Buying a comprehensive health insurance policy has become necessary in today’s age when medical costs are touching the roof. You, therefore, need a health insurance plan which not only has extensive coverage features but also a high sum insured so that your medical expenses are sufficiently covered. However, when you opt for a comprehensive health plan with a high sum insured, affording the premiums might become a challenge. That is why many of you look for the best health insurance plans in India for your coverage needs.
Insurance companies understand the need for low premium health insurance plans and so they price their plans competitively. Moreover, they offer attractive premium discounts which help you reduce the premium outgoes so that you get the cheapest health insurance policy without affecting the coverage. Premium discounts are available in the following cases –
- When you buy a long term plan with a tenure of 2 or 3 years
- When you add two or more family members under the coverage
- When you practice healthy living
- If you do not make a claim in a policy year you might earn a no claim discount
- If you buy the policy online
- If you submit favourable medical reports, many insurance companies allow premium discounts
- You might also get a loyalty discount if you are an existing customer of the company
Insurers offering cheapest health insurance in India
There are different types of health insurance plans which offer affordable health insurance without compromising on the coverage features. The top cheapest health insurance policies under each category are mentioned below –
- Individual health insurance plans
Individual health insurance plans are those which cover a single individual under a single sum insured. Some of the cheapest Mediclaim policy in this category are as follows –
| Name of the plan | Sum insured | Salient features | The premium for a 35-year old healthy male for a sum insured of INR 5 lakhs |
|---|---|---|---|
| HDFC ERGO Silver Smart Plan | INR 3 lakhs to INR 5 lakhs | No sub-limits on room rent Annual health check-ups Sum insured restoration benefit | INR 8744 |
| Universal Sompo Complete Health Care Individual Essential Plan | Inpatient dental treatments are covered OPD expenses are covered Coverage for maternity expenses | INR 6523 | |
| Star Health Comprehensive Individual Plan | No sub-limits on room rent Free health check-up Automatic sum insured restoration | INR 8277 |
- Family floater health insurance plans
Family floater health insurance plans are those which cover you, your spouse, dependent children and dependent parents. The plan covers all family members under a single policy thereby offering complete coverage to your entire family. Top three family floater cheapest health insurance policies are mentioned below –
| Name of the plan | Sum insured | Salient features | The premium for a 35-year old healthy male and his wife aged 34 years for a sum insured of INR 5 lakhs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aditya Birla Platinum Enhanced | INR 2 lakhs to INR 2 crores | Chronic illnesses are covered from day 1 No room rent capping 100% reload of the sum insured | INR 12,648 |
| HDFC ERGO Health Optima Restore | INR 5 lakhs to INR 50 lakhs | 100% restoration of the sum insured 50% no claim bonus after every claim-free year Free annual health check-up | INR 12,392 |
| Religare (now known as Care Insurance) Care | INR 4 lakhs to INR 6 crores | Automatic restoration of the sum insured Free second opinion A single private room without sub-limits | INR 10,885 |
- Senior citizen insurance policy
Senior citizen health insurance plans are those which cover individuals aged 60 years and above. These plans cater to the health insurance needs of older individuals and offer them coverage for their healthcare needs.
| Name of the plan | Sum insured | Salient features |
|---|---|---|
| Star Red Carpet Senior Citizen Health Plan | INR 1 lakh to INR 25 lakhs | No pre-entrance health check-ups are needed Modern treatments are covered Outpatient consultation is also covered |
| IFFCO Tokio Family Health Protector | INR 1.5 lakhs to INR 30 lakhs | 60+ day care treatments are covered Critical illness can be covered No pre-policy tests up to 60 years |
| Oriental Individual Mediclaim Policy | INR 1 lakh to INR 10 lakhs | Dental treatments due to an accident are covered AYUSH treatments are covered Daily hospital cash benefit Voluntary co-payment option |
Alternative to cheapest health insurance plans
Another alternative to the cheapest health insurance plan is a super top-up health insurance policy. The policy allows you to increase your sum insured at affordable premium rates. Super top-up plans have a sum insured and a deductible limit. If the aggregate claims exceed the deductible, the excess claim is paid.
For example, say you buy a super top-up policy for a sum insured of INR 10 lakhs and a deductible of INR 5 lakhs. In a year you suffer a claim of INR 3 lakhs. Since the claim is below the deductible limit of INR 5 lakhs, the super top-up plan would not pay the claim. After a few months, you suffer another claim of INR 3 lakhs. In this case, the total claims suffered aggregate to INR 6 lakhs. Since this amount exceeds the deductible of INR 5 lakhs by INR 1 lakh, the super top-up plan would pay the excess of INR 1 lakh as a claim.
Super top-up plans help in supplementing an existing health insurance policy that you might have. They have affordable premium rates thereby allowing you to easily afford a high sum insured.
The top super top-up plans are as follows –
| Name of the plan | Sum insured | Salient features | The premium for a 35-year old healthy male for a sum insured of INR 10 lakhs and a deductible of INR 5 lakhs |
|---|---|---|---|
| HDFC ERGO Medisure Super Top-up | INR 3 lakhs to INR 20 lakhs | No pre-entrance health check-ups till 55 years of age Constant rates of premiums from 61 years of age Attractive premium discounts | INR 1298 |
| Care Enhance | INR 1 lakh to INR 30 lakhs | No room rent capping Free health check-up every year Coverage for organ donor treatments | INR 3087 |
So, if you are looking for the cheapest health insurance plans, you can consider the above-mentioned plans for a good scope of coverage at attractive premium rates. You can also opt for super top-up health insurance plans along with your normal health insurance policy. Super top-up plans would help in increasing the coverage at affordable premiums and prove to be the cheapest medical insurance coverage. So, make your choice and get covered under a comprehensive health insurance plan which is light on your pockets too.
Also Read: Best health insurance companies in India
FAQ’s
A top-up policy considers each claim against the deductible limit and if the claim exceeds the deductible the excess claim is paid. Under a super top-up plan, however, the aggregate claims made in a policy year are considered against the deductible. If the aggregate value of claims exceeds the deductible limit, the excess claim is paid. Super top-up plans are, therefore, have a higher probability of claim settlement especially in case of multiple small claims within the same policy year and should be chosen for better coverage.
Yes, health insurance premiums increase with age. So, every time that you renew the policy, the premium would increase. Moreover, if you increase the sum insured at renewal or add a new family member to the coverage, the premium would increase.
The rate of discount depends on the type of discount that you are availing and the practice followed by the insurance company. Usually, you can get a discount ranging from 5% to 15% each on different parameters like choosing a long term policy, covering two or more family members, practising a healthy lifestyle, etc.
No claim discounts are offered by some health insurance plans. Under most plans, the sum insured is increased without increasing the premium if you don’t make a claim in a policy year. This type of no claim bonus is also called cumulative bonus because the sum insured keeps increasing after each claim-free year on a cumulative basis.
Some health insurance companies increase their premiums on renewal depending on their claim experience. Either because of your claim history or because of the overall claim experience of the company, the premium rates might be increased to help the insurance company collect higher revenues from customers to maintain their financial stability. This increase in premium due to claim history is called claim-based loading on the premium.
