Best Health Insurance Plan in India

Factors To Consider Before Choosing Health Insurance Plans in India

The cost of health care is rising day by day, and this has led to an increase in the number of people opting for health insurance plans.

If you are one of those individuals who are looking for an affordable health insurance plan then you need to consider the following factors before choosing a plan:

• Claim Process

The claim process is a factor that you need to consider when choosing a health insurance plan. The claim process is an important part of choosing a health insurance plan.

The process can vary from plan to plan, but it's important to understand what each company's claims process looks like before signing up. You want to be sure that the company processes claims quickly and efficiently.

A good company will have a process in place that makes it easy for you to get a claim resolved as soon as possible but also takes into account the unique needs of each individual customer.

• Insurance Amount

It's important to look at how much coverage you get with your health insurance plan. This can vary based on factors like age and gender, which means it's important to understand what kind of coverage you're getting before signing up.

You want to consider the amount of coverage you are getting for your monthly premium. This should be based on how much medical care you will need and how much it will cost to cover those expenses.

• Lifetime Renewal

Most insurance companies offer lifetime renewals which means that you will only have to pay a certain amount every year and there will be no additional charges after that. This is one of the best features of these plans as they help you save money on your monthly payments.

• Network Hospitals

Another factor that you should consider when choosing an insurance plan is whether or not the hospital network includes all major hospitals in your area or not. If they don’t, then it may be difficult for you to get treated there if something happens during your stay there.

This can result in delays which can lead to complications later on when it comes time for treatment or surgery

5 Best Health Insurance Policies In India: Overview

Here is an overview of the best health insurance policy in India-

1) Max Bupa Health Companion Plan

Max Bupa Health Companion plan is a comprehensive health insurance plan with a combination of individual or family floater options.

It provides customized insurance policies that can easily go with the needs of different customers.

This plan has three variants of cover, starting from Rs. 2 lakhs to Rs. 1 crore, to fulfil different insurance needs of different buyers.

Some Features and Benefits of the Plan are:

• The plan covers the incurred medical expenses if the insured has been hospitalized for any covered illness.
• The plan even covers pre-hospitalization charges up to 30 days, and post-hospitalization charges up to 60 days for any covered illness.
• It covers the hospital accommodation costs without any upper cap, provided the room is not a suite or above the category of a room.
• This plan also provides in-patient coverage for alternative treatments like homoeopathy, Ayurveda, Siddha, etc.
• It offers a refill benefit, wherein, if the insured has exhausted the base insured amount, then the subsequent claim of an additional sum equal to the base sum insured can be made for many different and unrelated illness

2. Apollo Munich Optima Restore Health

Optima Restore is an innovative health insurance plan to cover your family.

This plan comes with a restore benefit that automatically restores the sum insured in case it is exhausted by any family member.

Some Features and Benefits of the Plan are:

• The family version of this plan extends the insurance coverage to the proposer’s spouse, dependent children, dependent parents, and parents-in-law.
• The plan covers the medical expenses incurred if hospitalized for more than 24 hours.
• The plan offers pre-hospitalization cover for up to 60 days and post-hospitalization cover up to 180 days after hospitalization.
• This plan provides an automatic restoration benefit of the base amount insured if the basic sum insured and the multiplier benefit have been exhausted. It is available on an annual basis.
• The plan offers a discount on the renewal of the policy if the insured accomplishes the average step count target in the assigned time as per Apollo’s mobile app. This is a special discount on being active.
• As per the multiplier benefit, for every claim-free year, the plan offers a bonus of 50 per cent to 100 per cent of the amount insured upon policy renewal.
  If a claim is filed/processed, the bonus will decrease by 50 per cent of the amount insured upon renewal.

3) Cigna TTK ProHealth Plus

Cigna TTK ProHealth Plus Plan for health insurance gives you value for money. The coverage features are exhaustive, while the premium is affordable.

This plan also provides premium discounts, wellness packages, and health-related rewards.

Some Features and Benefits of the Plan are:

• The plan provides the flexibility of the sum insured among four options of Rs. 4.5 lakhs, Rs. 5.5 lakhs, Rs. 7.5 lakhs and Rs. 10 lakhs as per the needs of the insurer.
• The plan offers a pre-hospitalization cover for up to 60 days and a post-hospitalization cover for up to 180 days after hospitalization.
• The plan also offers emergency medical coverage all around the world. In case an insured is travelling abroad, he/she can avail of this benefit up to the sum insured and the insurer will reimburse it later.
• This plan offers reimbursement of Rs. 2,000 for out-patient charges such as pharmacy expenses, doctor’s consultation fees, etc on an annual basis.

4. Royal Sundaram Health Lifeline Supreme

Royal Sundaram provides a comprehensive health insurance plan names Lifeline Supreme, which includes annual health check-ups, health and wellness benefits, a second opinion in case of critical illness, etc.

Some Features and Benefits of the Plan are:

• This plan comes with various insured sum amount options of Rs. 5 lakhs, Rs. 10 lakhs, Rs. 15 lakhs, Rs. 20 lakhs and Rs. 50 lakhs.
• The plan provides reimbursement of pre-hospitalization expenses for 60 days and post-hospitalization expenses for 90 days for the medical treatment of a covered illness.
• On renewal of the plan, it offers no claim bonus ranging from 20% to 100% of the sum insured. Even if any claim is lodged, the no claim bonus is retained.
• The plan even offers coverage for alternative treatment processes such as Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, and homoeopathy up to Rs.30,000.
• The plan covers expenses incurred in getting a second opinion from another doctor on the diagnosis & treatment of 11 specified critical illnesses.

5. Aditya Birla Active Assure Diamond Plan

Aditya Birla Active Assure Diamond Plan is a health insurance plan with an affordable premium that offers various benefits and wide insurance coverage.

The plan is formulated to offer comprehensive health insurance coverage.

Some Features and Benefits of the Plan are:

• The plan offers to reload the sum insured, in case the sum insured and no claim bonus/super no claim bonus is exhausted. As per this cover, an insured gets up to 150% additional sum insured (Rs. 50 lakhs at highest) for hospitalization due to an unrelated illness.
• The plan offers a pre-hospitalization cover for 60 days and post-hospitalization expenses for up to 180 days.
• The plan even offers coverage for alternative treatment processes such as Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, and homoeopathy up to the pre-decided limit.
• The plan covers a second opinion for a major critical illness such as cancer, heart attack, or kidney failure from a doctor of a network-listed hospital.
• It also covers personalized coaching by a health professional who will guide the insured person in case he/she is suffering from hypertension, hyperlipidemia, asthma, diabetes, etc.

As the saying goes “Health is Wealth”, it is very much important to secure the future of your health in advance. Health is the safest way to plan for uncertain and unexpected future medical expenses.

There are various categories of health insurance available in the market. Simultaneously, it is equally important to choose the right insurance policy which fulfils your needs and suits your budget.

You may also want to read The Life and Health Insurance Checklist

Conclusion

Health insurance policies in India provide protection for medical expenses. These include primary health care, hospitalization, maternity, and neonatal care, pediatric services, laboratory services, and other medicines.

You should analyze your needs properly and cover yourself accordingly. Before buying any policy, you should go through the policy properly. Sum assured, types of illnesses covered, network hospitals, the procedure of claim settlement, etc are some of the crucial aspects which are required to be studied properly. 

One plan which is best for a person might not be the right one for you. So, choose your best fit plan according to your needs which will serve you the best.

Disclaimer: This blog is solely for educational purposes. The securities/investments quoted here are not recommendatory.

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Research Analyst - Bavadharini KS