Health Insurance

ICICI Lombard Health Booster Super Top-Up: Review

Aaryaa Nagpal Jambhulkar

Written by Aaryaa Nagpal Jambhulkar

Insurance Writer

Gaurav Bhat

Reviewed by Gaurav Bhat

IRDAI-Certified Expert at Ditto

SP0738578124

Certified
ICICI Lombard Health Booster Super Top-Up: Review

Overview

The ICICI Lombard Health Booster super top-up covers eligible medical expenses exceeding a chosen deductible across multiple hospitalizations in a policy year.

Core Features and Coverage

  • Sum Insured: ₹5 lakh to ₹50 lakh.
  • Aggregate Deductible Options: ₹3 lakh, ₹4 lakh, and ₹5 lakh.
  • Super Top-Up Mechanism: Combines eligible expenses across the policy year.
  • Inclusions: Hospitalization, pre- and post-hospitalization, daycare, AYUSH, domiciliary treatment, road ambulance, and organ donor expenses.
  • Additional Benefits: 100% reset benefit and no-claim bonus.

Waiting Periods and Terms

  • Waiting Periods: 30 days for illnesses (except covered accidents), 24 months for pre-existing diseases and specified treatments, and 90 days for non-preexisting hypertension, diabetes, and cardiac conditions, subject to policy terms.
  • Co-Payment: A 20% co-payment for members over 60, waived for those enrolled by age 45 with continuous renewals. Optional covers are exempt.
  • Renewability: Lifelong, with 1-, 2-, or 3-year policy tenures.
  • Claims and Complaints (FY2025–26): 88% of claims settled, 12% repudiated, 53,658 lives covered, and all 23 complaints resolved, as per NL-47 disclosures.

A ₹5 lakh health insurance policy might seem sufficient until a major hospitalization leaves you with a much larger bill. 

That's where a super top-up can help. ICICI Lombard Health Booster covers eligible medical expenses once they cross a chosen deductible during the policy year, even across multiple hospitalizations. While you can buy it without a base policy, it's better suited to supplementing existing health insurance. 

In this review, we'll examine its benefits, premiums, waiting periods, co-payment conditions, and limitations to help you decide whether it's the right additional cover.

Who Is Eligible for ICICI Lombard Health Booster

Eligibility CriteriaDetails
Individual Policy Entry Age6 years and above
Family Floater Entry AgeChildren aged 91 days to 5 years can be covered alongside adults. Dependent children are covered up to age 20.
Proposer and Adult AgeProposer must be at least 18 years old. Members aged 21 and above are classified as adults.
Maximum Entry AgeNo upper age limit, subject to underwriting.
Family Floater CompositionUp to 2 adults and 3 children
Relationships CoveredSelf, spouse, dependent children, parents, parents-in-law, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, and dependent siblings-in-law
Policy Tenure and Renewability1, 2, or 3 years, with lifelong renewability subject to policy terms.

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Key Features and Riders Offered Under the Plan

FeatureCoverage Details
Sum Insured and Deductible₹5 lakh to ₹50 lakh sum insured, with deductible options from ₹3 lakh to ₹5 lakh.
Hospitalization CoverageCovers inpatient, daycare, eligible AYUSH, and domiciliary treatment, subject to policy terms.
Pre- and Post-HospitalizationCovers eligible expenses 60 days before and 90 days after hospitalization.
Reset BenefitRestores up to 100% of the sum insured once yearly for subsequent unrelated claims when prior claims leave insufficient cover, subject to policy terms.
No-Claim BonusIncreases the sum insured by 10% per claim-free year, up to 50%.
Wellness and Preventive BenefitsOffers health check-up coupons (up to 2 yearly for floaters) and wellness points worth ₹0.25 each for eligible activities.
Organ Donor and AmbulanceCovers eligible organ donor expenses and road ambulance costs up to 1% of the sum insured, capped at ₹5,000 per hospitalization.

Optional Riders

ICICI Lombard Health Booster offers three optional covers at an additional premium, with Silver and Gold benefit options. These are not separate base policy variants and can be purchased for individual members.

