By Staff Reporter
In glossy brochures and television commercials, health insurance companies promise peace of mind, cashless care, and “free annual health checkups.” But what happens when a real customer actually tries to use those benefits?
For Saurabh Sharma (31), a media professional and digital creator, the answer came not through a hospital or a diagnostic center—but through silence, delay, and complete disregard for his health and time.
Saurabh had taken a health insurance policy from Zurich Kotak General Insurance, which prominently advertises a free annual health checkup as part of its customer benefits. Recently, after feeling unwell and on the advice of a doctor, Saurabh decided to avail the service.
“I wasn’t doing this for luxury. I was unwell and had a medical recommendation. This was exactly the situation where insurance is supposed to support you,” Saurabh said.
After placing the request with Zurich Kotak, the insurer assigned the task to its empaneled service partner DocOnline Health India Pvt Ltd, which called Saurabh on February 10 and scheduled the appointment for February 14 between 9:00 am and 10:00 am. The booking was reconfirmed on February 13 with confirmation no.94165
Following the instructions for blood tests, Saurabh fasted for more than 13 hours and cleared his work schedule for the morning. But the technician never arrived.
“No call. No update. No explanation. I waited till 10:40 am. I was weak, hungry, sick and mentally stressed because I also had to go to work,” he said.
When Saurabh finally called DocOnline, he was told to eat food and reschedule.
“That’s when I felt truly cheated. I asked them—what is the value of my time? What about my health? I followed every rule. They didn’t even bother to inform me that no one was coming,” he said.
What makes the situation more disturbing is that Saurabh later discovered dozens of similar complaints on Google and consumer platforms about the same service partner failing to show up for appointments, delaying tests, and mismanaging patients.
“They spend money on online reputation management and paid PR, but at ground level, patients are left helpless,” Saurabh added.
Consumer rights experts say this is becoming a pattern across the insurance industry. Many insurers aggressively market add-on benefits like free health checkups, quick diagnostics, and home sample collection to attract customers. But once the policy is sold, these services are outsourced to low-cost vendors who are unable to handle real demand.
The result is a system where companies win contracts on paper but fail patients in reality.
“This is not just bad service. This is a breach of trust,” Saurabh said. “People take insurance in moments of vulnerability. When you are sick, you should not be chasing call centers and begging for what you already paid for.”
Saurabh has now decided to escalate the matter to insurance regulators and consumer grievance platforms, seeking accountability and compensation.
“My case is not unique. I am speaking out because thousands of policyholders are silently suffering the same thing. Insurance should be about security, not stress.”
As India’s insurance market continues to grow rapidly, stories like this raise a critical question:
Are insurance companies selling protection — or just promises?