Best Health Insurance Plans in India

Best Health Insurance Plans to buy in India in 2022

Medical costs are on the rise and a health insurance cover has become necessary for individuals and families to cover emergency medical expenses. A health insurance plan provides protection against high medical charges, hospitalisation expenses, pre-medical, and posts medical expenses.

However, you should understand the inclusions, exclusions, terms, features, etc., while choosing a health insurance plan.

To help you in the process, here are some of the best Health Insurance Policies of 2022 in India.

1. Aditya Birla Active Health Platinum Plan

This insurance policy covers Rs 2 lakh to Rs 2 crore in medical expenses and there are 10,000 plus Network Hospitals in the network.

The Aditya Birla Active Health Platinum plan is a good option for individuals who are looking for a comprehensive plan for self as it includes many benefits suitable for them.

 

Key Features of the plan:

 

It covers 60 days of pre and 180 of post-hospitalisation costs and covers chronic conditions such as diabetes, asthma, high blood pressure from day one of the policy.

 

It covers costs related to tests, consultation, and medicine. Also, illness, obesity treatment, home treatment is covered up to the sum insured.

The policy has an outpatient department (OPD) coverage of Rs 1,000 (available for sum insured of Rs 15 lakh and beyond).

2. STAR Health’s Senior Citizens Red Carpet Health Policy

The policy cover is Rs 1 lakh to Rs 25 lakh, Network Hospitals: 12,000 plus

This policy is specially designed for senior citizens of age 60 years and above. Other health insurance plans usually have an age cap of 65. The policy has tenure options of one, two and three years, which is available on individual and family floater basis.

 

Key Features of the plan:

 

No pre-insurance medical test is needed and a wide sum insured coverage of up to Rs 25 lakh is provided.

 

It includes coverage for day care procedures, surgeries, modern treatments such as deep brain stimulation, robotic surgeries, intra vitreal injections, bronchial thermoplasty, and others.

The policy covers pre-existing illnesses from the second year of the policy.

 

3. ICICI Lombard’s Complete Health Insurance Policy

The policy cover is Rs 1 lakh to Rs 50 lakh and Network Hospitals: 6,500 plus

The ICICI Lombard Complete Health Insurance plan is a comprehensive health policy for an individual and for family, with different sub-plans.

Key Features:

It covers pre-existing diseases after two years from the policy start date (available on a plan with sum insured of Rs 3 lakh and above)

No co-pay or pre-medical check-up is needed for policyholders till the age of 45.

Two complimentary health check-up coupons are provided every year for a family floater plan.

4. Star Family Health Optima

The policy cover is Rs 1 lakh to Rs 25 lakh, Network Hospitals: 12,000 plus

The policy gives protection to the entire family on a family floater basis at an affordable premium.

 

Key features of the plan

 

The insured sum insured is automatically increased by 25 percent (up to 5 lakhs) if the policyholder meets with an accident (subject to add-ons).

 

In case the policyholder fails to renew the plan, then they have 120 days’ grace period to renew it.

 

It covers hospitalisation cost, including room charges, medicine, and drugs. Also, 10 percent of the sum insured is allocated for expenses such as emergency ambulance charges and air ambulance expenses.

 

It covers 60 days of pre-hospitalisation and 90 days’ post-hospitalisation expenses. It covers organ transplant expenses up to Rs 1 lakh.

 

5. HDFC ERGO Health Suraksha

This policy covers Rs 3 lakh to Rs 10 lakh and Network Hospitals: 13,000 plus

This insurance plan offers optimised coverage at an affordable rate without any age restriction.

 

Key features of the plan:

 

The policy covers day care, Ayush treatment, organ donation expenses

 

It offers maternity benefits, newborn baby cover along with mental healthcare and air ambulance expenses.

 

Pre-hospitalisation expenses for 60 days and post-hospitalisation expenses for 90 days are covered.

 

How is your health insurance premium determined? All you need to know

Budgeting for health insurance premium payments is also necessary. While approving your insurance application, the insurance company generally conducts a thorough assessment of your health profile to determine the cost of the policy and fix the premium charges.

There are several factors that are considered in the premium calculation and every insurance company has specific guidelines. Here is all you need to know about the factors that influence your premium calculation:

 

Age and gender

 

The insurance companies generally follow the rule of thumb -- higher the age, higher the premium amount. This is because older people above the age of 40 are more at risk of suffering from an illness that may result in a claim. Therefore, it is advisable to buy a health insurance at a young age so that you can get comprehensive coverage and better benefits at an affordable premium. Also, women are charged a lesser premium by most insurance companies.

 

Smoking habits

 

Most online health insurance premium calculators have this factor upfront that raises the premium amount. Since smoking raises the chances of fatal diseases the insurance companies charge a higher premium to cover those. Also, if a person smokes 10 or more cigarettes a day, some health insurance companies might deny the giving the policy, while others will charge extra.

Also, if a person lies about their consumption habits and the insurance company finds about it later, then the policy might get cancelled.

 

Pre-existing diseases

 

Individuals with pre-existing illnesses are more likely to file a claim, hence, insurance companies charge a higher premium to cover that risk. However, most health insurance plans cover pre-existing illnesses after 2 to 4 years of the policy, the certainty of filing a claim is always more.

Thus, for applicants with pre-existing illnesses such as blood pressure, thyroid, and diabetes the chances of rejection or costly premiums are higher.

 

Personal and family medical history

 

The insurer would ask for your and your family’s medical history to determine the premium cost as it reflects whether you are at risk of certain diseases that run in your family.

Most insurers require the applicants of a certain age-group or all applicants to undergo a pre-medical screening to determine the premium costs.

 

Nature of occupation

 

Your nature of work and the amount of risk involved in your work is also an important factor for insurers to determine premium charges. If you’re exposed to dangerous machines or other elements that can harm or affect your health, then your premium charges will also be higher. Similarly, if you working conditions are risk free, your premium would be lesser.

 

 Type of plan you choose

 

The premium payments will also vary depending on the type of health insurance cover you choose. 

 

There are group health insurance policies, family floater and individual policies. Generally, group health covers or corporate insurance premium cost less as they cover a bulk of people. On the other hand, a family floater costs more since there is a higher risk as it covers the entire family. Individual policies cost lesser compared to family floater policies.

 

Also, add-on covers purchased in addition to the policy cost more resulting in higher premium charges.