A good health policy is the difference between "we'll handle it" and "where will the money come from?". Here are all the types, the words hidden in your policy, the new rules that help you, and how we stand with you at claim time.
A planned surgery or one ICU week can cost lakhs. Without cover, that money comes out of your emergency fund, your SIPs — or a loan.
Your mutual funds and FDs stay invested for their real goals instead of paying hospital bills.
Cashless treatment at network hospitals means decisions are about care, not about arranging money.
Waiting periods start from the day you buy. Every year you delay is a year longer before full benefits.
Most families need one good base policy plus a super top-up. The rest depends on age, health and work.
A base policy pays your hospital bills up to the sum insured — room, doctors, medicines, tests, and usually costs before and after hospitalisation. This is the foundation; everything else is built on it.
Husband, wife and children under one policy. Anyone can use the full amount in a year.
Each member has their own cover — nobody's claim reduces anyone else's.
Built for older parents, with terms suited to age-related conditions. Since 2024 there is no upper age limit to buy a new policy.
Add-on covers stretch your protection cheaply. A super top-up can multiply your cover for a fraction of the cost of a bigger base policy.
Example: ₹5 lakh base + ₹20 lakh super top-up with a ₹5 lakh deductible gives ₹25 lakh of cover in total — at a much lower premium than a ₹25 lakh base policy.
Pays a fixed amount when cancer, heart attack, stroke or another listed illness is diagnosed — whatever the bills.
Pays a lumpsum or weekly benefit if an accident causes death or disability — very affordable.
Full guide: Personal Accident Insurance →
Office (group) health cover is a great bonus — but not a plan. It's tied to your job, and group policies are still charged 18% GST.
Often covers pre-existing conditions from day one — but ends when you resign, retire or the company changes the policy.
Our advice: keep your own base policy running, so its waiting periods are long over by the time you need it.
These terms decide how much of your claim is actually paid. We check every one of them before you buy.
Time after buying before some claims are paid — usually 30 days for illnesses (accidents are covered from day one).
Buy early so it's over before you need it.
Conditions you had before buying, like diabetes or BP. Covered after a waiting period — now at most 3 years.
Always declare them honestly.
After 5 continuous years (60 months) of cover, the insurer can't reject a claim for non-disclosure, except in proven fraud.
Never let a policy lapse — renew on time.
A cap on the room you can choose. Pick a costlier room and other bills may be cut in the same proportion.
Prefer "no room-rent limit" plans.
A fixed share of every claim you pay yourself, e.g. 20%. Common in senior citizen plans.
Lower premium, but higher cost at claim time.
Caps on specific treatments like cataract or knee replacement, regardless of your sum insured.
Check the list before buying.
Your sum insured increases for every claim-free year, at no extra premium.
Higher bonus % is better.
If your cover is used up during the year, it's refilled for another claim.
Valuable for family floaters.
Cashless: insurer pays the network hospital directly. Reimbursement: you pay first, then claim with bills.
Check that hospitals near you are in-network.
IRDAI's 2024 health insurance reforms and the 2025 GST change made good cover easier and cheaper to get.
Insurers must decide cashless requests within one hour and final discharge authorisation within three hours. Extra hospital charges from a delay beyond that are borne by the insurer.
IRDAI master circular on health insurance, May 2024.
Pre-existing disease waiting period cut from 4 years to a maximum of 3; moratorium cut from 8 years to 5.
IRDAI (Insurance Products) Regulations, 2024.
People of any age can now buy a new health policy — important for parents who were earlier refused.
IRDAI health insurance reforms, 2024.
Individual and family floater health premiums are exempt from GST (earlier 18%), including senior citizen covers. Group policies still attract GST.
Notification No. 16/2025-Central Tax (Rate); Dept. of Financial Services FAQ.
New individual health policies (of a year or more) can be returned within 30 days of receipt if they don't suit you.
IRDAI master circulars, 2024.
A lapsed policy restarts every waiting period. We remind every client before renewal dates.
How we work.
The cheapest policy often has room-rent caps and sub-limits that cut claims sharply.
₹3–5 lakh for a whole family can be used up by one serious hospital stay.
Parents are the most likely to need hospital care, yet often have no personal cover.
Non-disclosure is a top reason for rejected claims in the early years.
A missed renewal resets waiting periods and the moratorium clock.
Group cover ends with the job — often when health is weakest.
Planned surgery or emergency — WhatsApp us the hospital name and policy number.
The hospital's insurance desk sends the request; we help follow up with the insurer.
We help with the final approval and check deductions against your policy terms.
For non-network hospitals, we help collect and submit bills and reports correctly.
It depends on your city, the hospitals you'd choose, family size and ages. Many families combine a solid base policy with a much larger super top-up for big bills. Tell us your city and family details and we'll suggest a sensible structure.
Yes. Declare it honestly. It will usually be covered after the pre-existing disease waiting period (now at most 3 years). Some insurers offer plans with shorter waiting periods for such conditions.
Yes. Portability lets you move at renewal while carrying forward the waiting periods you have already completed (for the same sum insured). Apply well before the renewal date — we handle the paperwork with you.
Yes — individual and family health policies, including senior citizen plans, have been exempt from GST since 22 September 2025. The rate depends on the payment date: premiums paid on or after that date carry no GST.
Yes. We check the reason against your policy wording and help you take it up with the insurer's grievance team, and if needed the Insurance Ombudsman.
Send a photo of your policy schedule on WhatsApp. We'll tell you its gaps (room rent, sub-limits, co-pay) in plain words.