Manipal Cigna SARVAH Detailed Review

Manipal Cigna Health Insurance recently launched a slew of health insurance products under a common name, SARVAH, meaning “for all”. It sounds great and is in line with the government’s vision of “health insurance for all”. 

Does this mean that these health insurance plans are for all? What are the features and benefits offered? Do they really come with ZERO waiting periods? We will look deeper into them and try to find out the answers to these questions.

Are you looking for a special health insurance plan that covers your pre-existing illnesses instantly?

 

Book a call with us to discuss your health insurance needs with our expert advisors.

 

Our advisor will help you find the right health insurance plan for you and your family. If you wish to buy the policy, the advisor will guide you through your health insurance purchase journey as well.

The Variants: Pratham, Uttam and Param

Sarvah offers 3 variants: Sarvah Pratham, Sarvah Uttam and Sarvah Param.

Sarvah Pratham is a basic plan that provides comprehensive coverage only against 4 major illnesses, which are cancer, stroke, heart ailment, or major organ/ bone marrow transplant. Other than these 4 major illnesses, this plan covers accident-related hospitalisation.

Sarvah Uttam is the next variant. It provides coverage against all hospitalisation-related expenses. It covers all base benefits well and comes with some add-ons so that you can customise the cover according to your needs.

Sarvah Param is the superior variant that offers more in-built benefits, making the plan feature-rich. This variant offers zero waiting period for pre-existing diseases and named (specific) illnesses. There is absolutely no waiting period, and coverage against all illnesses starts from day 1, making this health insurance plan unique in the industry.

Sarvah Pratham: The Coverage

Manipal Cigna Health Insurance Sarvah Pratham is a basic health insurance plan designed to provide essential coverage against 4 major illnesses. These illnesses include cancer, stroke, heart ailment, and major organ/ bone marrow transplant. Apart from these, it also covers hospitalisation required due to an accident. Sarvah Pratham does not cover any illness other than the 4 listed above. 

However, Sarvah Pratham is a comprehensive plan that covers all hospitalisation-related expenses in the case of 4 covered illnesses. 

Sarvah Uttam: The Base Coverage

Manipal Cigna Health Insurance Sarvah Uttam is a comprehensive health insurance plan covering all base benefits quite well. This health insurance plan covers all in-patient hospitalisation expenses, all day care treatment expenses, pre/post hospitalisation expenses, domiciliary hospitalisation, road ambulance, organ donor expenses and AYUSH treatment at actuals up to the sum insured. 

Room accommodation is only covered up to a single private AC room. However, there are no restrictions on ICU rent. 

Sarvah Uttam: Add-Ons

Sarvah Uttam offers a lot of amazing add-on benefits. Gullak provides a 100% guaranteed cumulative bonus every year up to a maximum of 1000%. Guaranteed cumulative bonus does not depend on your claim status. If you choose this option, the coverage under your policy grows from Rs. 10 Lakh in the first year to Rs. 1.10 Cr. in the 11th year. It helps you fight medical inflation and ensures you never run out of health coverage.

If you have a pre-existing condition such as asthma, diabetes, dyslipidemia, obesity or hypertension, you can choose the Sarathi option. It helps reduce the waiting period on any of these pre-existing illnesses from 36 months to 30 days. 

If you choose Surplus Benefit, your coverage doubles from day 1 only for the first claim, once every policy year. It’s a good feature at very little extra cost. Another great option is Anant, which provides unlimited coverage against some major illnesses. Suppose you suffer from a major illness such as cancer, stroke, heart ailment, or major organ transplant/ bone marrow transplant. In that case, your policy will provide you unlimited coverage irrespective of your base sum insured. It applies in cases of in-patient hospitalisation, daycare procedures, or AYUSH treatment. 

The base Sarvah Uttam plan only covers a single private AC room. However, you also have the option to modify the room type. You can either upgrade to any room or degrade to a twin-sharing AC room.

The base plan does not cover non-medical items. However, you can choose an add-on that covers non-medical items up to the sum insured and listed durable medical equipment such as crutches, walkers, wheelchairs, etc., up to Rs. 1 Lakh.

You can also choose to add personal accident cover, annual health checkup, air ambulance, multiple restoration, and maternity benefits at extra cost. Air ambulance cover is available up to Rs. 10 Lakh in addition to base cover. If you find this plan expensive, you have the option of choosing a deductible or a copay, which can make it affordable. 

Sarvah Param: The Plan with ZERO Waiting Period

Manipal Cigna Health Insurance Sarvah Param is the top variant under the Sarvah umbrella. It comes with a unique built-in feature, the zero waiting period. Yes, you heard it right. The plan comes with zero initial waiting period, zero waiting period on pre-existing conditions, and zero waiting period on specific illnesses. It implies that your coverage on all illnesses starts from day 1 under this variant.

Sarvah Param: The Inbuilt Features

Sarvah Param is a comprehensive health insurance plan that covers all bases up to the sum insured. It covers all the base benefits under the Sarvah Uttam variant, such as in-patient hospitalisation expenses, all day care treatment expenses, pre/post hospitalisation expenses, domiciliary hospitalisation, road ambulance, organ donor expenses and AYUSH treatment at actuals up to the sum insured. 

