Looking for the right health insurance can be a confusing and a tedious process. Since multiple insurance providers offer a variety of policies, picking the best plan becomes a challenge. You need to consider multiple options, including riders, coverage, exclusions, network hospitals, and more.
You may choose to either buy an individual health insurance policy or a family health insurance plan based on your requirement. Know in detail the offerings on health policies and how it benefits you to choose best health insurance in India.
Key benefits offered by the best health insurance plans available in India
Look for the below benefits to choose the best health insurance in India:
Cashless hospitalisation
Most health insurance plans offer cashless hospitalisation. Insurance companies tie up with several hospitals to create a network to offer quality cashless mediclaim policy. Get your treatment at any of the network hospitals without worrying about the availability of funds. Here, the insurers directly settle the claims with the hospitals.
Comprehensive coverage
The best health insurance policy offers coverage for a range of healthcare expenses. This includes in-patient and pre- and post-hospitalisation expenses. Some insurance policies also provide coverage for daycare treatments, ambulance expenses, and domiciliary treatment.
Tax benefits
Avail tax benefits under relevant sections of the Income Tax Act, 1961 for paying premiums towards the health insurance policy.
No Claim Bonus or cumulative bonus
You gain a cumulative bonus for having claim-free policy years. You can benefit from this bonus by increasing your sum insured when renewing the health policy.
Daily allowance
Many health insurance policies offer daily cash benefit. This helps you take care of the miscellaneous expenses when hospitalised. You may get up to Rs. 1,000 daily, depending on the health insurance chosen.
Critical illness coverage
Critical illness cover offers coverage for treatments of life-threatening diseases. Health insurance policies also offer critical illness cover as an add-on benefit. Some also include it in their key benefits. You get coverage for cancer, stroke, heart diseases, kidney failure and more. Check the list of the critical illnesses covered under the health insurance policy when buying one.
Extra benefits
Other common benefits offered by health insurance policies:
- Free annual health check-ups
- Online doctor consultations
- Consultations with nutritionists
- Discounts on lab tests
List of best health insurance plans in India for 2024
Finding good insurance plans can get tricky with so many options available in the market. Visit Bajaj Finance Insurance Mall to get a quick view of the best health insurance plans in India, offered by leading insurers:
Best health insurance plans in India - 2024 |
Entry age (Min-Max) |
Description |
Sum insured |
Number of network hospitals |
18 years and above |
|
Up to Rs. 10 lakh |
10,000+ |
|
18-60 years |
|
Up to Rs. 5 lakh |
8,500+ |
|
Bajaj Allianz Health Guard Insurance Plan |
Age (adults): 18-65 years Age (dependent children): 91 days to 25 years |
|
Up to Rs. 50 lakh |
7000+ |
Age (adults): 18-65 years Age (dependent children): 91 days to 25 years |
|
Up to Rs. 5 la on lab tests |
Check out more benefits of health insurance
Best health insurance policies in India
Check out the details of the best health insurance plans offered through Bajaj Finance:
Aditya Birla Group Activ Health Plan
This Aditya Birla health insurance policy provides coverage for treatment against chronic illnesses.
It comes in options with and without co-pay, providing sum insured of up to Rs. 10 lakh.
You can claim medical expenses incurred 30 days before hospitalisation and 60 days after hospitalisation.
Organ donor expenses, road ambulance, and room rent charges are a few other benefits covered under this plan.
Niva Bupa Health Plus Plan
This comprehensive healthcare plan provides coverage against hospitalisation expenses, offering sum insured of up to Rs. 5 lakh.
You can get coverage for pre- and post-hospitalisation expenses.
Domiciliary treatments and emergency ground ambulance are among the other benefits that the plan offers.
No medical underwriting is required for this plan.
Get coverage of up to the sum insured in case of organ transplant.
Bajaj Allianz Health Guard Insurance Plan
It takes care of the medical treatment expenses incurred during hospitalisation resulting from serious illness or accident.
The policy offers a daily cash benefit of Rs. 500 per day. This is capped at 10 days per policy year, to cover reasonable accommodation expenses for one parent or legal guardian. This benefit applies when staying with a minor insured person (under the age of 12), subject to the condition that the hospitalisation claim is approved under the inpatient hospitalisation treatment cover.
Medical expenses of pre-natal and post-natal hospitalisation per delivery.
Manipal Cigna Pro Health Group Plan
This policy provides coverage for hospitalisation exceeding 24 hours, encompassing expenses such as room rent, ICU charges, nursing, doctor, and surgeon fees.
The plan extends coverage to include oxygen, operation theatre costs, and other associated medical expenses.
Covers treatments such as ayurveda, unani, sidha, homoeopathy. Also, yoga, and naturopathy.
Domiciliary treatment, road ambulance cover, daycare treatment, and organ donor expenses are a few other benefits that you can claim with this plan.
Things to consider before choosing the best health insurance plans in India
Tips to choose the best health insurance plan that covers all your medical needs:
• Coverage
You should make sure that the plan covers hospitalisation, surgeries, diagnostic tests, and pre-and post-hospitalisation expenses.
• Premiums
Check the premium of the plan and ensure that the amount is worth the coverage offered on the plan.
• Waiting period
Some health insurance plans have a waiting period before offering coverage for certain health conditions and treatments. Check the applicable waiting period in health insurance plan before choosing, so you can claim for the benefits hassle-free.
• Exclusions
Every health policy includes a set of exclusions that the insurer does not cover. Check the terms and conditions to know the list of exclusions in the policy. The common exclusions include treatments for drug abuse or addictions, or self-inflicted injuries.
• Claim settlement ratio
The claim settlement ratio defines the insurance company’s efficiency to settle the claims. A high claim settlement ratio in health insurance indicates a smooth and hassle-free claims process.
• Add-ons
Look for additional benefits you can get on the comprehensive health insurance policy. You get add-on covers like maternity cover, critical illness cover, hospital cash cover and more.
• Sum reinstatement benefit
Most health policies offer the benefit of restoring 100% of the sum insured if it gets exhausted during the policy term. This helps you to continue staying covered under the plan till the policy expires.
• Waiting Period for pre-existing disease
Check the waiting period mentioned in the plan in case of pre-existing disease coverage. Many policies have a waiting period during which pre-existing conditions are not covered. Opt for a policy with a shorter waiting period if you have pre-existing health issues.
• Maximum renewal age
You must choose a policy that offers coverage for as long as possible, ideally without an upper age limit.
• Check exclusions
All insurance policies have a set of things which are not covered under the policy. While going through the policy wording for a health insurance, you must go through the list of exclusions, to ensure none of your requirements are excluded from the policy.
• Cashless hospitalisation
Look for policies that offer cashless hospitalisation, as this can ease the financial burden during medical emergencies.
Also, know how to claim health insurance.