    • Hospital Daily Cash and Convalescence Benefit: Pays ₹1,000 per day (Silver) or ₹3,000 per day (Gold) for hospital stays of at least 3 days, up to 30 days per year. Hospitalization for at least 10 consecutive days also qualifies for a lump-sum payout of ₹10,000 (Silver) or ₹20,000 (Gold).
    • Personal Accident Cover: Available to adults up to 60 years. Covers accidental death or permanent total disability up to ₹10 lakh (Silver) or ₹15 lakh (Gold). It also includes temporary total disablement benefits of ₹5,000 or ₹10,000 per week for up to 10 weeks, plus repatriation expenses of up to ₹50,000 or ₹1 lakh, respectively.
    • Critical Illness Cover: Available to adults up to 60 years. Pays ₹5 lakh (Silver) or ₹10 lakh (Gold) upon the first diagnosis of any of the 21 specified critical illnesses, subject to defined severity criteria. A 90-day initial waiting period applies, and you must notify the insurer within 30 days of diagnosis. The benefit is payable only once in a lifetime.

Note: You can claim these optional benefits even if hospitalization expenses are below the deductible. Their payouts also don't count toward meeting the deductible, subject to policy terms.

How Does the Deductible Affect Your Out-of-Pocket Expenses?

A deductible is the amount of eligible medical expenses you must pay before your super top-up starts paying. You can meet this amount through your base health insurance or out of pocket.

Unlike a regular top-up plan, which applies the deductible to each hospitalization, ICICI Lombard Health Booster considers eligible expenses across multiple hospitalizations in a policy year.

For example, suppose you have a ₹5 lakh corporate health insurance policy and an ICICI Lombard Health Booster plan with a ₹5 lakh deductible and ₹15 lakh sum insured.

Your first hospital bill is ₹3 lakh, which your corporate policy covers. A second bill of ₹4 lakh arrives in the same policy year. Your corporate policy covers its remaining ₹2 lakh, meeting the ₹5 lakh deductible through cumulative eligible expenses. Health Booster can then cover the remaining ₹2 lakh, subject to policy terms.

This means you don't have to meet the deductible separately for every hospitalization. However, if your base policy doesn't fully cover the deductible, you'll need to pay only the remaining eligible amount out of pocket.

What Expenses Count Toward the Deductible?

    • Included: Eligible inpatient hospitalization, daycare, AYUSH, pre- and post-hospitalization expenses, whether paid through your base policy or out of pocket.
    • Excluded: Non-medical expenses, treatments excluded under the policy, claims during applicable waiting periods, and payouts from optional covers such as Hospital Daily Cash, Personal Accident, and Critical Illness.

Only eligible expenses count toward the deductible, subject to policy terms.

ICICI Lombard: Performance Metrics

Metric (Average FY 2024-26)ICICI LombardIndustry Average
Claim Settlement Ratio (CSR)86.81%92.02%
Incurred Claims Ratio (ICR) (Average FY 2023-25)79.47%81.88%
Volume of Complaints per 10,000 Claims15.0529.35
Network Hospitals11,000+10,000+ (recommended)
Gross Written Premium / Annual Business - Total Health (In Crore)₹7,955.27₹4,504.48

Note: This information is for the insurer as a whole and comes from IRDAI annual reports and ICICI Lombard public disclosures. To explore more such data, please refer to Ditto Data Lab.

Sample Premiums by Age, Sum Insured, and Deductible

Profiles for a ₹5 Lakh Deductible ₹15 Lakh Sum Insured₹25 Lakh Sum Insured
(Individual Plan): Age 25₹2,370₹2,559
(Family Floater, 2 Adults): Ages (31, 32)₹3,732₹4,041
(Family Floater, 2 Adults, 1 Child): Ages (36, 35, 5)₹6,352₹6,890
(Family Floater, 2 Adults): Ages (62, 63)₹26,999₹29,469

The premiums are illustrative and calculated for the listed individuals and families residing in Delhi (pincode: 110010) for a 1-year tenure. Your final premium will depend on the plan you choose, your age, medical history, cover amount, and discounts. For premiums across different sum insured and deductible combinations, refer to the insurer’s rate chart.

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Conclusion

ICICI Lombard Health Booster offers additional financial protection against high medical bills through its aggregate deductible, reset benefit, and coverage for eligible hospitalization expenses. 

Before buying, check the deductible, co-payment conditions, and other policy limits to understand how much you may need to pay out of pocket. Ideally, choose your base health insurance and super top-up from the same insurer to simplify claim coordination.