Room accommodation is only covered up to a single private AC room. However, there are no restrictions on ICU rent. 

In addition, Sarvah Param also offers inbuilt multiple restorations, a cumulative guaranteed bonus (Gullak) and an annual health checkup. 

Sarvah Param: Add On Benefits

The base Sarvah Param plan only covers up to a single private AC room. You have the option to modify your room category. You can either upgrade to any room or downgrade to a twin-sharing AC room.

You can also add 2X cover from day 1 for the first claim in every policy year, personal accident cover, cover for non-medical items and durable medical equipment, and air ambulance cover. Air ambulance cover is available up to Rs. 10 Lakh over and above the base cover. Coverage for non-medical items and durable medical equipment is optional, but we recommend you add it for comprehensive coverage.

You also have options to add voluntary copay and deductible. You can also choose to add an initial waiting period of 30 days and a waiting period of 24 months on specific illnesses. Adding these options can make this variant less expensive. 

Which variant should you choose?

Sarvah Pratham is a very basic plan that provides cover only against major illnesses. Hence, it is not a good option as your base health insurance policy. Your base health insurance policy should ideally cover all illnesses. 

However, Sarvah Pratham is an affordable health insurance plan. You can utilise it to enhance your base coverage by choosing it as a top-up policy with a deductible. This way, you can ensure that you get comprehensive base coverage against all illnesses and a larger coverage through an inexpensive top-up for major illnesses that are more expensive to treat.

Sarvah Uttam is a decent comprehensive health insurance plan. It has no restrictions or sub-limits and covers all illnesses. It comes with add-ons like unlimited restorations, guaranteed cumulative bonus, annual health check up, unlimited coverage for 4 major illnesses and maternity benefits. Hence, it is a good choice for young and healthy people.

Sarvah Uttam imposes all the common waiting periods. The pricing is reasonable. So young and fairly healthy people who don’t mind having waiting periods can go for it.

Sarvah Param is a feature-rich health insurance plan with a lot of in-built benefits. One of them is the zero waiting period. Hence, Sarvah Param is an expensive health insurance plan. This plan is a good choice for people with pre-existing health conditions who are also ready to pay a higher premium for instant coverage.

There are 2 more options to choose from: a voluntary copay or a deductible. You can also add a voluntary initial waiting period and a waiting period on specific illnesses. This way, you can reduce the cost of this otherwise expensive health insurance plan. But choose these options cautiously, as they can come to bite you when you raise a claim.

About Manipal Cigna Health Insurance

Manipal Cigna Health Insurance is a stand-alone health insurance company operating in the Indian insurance space. It is a joint venture between Manipal Group and US-based Cigna Corporation. Manipal Group is an eminent player in the healthcare space and owns a chain of hospitals under the name of Manipal Hospitals. The company was formerly known as Cigna TTK Health Insurance and was founded in 2014. 

The company showed robust growth in business figures in the last few years. It offers a comprehensive range of health insurance plans at affordable prices. However, if we look at the company’s operational metrics, there is still a lot of scope for improvement if the insurer wants to match up with the top players in the industry.

Manipal Cigna’s average claim settlement ratio for the last 3 years is 89.5%, which does not touch our recommended mark of 90%. The average claim settlement ratio by amount for the last 3 years is 56.5%, which is also low compared to the industry average. The insurer needs to improve upon this metric to place itself among the top players in the health insurance market.

The company’s incurred claim ratio looks fine, with the average for the last 3 years hovering around 68%. However, the insurer’s combined ratio is quite high, the average for the last 3 years being 119%. This means that the company is not able to control its management and other costs, which, in the long term, can lead to financial instability. 

In terms of the volume of claim-related complaints too, the company needs to improve a lot. In the last 3 years, the average volume of claim-related complaints is 25.4, which is a high number. We recommend you opt for a health insurer whose volume of claim-related complaints is 20 or less. 

The Final Verdict

Health insurance plans offered by Manipal Cigna Health Insurance under the SARVAH umbrella look good. Sarvah Pratham is a curtailed product covering only 4 major illnesses, including cancer, stroke, heart ailment, and major organ/bone marrow transplant. You can use it as a top-up health insurance plan providing high coverage for major illnesses. Sarvah Uttam is a comprehensive health insurance plan suitable for anyone looking for regular health insurance coverage. Sarvah Param provides instant cover for all illnesses with its zero waiting period feature, which is impressive. However, this variant is expensive, and you can opt for it if you have some health issues for which you want instant cover.

Manipal Cigna Health Insurance lags behind the industry in terms of service and claim settlement. Its slightly low claim settlement ratio by number indicates a less efficient claim settlement process. And when we look at the company’s claim settlement ratio by amount, the picture gets worse. This is also reflected in its high volume of claim-related complaints. With these numbers, we cannot place it among the top health insurers in India. Let’s wait and watch till the company works on its claim processes, and a better experience emerges.