation. It feels like I’m working harder just to make sense of things that should have been made simpler.

And that’s where the real problem lies.

Are We Designing for the Customer?

We throw around terms like “AI-first” and “digital transformation” like they’re already making life easier. But are they?

If I, a reasonably informed customer, had to do all the mental math, call support, evaluate policy structures, and still walk away puzzled, what hope does the average customer have?

True digital transformation is about making experiences smarter and customer-centric.

Do your systems understand context, anticipate user needs, and guide your customers?

Passive Responses Don’t Help

Why did I not receive a text or an email stating that my son turning 21 would impact my policy premium?  

A simple notification 30 days before renewal could have prepared me for this change. A notification 90 days earlier would have allowed me to take a new policy in my son’s name to beat the waiting time.

Do your systems help you think ahead for the customer?

It doesn’t matter whether the change is due to age or eligibility; don’t let the customer stumble upon it. Instead, keep them informed proactively.

Provide Customers with Options

When I went to renew, the portal could’ve helped me explore alternatives:

• What would the premium look like without my son on the policy?
• What If I bought a separate policy for him?
• What if I added him later?
• What do I gain or lose in terms of benefits?

A side-by-side comparison or a simple slider to simulate different coverage options would’ve made everything clear without the need for a phone call.

Support That Actually Supports

When I called their customer support, they listened to my challenge, and I was directed to their business team.

I thought I would get clarity from their business team.

Instead, I got a shrug. “This is how it works.”

Was that an explanation? I’d say that it is an escape.

Your agents and business team need tools, training, and authority to explain the logic behind pricing and product design. And they need escalation paths for edge cases like mine.

Get Your Tech and Process to Work Together

Most businesses have tech teams and business teams working in parallel silos. But experiences like mine don’t live in silos. They sit at the intersection of product rules, pricing logic, customer lifecycle, and system behavior.

Do you have someone who owns the end-to-end renewal experience?

Someone should own the entire customer journey from renewal notice to decision-making to support to payment, and not just the backend workflows or the UX.

Focus on Customer Journey Over Transactions

Do you treat your customers as line items in a system?

All you are worried about is that Policyholder ID 46219 needs to pay a premium of INR 20,200.

Is there a story behind that number?

A simple story like this.

Someone who doesn’t want to lose continuity, someone trying to make an informed decision for their family.

Digital journeys need to reflect that. Every interaction should feel personal, not programmed. Intelligent systems must recognize life events, like a child turning 21, and offer guidance the way a human advisor would.

Unfortunately, in my case, even the human advisors were hiding behind their unknown processes and policies and were not of much help.

This isn’t just about insurance.

Any industry offering plans, renewals, or subscriptions should take note. The more complex your product, the more important it is to make the customer journey simple, predictive, and transparent.

Right now, it feels like I have to work harder to understand something that could’ve been made simple.

That’s not digital transformation. That’s just digital decoration.

Instead of hearing, “That’s just how it works,” if I had heard, “Here’s how we can make it work better for you.”

Imagine my delight, and that truly would be transformational.