What does a Rs 5L health insurance plan cost? Here’s what 20 insurers are offering

The Covid-19 pandemic has underlined the criticality as nothing before of having in place a health insurance plan with an adequate sum insured to cover the entire family. Understandably, countless Indians are purchasing these policies to safeguard their finances in case a family member requires hospital treatment amid skyrocketing medical costs.

In fact, according to a Kotak Institutional Equities report, the retail health category saw a 30% year-on-year growth in October 2020 while the overall health insurance business in India saw a 6% growth during the same period. However, there’s still a long way to go. In fact, according to the National Sample Survey study conducted between July 2017 and July 2018, 86% individuals in rural India and 81% individuals in urban areas do not have any health cover, says BankBazaar.

The point being, if you still do not own a health insurance policy, you need to seriously consider purchasing one with a sum insured of at least Rs 5 lakh, especially if you stay in a metropolitan city. You’ll be well-advised to compare different plans and go for the one that best meets your family’s medical requirements. And while the annual premium amount should not be ignored, it might be wrong to focus only on this factor while finalizing your decision.

You should also consider things like your chosen insurer’s claim settlement ratio and network of hospitals alongwith factors like critical add-ons, pre and post-hospitalization cover, waiting periods for pre-existing conditions, sub-limits, no claim bonus clause, OPD treatment facility, so on and so forth. You can also consider further enhancing your sum insured by going for a top-up or super top-up plan which might be a cost-effective option.

So, if you’re looking to purchase a health insurance plan, here are the annual premiums for individual policies currently being offered by 20 insurers in the country. All the premiums mentioned below have been calculated for a Rs 5 lakh health plan for a 30-year-old married individual residing in Bangalore.

Do note, your premiums will vary depending upon the age and medical condition of the insureds, add-ons selected, sum insured value, among a few other factors, and according to the terms and conditions laid out by your chosen insurer, as per BankBazaar.

What Does a Rs 5 lakh Individual Health Insurance Policy Cost?

Disclaimer: Data pertains to individual health insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh for 30-year-old (married) individual residing in Bangalore, and has been collected on December 1, 2020. Data is indicative. Actual premium and information may vary from the data mentioned in the table. *Excluding taxes. **Sum Insured=Rs.7.5 lakh. Data compiled by BankBazaar.com