Popular Add-Ons for Annual Health Checkup Coverage

Preventive health checkup packages at private centers can cost a few thousand rupees, depending on the city, provider, and tests included. Imagine doing that every year for your whole family, and the costs will add up fast. And because of this, most people just skip it, which means health problems go undetected until later.

This is exactly where an annual health checkup add-on comes in handy. For a small extra premium, your insurer covers this cost every year, so there's no excuse to skip your checkup.

In this article, we'll walk you through the most popular add-ons for annual health checkup coverage, which plans include this for free, and whether it's worth adding to your policy.

Why Add Annual Health Checkup Cover?

A basic full-body checkup outside health insurance easily costs a few thousand rupees per member, per year. With an add-on, you get this for a small premium, or sometimes at no extra cost at all.

These add-ons are usually offered to all insured members on the policy, not just the primary policyholder. Coverage is typically once a year, either as a cashless benefit at the insurer's network diagnostic centers or as reimbursement for tests done elsewhere.

Let’s look at some plans that offer annual health checkup add-ons. 

Care Supreme: Annual Health Checkup Add-On

Care Supreme's annual health checkup add-on covers every insured member once every policy year. The benefit is available from the 31st day of the policy. It is available on a cashless basis and must be done at Care's partner facilities. 

Tests scale with your sum insured and vary by age. Here’s the list of tests covered for members below the age of 18. 

For ages 18 and above, the following tests are available, with additional coverage for higher sum insured. 

Since Care Supreme doesn't include this in its base cover, you'll need to opt in at the time of purchase or renewal to get it added to your policy.

Let’s have a look at the cost of the add-on for some common profiles.

Note: A denotes adult and C denotes child in this table. We have calculated these premiums for a ₹15 lakh sum insured for healthy individuals residing in Delhi (110010). Your actual premium can vary depending on age, location, underwriting, and medical history.

Premium Analysis: The add-on costs just 2-5% of your base premium across profiles, which is minimal compared to the cost of a private full-body checkup for each family member every year. This makes it worth adding to your Care Supreme policy.

ICICI Lombard Elevate: Health Checkup Add-On

The Elevate plan's annual health checkup add-on provides a predefined annual health checkup, subject to a separate limit over and above your base sum insured. This benefit is available only on a cashless basis at ICICI Lombard's network provider centers, which can be booked via the ICICI Lombard app (Play Store and App Store) or by calling their toll-free number. 

The coverage offered is up to 0.5% of the annual sum insured, subject to a maximum of ₹5,000. This benefit is available to members aged 18 or older. 

The list of tests covered, based on sum insured and members covered, is given below: 

Please Note:

• Using this health checkup will not affect your annual sum insured.
• For long-term policies (2, 3, 4, or 5 years), adult insured members are eligible for a health checkup once per policy year.

Here’s how much the add-on costs annually for some profiles.

Note: In this table, A denotes adult and C stands for child. These premiums are illustrative, based on a ₹15 lakh cover for healthy individuals residing in Delhi (110010). Your final premium may vary based on your age, city, and medical history.

Observation: Unlike Care Supreme, where the add-on cost rises with the base premium, Elevate's Annual Health Checkup add-on is priced at a flat ₹1,250, regardless of your profile or age.

Star Super Star: Annual Health Checkup Add-On

Star’s Super Star offers annual health checkup add-on which is available from day 1 of your policy, with no waiting period. Coverage goes up to 1% of your sum insured, capped at ₹25,000 in a policy year, and this limit also includes the cost of vaccinations.

This is one of the more generous checkup add-ons in the market, since the payout scales with your sum insured rather than staying fixed. It's available as a lump-sum amount and is processed on a cashless basis at Star's network facilities. 

Here’s how the premiums look with the add-on for different profiles: 

Note: A stands for adult and C denotes child in this table. We have calculated these premiums for a ₹15 lakh sum insured for healthy individuals residing in Delhi (110010). Your actual premium can vary depending on age, location, underwriting, and medical history.

Premium Observation: The add-on is priced at ₹685 per adult on the policy, which doubles to ₹1,370 for any 2-adult profile. Adding a child doesn't change the cost, since checkups are only relevant for adult members. Given the low additional cost, this add-on can be beneficial for regular health monitoring, especially for adults who might otherwise skip yearly tests. 

Tata AIG MediCare Select: Preventive Annual Health Checkup Rider

Tata AIG's Preventive Annual Health Checkup rider under MediCare Select covers a cashless checkup once every policy year at the insurer's authorized service providers. This differs from Tata AIG's regular MediCare plan, where checkups are available only once every two consecutive claim-free years.

Since MediCare Select is a fully customizable plan, this rider should be added to your base policy and applies to all insured members.

Note: In this table, A stands for adult and C stands for child. These premiums are illustrative, based on a ₹15 lakh cover for healthy individuals residing in Delhi (110010). Your final premium may vary based on your age, city, and medical history.

Ditto’s Observation: The add-on cost varies by the number of adults and the age on the policy. This is the costliest add-on, at approximately 7.3% to 16.2% of the base premium. Compare the additional premium with the package’s usable test value before adding it.

Which Plans Offer a Built-In Health Checkup Benefit?

Some insurers skip the add-on route entirely and build the checkup benefit right into the base policy, at no extra cost.

HDFC ERGO Optima Secure+

Optima Secure+ gives every policyholder access to annual preventive health checkups as a standard, built-in feature. It is available after completion of the first year of the policy. The benefit can be availed on a reimbursement basis, with limits defined by the policy type (individual/floater) and the sum insured. 

The limits listed below apply per insured person under individual policies, while family-floater limits apply to the entire policy. 

Aditya Birla Activ One MAX

Activ One MAX includes checkups in the base plan. The benefit is available from the 31st day of the policy and is available on a cashless basis. It can be done through Aditya Birla's partner facilities. The list of tests is predefined based on the sum insured and is available to members aged 18 and above. 

Medical tests covered under this benefit are as follows: 

Niva Bupa ReAssure 2.0

ReAssure 2.0 includes preventive health checkups as a standard benefit and is available on a cashless basis. It is available from day 1 for a defined list of tests. The coverage is capped at ₹500 for every ₹1 lakh of base sum insured. For individual policies, it is up to ₹5,000 per insured member, and for a family floater, it is up to ₹10,000 per policy. The list of tests covered is as follows: 

Should You Add a Health Checkup Cover?

Consider the add-on when its annual premium is lower than the cost of a similar package, the network facilities are nearby, and the covered tests are useful for your age and medical needs. 

You may skip it if your base policy or employer plan already covers annual checkups, the test package is too limited, or the add-on costs nearly as much as booking the tests directly. 

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Conclusion

A yearly health checkup is one of those things that's simple to keep pushing to next year, until a test happens to catch something you'd rather have known about sooner. When it's already built into your plan, there's really no reason not to use it, since it's free and could flag an issue while it's still manageable. When it comes as an add-on, the numbers still work in your favor, since the extra premium is almost always lower than a single private checkup would cost.

So here's what to do next: pull up your policy document or app and check whether your plan already includes this benefit or is an add-on you haven't opted into. If you don't have it yet, add it at your next renewal. And whichever way you get your checkup done, hold on to the bill or report, since it counts as valid proof for your Section 80D claim if you paid for it out of pocket.