Q: My father, 57 years old, is diabetic and has bilateral kidney failure. He does not have any insurance policies. Is there any policy, which I could draw on his name through, which I could get benefit for dialysis expenses or even a kidney transplant.

A:In health insurance there is a clear demarcation for coverage of diseases, which occur before taking a policy and those, which occur after taking a policy. Ailments, which an individual suffers before taking the policy, are termed as pre-existing ailments. These are typically excluded from he policy or are covered, especially in case of some newer covers after a certain moratorium period and often referred to as exclusion 4.1. Having said that, please note that pre-existing ailments can, however, get covered in case of tailor made group insurance covers often taken by employer groups/corporate clients on paying additional premium. In case your organisation covers pre-existing and as well has coverage for your father then you can get him covered under the same. Otherwise, it is unlikely that any insurance company will provide you coverage for this. Often people get sensitive to taking a health insurance cover at a senior age due to the expected claims and for which the insurance company avoid giving cover to such high-risk categories.