Best Insurance Hacks to Save Money and Maximise Coverage
Insurance serves as a necessary financial buffer and a safety net for consumers. Health insurance pays for necessary medical expenses while life insurance secures the financial future of your family and a policy on car provides coverage for your vehicle. Each policy serves a unique quirk in our financial ecosystem. The problem arises in the fact that a bulk of the population either pays too much for coverage or their policies do not serve their purpose.
To help address these gaps, we have compiled our best insurance hacks, practical tips and strategies that can help you save up to smartly spend and utilize your coverage, right up to avoiding insurance blunders that can cost you in the long run. The focus of this guide is on hacks regarding health, life, travel, automobile as well as home insurance, supplemented with useful and practical tips that can be of help regardless of policy type.
1. General Insurance tips everyone should know
No matter the insurance type, use these tricks to get a better deal:
• Compare Policies Before You Buy: Use reliable aggregator sites to compare coverage, exclusions, and premiums side by side. Always make sure not the buy the first policy you see.
• Bundle Your Policies: Many insurers will discount you if you buy multiple different policies (e.g., car + home or health + life).
• Pay Annually, Not Monthly: Monthly payments often come with extra worth; paying for the full amount annually will save you on premium costs.
• Have Good Credit: Many insurers (e.g., in India, USA) will calculate your premium based on your credit score.
• DON’T buy unnecessary Add-Ons: Buy only riders or add-ons that have tangible value (e.g., roadside assistance with cars, critical illness with health).
🚨 Pro Tip: Always read the fine print of your insurance policy. Exclusions aren’t always some where obvious or readily available, so knowing them beforehand can save you possible disappointment when it comes time to make a claim.
2. Health Insurance Hacks
Medical costs are skyrocketing, and health insurance is essential. Here are hacks to get the best value: (Compare Health Insurance Plans for Senior Citizens 2025)
a) Choose a Base Plan + Top-Up Cover
Instead of buying a very high base policy, buy a moderate coverage plan + a top-up plan. For example, get ₹5 lakh coverage + a ₹20 lakh top-up. This costs less than buying a ₹25 lakh base plan.
b) Use Your No-Claim Bonus (NCB)
For every claim-free year, your coverage may increase by 5–10% without raising the premium. Over time, this adds significant extra coverage at no extra cost.
c) Stay Within Network Hospitals
Always use insurer-approved hospitals. Cashless treatments save you from heavy out-of-pocket expenses.
d) Choose a Family Floater Policy
If you have dependents, a family floater plan (covering spouse, children, parents) is often cheaper and more flexible than buying individual plans.
e) Employer + Personal Policy Combo
Relying only on your employer’s policy is risky. Always buy a personal health plan as a backup—especially if you change jobs or retire.
(Why Health Insurance Claims Are Rejected & How To Avoid It (2025))
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3. Life Insurance Tips
Life insurance protects your family from a financial standpoint, however the opportunity exists to confuse life insurance with investment.
a) Buy only Term insurance and not traditional plans
a) Buy only Term insurance and not traditional plans
Term insurance provides a higher amount of coverage for less premium outlay. For example, a 25-year-old could get ₹1 crore coverage for ₹500–600 per month.
b) Buy as early as possible
You can get the lowest premium costs when you are younger and healthy. If you buy insurance in your 20’s you benefit from lower premiums for the coming decades.
c) Review your coverage regularly
You should review your coverage every 3–5 years or when major life events or milestones occur like marriage, children, and home loans
d) Avoid adding too many riders.
You should only add the riders that are necessary, such as critical illness or accidental death cover. Many riders are not worth it because you end up overpaying for little value.
e) Buy online and not offline.
When you purchase online, you pay less in premiums because you do not have to cover commissions paid to middle men.
4. Car Insurance Tricks
Car insurance is compulsory in India (and in most cases all over the world) but many are still paying premiums that are too high for no good reason.
(Cheapest Car Insurance hacks-Save upto 30% with smart hacks)
a) Do not lose your No-Claim Bonus
For small repairs, don’t make claims. A No-Claim Bonus can give you up to 50% discount on your premiums after 5 years without making a claim.
b) Add anti-theft devices
Look for devices that are approved like gear locks or GPS trackers can decrease premiums.
c) Use voluntary deductibles
When you agree to join with the car insurance company and pay a percentage of of the repair costs, your premiums will go down but make sure you choose an amount you are happy with.
d) Compare IDV – Insured Declared Value
Make sure your IDV suitalbe to the real market value of your car – overstating it can increase premiums and understating can shorten your claim payout.
e) Renew online
Renewing your car insurance online is usually quicker and more reasonably priced than going through the agent’s option to renew you.
(7 best bike insurance hacks for students)
5. Traveling Insurance Remedies
Travel insurance is usually ignored, though insurance for traveling could save you when you’re overseas.
• Buy Before You Fly: Some countries require proof of travel insurance to obtain a visa.
• Cover Multiple Trips with One Policy: Less expensive than purchasing travel insurance for every trip separately.
• Make Sure You Get Medical Coverage: The cost of hospitalization oversea can be in lakhs per day, you want a policy with the highest medical coverage available, lost luggage is often included in all policies.
• Confirm Adventure Sports Coverage: Standard travel policies may exclude accidents related to skiing, scuba diving or trekking.
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6. Home Insurances Remedies
Your home is probably your most valuable asset but home insurance is often neglected.
• Insure the Structure and your Contents: Insure not just the building, but also your valuables such as: electronics, furniture, and jewelry.
• Make a Record: Take a photo or video record of your belongings, which will help speed up the claims process.
• Install Safety devices: Smoke alarms, CCTV, and security system all could help lower your premiums.
• Bundle with Home and Auto Insurance: Some companies will allow a bundling approach, allowing you to save money on your car insurance.
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7. Unknown Insurance Hacks That Save Dollars
– Group Insurance: Look to see if any of the associations you belong to has cheaper group insurance. Alumni associations, unions of trades, professional organisations often provide group insurance.
– Use Government Schemes: There are government policies which are low-cost like PMJJBY (life security) and PMJAY (health) which allow you to cover yourself at a very low cost.
– Pay Online: A lot of insurers will give you a discount for online payment of your premiums as well.
– Lifestyle Discounts: Non-smokers or people with healthy lifestyles might be typically eligible for reduced premiums.
FAQs about Insurance Hacks
1. Can I actually negotiate a better insurance premium?
Yes, of course – many insurers have room to manoeuvre if you have a good track record or you are insuring multiple products with them.
2. Is it safe to buy insurance online?
Yes, buying insurance online is as safe and cheaper than buying in person as long as you are buying from the official insurer website or a reputable aggregator.
3. Which insurance is the most important?
Health and term life insurance – you should absolutely invest in those before anything else. Of course, car insurance is a legal requirement if you own or run a car.
4. How frequently should I review my insurance policies?
You should review your insurance policies if possible on an annual basis or when a life-altering event occurs (marriage, child, home loan, etc).
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Conclusion
Insurance doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. By implementing these best insurance hacks you can enjoy lower premiums, more coverage, and peace of mind.
It could be anything from buying your term insurance as early in life as possible, to retaining your car insurance no claim bonus, knowing the difference between using your employer’s health cover and private health cover, when to take out annual multi-trip travel plans – it all adds up over the years and you could save lakhs!
And remember: the most important insurance hack is knowledge. The more you know about how insurance policies work, the better informed your decisions will be.