Top 3 Health Insurance Plans in India

Health insurance is a necessity for everyone today. However, finding a good health insurance plan which provides comprehensive coverage at affordable rates can be challenging. But we are here to help you.

In this article, we will discuss India’s top 3 health insurance plans which provide comprehensive coverage at reasonable pricing. 

Here’s The Deal: Finding and buying the right health insurance plan can be daunting. So we are here to help you.

 

You can book a call with us and talk to our expert insurance advisor about your health insurance needs.

 

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

Top 3 Health Insurance Plans in India in 2024

Here are the Top 3 Health Insurance Plans for you.

*Note: Premiums quoted are for a healthy person aged 30 years living in Delhi for an initial sum insured of Rs. 10 Lakh.

How to Find A Good Health Insurance Plan

A good health insurance plan covers all base benefits well. Look at the policy features and see if all the base health insurance benefits are covered without restrictions. 

Here is a list of things you should look for to evaluate Top 3 Health Insurance Plans.

No Disease-Wise Sub-Limits: There should be no sub-limits or restrictions on diseases covered. Your health insurance plan should ideally cover all medical treatments at actuals up to the sum insured.

No Room Rent Restriction: Choose a health insurance plan which allows you to pick any room available in the hospital. The room you stay in during hospitalisation and its daily rent can hugely impact your medical bill. Any compromise here will force you to stay in a lower-category room or pay a huge portion of your bill from your pocket.

Coverage for Daycare Treatments: Nowadays many treatments and minor surgeries are done as daycare treatment such as appendectomy, cataract removal etc. You go to the hospital in the morning, get the treatment done and come back home by the same evening. Make sure all such treatments are covered under your health insurance policy.

Pre / Post Hospitalisation Expenses: Pre and post hospitalisation expenses form a decent portion of your overall medical expenses. A health insurance policy which provides comprehensive coverage should cover these expenses at actuals.

Consumable Benefits: Consumables are single-use items that are used during the treatment in the hospital. These include syringes, gloves, nebulizers, PPE kits etc. Make sure your health insurance policy covers these items.

Lower Waiting Period on PEDs: If you have any pre-existing disease, it’s good to find a health insurance plan which has a shorter waiting period on PEDs.

No Copayment: Make no compromises here. Choose a plan with zero copayments. Period.

Network Hospitals: Network hospitals allow you to avail of cashless treatment facilities so you don’t have to make any upfront payment. Always look for a health insurance plan which provides a wider network of hospitals in your area or city of residence. That makes sense, right?

Claim Settlement Ratio: The claim settlement ratio is an important metric. Go for a health insurer only if its claim settlement ratio is 90% or above.

Incurred Claim Ratio: Choose a health insurer only if its incurred claim ratio is between 60% to 80%. A high incurred claim ratio means that the company is facing a high volume of claims while a low incurred claim ratio indicates it’s not pricing its insurance policies efficiently. 

Volume of Claim Complaints: Pick an insurer with a low volume of claim complaints. Ideally, less than 20 is good.

Ways to Reduce Your Health Insurance Premium

Health insurance premiums are on the rise. And health insurance companies have genuine reasons to hike the premiums such as the rising cost of medical treatment. If you are someone on a budget looking for an affordable health insurance plan, things can get tough for you. 

But here are a few things you can do to reduce your health insurance premium. 

Buy Early: Buy your health insurance policy while you are still young. Premiums are cheap when you are young.

Stay Healthy: Have good lifestyle habits and stay healthy. No smoking and drinking can highly increase your chances of staying healthy for a long time. Health insurance premiums increase if you have pre-existing health issues.

Don’t Opt for Unnecessarily High Cover Amount: Go for an optimal cover amount. A health insurance cover amount ranging between Rs. 10 Lakh to Rs.20 Lakh should be good enough for now. A high cover amount increases your premium making your plan unaffordable. And if you are on a budget, having a decent cover amount makes more sense

Buy Top-Ups: If you buy a small health insurance cover now, it might not be enough 5 or 10 years down the line. To get sufficient coverage, you can add to-ups. To-ups are cheaper alternatives to enhance your health insurance coverage.

Utilise No Claim Bonus: You get no claim bonus for every claim-free year in your health insurance policy. This no claim bonus enhances your coverage at no extra cost. Utilise this feature at the time of claim.

Summary

1. When buying health insurance coverage, always look for a plan which provides comprehensive coverage.
2. A comprehensive health insurance plan should cover all base benefits well with no restrictions on illness or room rent. It should also cover pre and post hospitalisation expenses, daycare treatments and consumable benefits at actuals.
3. Three such health insurance plans in the market in 2024 are HDFC Ergo Optima Secure, Tata AIG Medicare Premier and Care Supreme.
4. Check out insurers’ metrics such as network hospitals, claim settlement ratio, incurred claim ratio and volume of claim complaints while selecting a health insurance plan.
5. Health insurance is a must today. If you are on a budget, you need to keep the premiums low while not compromising on the base benefits.
6. So stay healthy, go for optimal coverage instead of a very high cover, opt for top-ups which are cheaper alternatives and utilise no claim bonus at the time of claim.