Compare base health insurance with top-up and super top-up plans by understanding deductibles, coverage layering, premium differences, use cases, suitability, limitations, and strategies to combine plans cost-effectively.
Base health insurance can offer you financial protection against medical expenses up to a predetermined sum insured. Coverage under such health plans is purveyed to you for expenses born from hospitalisation, pharmaceuticals, surgeries, critical illness treatments, and more. Such plans can also cover expenses surrounding room rent, emergency road ambulance services, diagnostics, etc.
Important Update (Dated May 30, 2024) – Good news for Health Insurance policyholders! According to the Master Circular on Health Insurance Business 29052024 rolled out on May 29, 2024 by IRDAI, insurers are to decide on the request for cashless claims within 1 hour of receiving the request. Also, the final claim is to be granted within 3 hours after the policyholder’s discharge from the hospital. Insurers have been directed by IRDAI to establish necessary systems and procedures for this process by July 31, 2024.
The Master Circular on Health Insurance Business 29052024 circular is available here - https://irdai.gov.in/document-detail?documentId=4942918
Top-up health insurance plans can be opted for in times of insufficient health insurance coverage. Should you find that your basic health insurance coverage is inadequate, top-up health plans can help you greatly. You can also use it if you exhaust your sum insured due to expensive medical bills and increase your sum insured.
Here are the key differences between base health insurance and top-up health insurance.
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While base health insurance is a great standalone protection plan, increasing its security with a top-up policy can be highly beneficial. Here’s how.
You can enhance the total sum insured of your base health insurance policy by combining it with a top-up plan. For example, if your base health plan offers coverage up to ₹10 Lakhs and you combine it with a ₹5 Lakh top-up plan, your total coverage increases to ₹15 Lakhs.
You can get tax benefits for the premium you contribute towards health insurance from your yearly income. Hence, if you’re paying premiums for your base health insurance and your top-up health insurance, you can get a larger tax benefit during each financial year.
If you’d like to increase the protection you can receive from health insurance, you need not purchase an additional base health policy and pay a double premium. You may choose to add a top-up plan to your health insurance policy at a comparatively smaller price.
You can purchase both the health insurance plans through a hassle-free and quick online process. You need not step out of your house for any part of the application. For example, through Bajaj Markets, you can purchase a health insurance plan and a subsequent top-up in just five simple steps that should take just a few minutes of your time.
If you choose to purchase a top-up plan along with your base health insurance plan, there is no compulsion over the insurer you pick to purchase each of the plans from. You can choose to purchase both from the same insurer. You can also opt for two different insurers for each policy. The decision is entirely yours.
While having a top-up plan with your basic health insurance plan is a great benefit, it is also essential for the sake of your financial safety and peace of mind. Through this security, you can rest assured knowing that your medical bills and finances are in safe hands.
You can carry out your very own comparison and analysis of base health insurance v/s top-up health insurance right here, on Bajaj Markets. Additionally, you may also find your ideal health insurance plan and purchase it with just five simple steps. Bajaj Markets offers health insurance plans starting at a nominal price of ₹53/month only!
Most insurers in India offer top-up health insurance plans as extended coverage on the existing health policy. So, in case you realise that you are about to exhaust the sum insured, opting for top-up health insurance will cover the exceeding expenses without you having to dip into your life savings.
Some common factors that can affect your top-up health insurance premiums are as follows:
The area of residency
Deductible amount
Sum insured chosen
Some of the expenses covered under health insurance top-up policies are as follows:
Ambulance charges
Maternity benefit cover
Organ donor cost
Pre and post-hospitalisation expenses
Yes, you can purchase the Bajaj Allianz Extra Care Plus top-up health insurance plan online on Bajaj Markets.
You can use your health insurance top-up plan when your medical expenses (during hospitalisation) exceed the sum insured offered by your base health insurance policy.