Today, we all follow a sedentary lifestyle, which makes us more vulnerable to health issues. To cope up with the continuous increase in the medical facilities, having health insurance is a necessity.
However, while purchasing health insurance, the foremost thing that strikes the mind is- which is the best pocket-friendly health plan in the market?
After analyzing several parameters such as sum insured, pre & post-hospitalization expenses, etc. below is the list of the best 5 health insurance plans in the Indian market that won’t disappoint its customers.
- Star Health Family Health Optima
- Max Bupa Health Companion Individual
- HDFC ERGO My: health Suraksha
- Star Health Senior Citizen Red Carpet
- Aditya Birla Activ Assure Diamond
1. Star Health Family Health Optima
Family Health Optima Plan is a super saver plan. It provides coverage to the entire family under a single sum insured. It comes loaded with extra benefits. Let’s take a look at it.
Benefits and Features:
- Room Rent Facility: The plan provides room rent facility with a sub-limit of maximum up to Rs.5,000. There is an option of a single standard AC room for policyholders having sum insured Rs. 5 Lakhs and above.
- Organ Donor Expenses: All the organ donor treatment expenses are covered under this plan. The plan provides coverage up to 10% of the sum insured or a maximum of Rs. 1 Lakh.
- Air Ambulance Cover: Air ambulance cover is a special benefit under the plan. It is provided to policyholders with a sum insured of Rs. 5 Lakhs and above. Air ambulance cover is provided up to 10% of the sum insured.
- Ambulance Cover: In case of emergency, the ambulance expense is covered under the plan.
- New Born Baby Cover: For the newly born baby cover, the most important thing is that the mother should be covered under the plan for a continuous 12 months duration. The newborn baby gets cover from the 16th day till the time the policy expires. It is subject to a limit of 10% of the sum insured or Rs.50,000, whichever is less.
- Bonus: In the case of the claim-free year, the policyholder gets a bonus of up to 25% of the sum insured for the first claim-free year. An additional 10% bonus is provided for subsequent years coming forth.
- Alternative Treatment: AYUSH treatment is considered under alternative treatment. The maximum coverage under this can go up to Rs. 20,000.
- Second Medical opinion: As a special feature of the plan, the second medical opinion expenses are covered by the health insurance company in case the insured is diagnosed with a critical illness.
2. Max Bupa Health Companion Individual
Max Bupa Health Insurance Company offers a health companion plan. There are 3 variants available under the plan based on sum insured options and facilities. Below are some of the other features and benefits of the plan.
Benefits and Features:
- Domiciliary Hospitalization: Domiciliary hospitalization facility is provided under the plan and it continues for three consecutive days. All the expenses incurred during the domiciliary hospitalization is paid by the insurance company.
- Emergency Ambulance: The plan provides coverage for the expenses of the emergency ambulance.
- In-patient Care: Inpatient care is provided to the insured in case of hospitalization for 24 continuous hours. All the expenses incurred in this process are covered by the plan.
- Living Organ Donor Transplant: Organ donor treatment cost is borne by the health insurance company if the person is insured under the plan.
- Waiting Period: Under the plan, a waiting period of 4 years is applied in the case of pre-existing disease. Other than this, an initial waiting period of 30 days and a specific waiting period for a list of diseases is also applied.
3. HDFC ERGO My: health Suraksha
HDFC ERGO Insurance Company has always brought to you the best of the health plans and one of those is my: Health Suraksha. The plan covers you in all possible ways and can easily fit your budget. Let’s check out more details of the plan.
Benefits and Features:
- Extended Cumulative bonus: The plan provides the option to extend the cumulative bonus cover.
- Newborn Baby Cover: The plan provides coverage to the newly born baby since the birth subjected to a condition that the parents are insured under the plan.
- Organ donor: All the expenses incurred in the treatment of the organ donor during organ transplant is borne by the health insurance company under the plan.
- Emergency ambulance: An emergency ambulance cover is provided under the plan.
- Renewal Benefits: Under renewal benefits, a cumulative bonus of 10%/ 25% of the basic sum insured is applied under the policy.
4. Star Health Senior Citizen Red Carpet
Star Health Insurance Company provides one of the best health plans for senior citizens named Senior Citizen Red Carpet Plan. The plan has proved to be of great help to elderly people with the choice of good sum insured options. The benefits and features of the plan have been explained below.
Benefits and Features:
- In-Patient hospitalization: All the expenses incurred under in-patient hospitalization are covered by the insurance company subjected to co-payments applied to it as per the details mentioned in the brochure.
- No Pre-insurance Medical Screening: Health checkup is not mandatory before buying the policy.
- Hospitalization Cover: Hospitalization cover includes expenses of room, boarding, and nursing, etc.
- ICU Charges: In the case of intensive care unit hospitalization, the insured is provided with coverage of :
- Up to 2% of the SI – For sum insured between Rs.1 lakhs and Rs. 10 lakhs.
- Actual ICU expenses are covered – For sum insured between Rs.15 lakhs to Rs. 25 lakhs.
- Health checkup: Under this plan, the annual health checkup expense cover has sub-limits based on the sum insured opted by the policyholder.
- Co-payment: Copayments are applied in the case of treatment.
- For pre-existing disease treatment: 50% of every admissible claim.
- For non-pre-existing disease treatment: 30% of every admissible claim.
5. Aditya Birla Activ Assure Diamond
The Activ Assure Diamond Plan is offered by Aditya Birla Health Insurance Company. The plan provides comprehensive coverage to the policyholder and comes with a higher sum insured option. Several appreciable benefits are provided under the plan. Let us explore more about them.
Benefits and Features:
- In-patient hospitalization: In-patient hospitalization coverage is provided in case the policyholder is hospitalized for more than 24 hours continuously. All the expenses relating to room rent, doctor consultancy fee, operation theatre, medicines, drugs, etc are covered under the plan.
- Daycare Procedures: Certain treatments take less than 24 hours due to technological advancements. Such 586 procedures are covered under the plan in case of hospitalization for less than 24 hours.
- Domiciliary Hospitalization: Domiciliary hospitalization is provided in case the insured is not able to travel to the nearest network hospital/ health center or there is no availability of a bed in the hospital.
- Sum Insured Reinstatement: In case the policyholder has exhausted all of his/her sum insured along with the bonus, the insured sum is reloaded from the company’s side.
- Organ Donor Expenses: All the expenses incurred in the treatment of the organ donor is provided by the health insurance company under this plan.
- Daily Allowance: The policyholder gets daily cash of Rs. 500 subject to terms and conditions of the policy.
- Health Coach Facility: The plan provides its policyholders with a health coach facility. The health coach keeps track of the nutrition and diet the insured intakes and can help him/her stay fit.
- HealthReturns: The Activ Assure Diamond plan also rewards its policyholders for keeping fit in the form of HealthReturns. It can be used to pay bills of fever medicine or surgery (in case the surgery is not covered due to the waiting period).
- Second E-Opinion Option: The insured gets coverage for the second opinion in case of critical illness.
- Room Upgrade: The insured can get admitted to the hospital and there is no restriction on the type of room. The room upgrade option is for policyholders who have opted for sum insured of Rs. 5 Lakhs and above.
- Tax Benefit: The premiums paid under the plan are tax exempted according to section 80D of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
