New Delhi, Sept. 28 -- When in the market for health insurance, most people fixate on two things: the sum insured, or the health insurance cover your family needs, and the cost of the plan. But that is only the starting point. Neither number tells you how usable or reliable the policy may be when a hospital bill arrives. That answer comes from understanding what the policy covers, where it falls short and how the insurer has handled claims.

To help you navigate these metrics, Mint tied up with ILM Research, formerly Beshak Research, an independent ratings portal, to bring you our annual Mint ILM Health Insurance Ratings. The aim of the ratings is to go beyond price and ask a different question: What does a plan promise, and how reliably ...