What is Moratorium Period in health insurance?
The moratorium period is the span of continuous coverage after which your insurer can no longer contest or reject a health claim on grounds of non-disclosure or misrepresentation, except for proven fraud. IRDAI has cut this from 96 months (8 years) to 60 months (5 years), giving long-term policyholders much stronger protection against claim refusals.
In plain English
After you have held your policy for five continuous years, the insurer loses the right to dig into old paperwork to deny a claim, unless it can prove you committed fraud.
A quick example
You buy a plan in 2021 and renew it every year. In 2027, past the 5-year mark, you make a Rs 4 lakh claim. Even if the insurer later spots a minor non-disclosure in your original form, it cannot reject the claim on that basis once the moratorium is over, barring established fraud.
What IRDAI says
The IRDAI Master Circular on Health Insurance (29 May 2024) reduced the moratorium from 8 years to 5 years of continuous coverage, after which no claim can be contested except for proven fraud. The clock covers the sum insured plus any later enhancements.
Trusted by 50,000+ Users Who Now Actually Understand Their Health Insurance
We don't sell policies - we simplify them.
No pressure to buy.No spam.Just unbiased advice.FAQs
Only for proven fraud. Once five continuous years are completed, the insurer cannot reject a claim for non-disclosure or misrepresentation, so established fraud is the sole remaining ground for refusal.
A fresh 5-year moratorium applies only to the enhanced portion of the sum insured. The original cover keeps its existing moratorium timeline, so part of your policy may be protected sooner than the top-up.
No. The waiting period decides when a condition starts being covered, while the moratorium decides when the insurer can no longer contest claims at all. They run on separate clocks.
Reviewed by
Atul SharmaAVP, Founder’s Office at CoverSure · 7+ years in insurance (ex-Tata, Ditto, Cholamandalam)