If you're considering a super top-up plan from ICICI Lombard, compare Health Booster with the newer ICICI Lombard Activate Booster Super Top-Up Plan, which offers more comprehensive and customizable coverage. Activate Booster also features in our list of the best super top-up plans in India.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I buy the ICICI Lombard Health Booster super top-up without a base health insurance plan?

Yes, you can buy ICICI Lombard Super Top-Up without a separate base health insurance policy. However, you must pay medical expenses up to your chosen deductible out of pocket or through employer-provided health insurance before the super top-up starts covering eligible expenses beyond that threshold. If you're comparing options, you can also explore the ICICI Lombard Activate Booster Super Top-Up Plan.

What Is the Difference Between ICICI Lombard Activate Booster and Health Booster?

Both are super top-up plans, but Activate Booster offers higher coverage and more flexibility. Health Booster provides ₹5 lakh to ₹50 lakh coverage, ₹3 lakh to ₹5 lakh deductibles, and a 24-month waiting period for pre-existing diseases (PEDs). Activate Booster offers ₹10 lakh to ₹3 crore coverage, deductibles up to ₹20 lakh, and customizable benefits. However, it has a 36-month PED waiting period and a single private AC room limit by default. Compare these conditions before choosing.

What documents are required to apply for ICICI Lombard Health Booster super top-up?

You need a completed proposal form and documents proving your identity, address, and age. The insurer may also ask for pre-policy medical tests, depending on your age and chosen sum insured. Applicants under 46 years choosing a sum insured of up to ₹10 lakh do not need mandatory medical tests. If tests are required, check whether the insurer will arrange them and cover the costs.

Does the ICICI Lombard Health Booster super top-up pay when several smaller claims in one year add up past the deductible?

Yes, the ICICI Lombard Super Top-Up plan combines eligible hospitalization expenses across the policy year. For example, if your deductible is ₹5 lakh and you have claims of ₹3 lakh and ₹4 lakh, your cumulative expenses reach ₹7 lakh. The policy can cover the eligible ₹2 lakh above the aggregate deductible, subject to policy terms and the available sum insured.

Which waiting periods apply to pre-existing diseases under the ICICI Lombard Health Booster super top-up?

A 24-month waiting period applies to declared and accepted pre-existing diseases (PEDs) and specified surgical procedures. A 30-day initial waiting period applies to general illnesses, while conditions that were not pre-existing hypertension, diabetes, and cardiac conditions have a 90-day waiting period unless declared at underwriting inception. Check the policy wording for applicable exceptions and conditions.

Can the ICICI Lombard Health Booster super top-up be paired with a base policy from another insurer?

Yes, you can pair ICICI Lombard Health Booster with a base health insurance policy from another health or general insurer. With multiple indemnity policies, you can choose which insurer to approach first, but you cannot claim the same expense twice. Your base policy can help meet the deductible, after which Health Booster covers eligible excess expenses. You may need to submit the base insurer's settlement letter and supporting documents. Ideally, keep both policies with the same insurer for easier claim coordination.

How do I file a claim under ICICI Lombard Health Booster?

For cashless treatment, present your health insurance card/policy document at a network hospital and request pre-authorization. For reimbursement at a non-network hospital, notify ICICI Lombard and submit the signed claim form, original discharge summary, itemized medical bills, payment proofs, prescriptions, and diagnostic reports. Submit reimbursement documents within 30 days of discharge. If your base policy covers the deductible, keep its settlement letter and supporting claim documents ready.

What is the difference between an ICICI Lombard Top-Up plan and a super top-up?

The main difference is how the deductible works. Under the ICICI Lombard top-up health insurance design, the deductible generally applies to each hospitalization or related illness episode. Under the super top-up design, eligible hospitalization expenses add up during the policy year. So, several smaller bills can add up to cross the deductible. Check your policy schedule to confirm you're buying the super top-up, not a regular top-up.

Does ICICI Lombard Health Booster charge a co-payment for senior citizens?

Yes, a 20% co-payment applies to eligible claims above the deductible for members over 60. For example, with a ₹7 lakh hospital bill and a ₹5 lakh deductible, the base policy or policyholder covers ₹5 lakh. Of the remaining ₹2 lakh, the policyholder pays ₹40,000, while the insurer pays ₹1.6 lakh, assuming the bill is fully admissible. The co-payment is waived for those who bought the policy at age 45 or younger and renewed it continuously.

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