Quick Overview
Planning to start a family? Maternity coverage in health insurance can make a big difference but only if you plan early. Star Health offers maternity, newborn, and fertility-related benefits, all with waiting periods. This guide breaks down what’s covered, when it starts, and how to choose wisely.
Does Star Health Insurance Offer Maternity Coverage With No Waiting Period?
No, currently, Star Health Insurance does not offer maternity coverage with zero waiting period across any retail plans.
However, here’s a list of plans offered by Star Health that focus on maternity coverage:
1. Star Super Star
The Star Health Super Star plan is a customizable health insurance policy with 21 add-ons. It offers sum insured options starting at ₹5 lakh with no upper limit. The plan allows you to lock in premiums for up to 5 years at a time.
Maternity Add-on
Note: For options A and B, newborn hospitalization is covered from day 1 of birth if the delivery claim is paid under the policy or the mother has been continuously covered for 12 months.
2. Star Women Care
The Star Health Women Care Policy is designed specifically for women’s healthcare needs.
- It covers assisted reproductive treatments such as IVF, surrogacy, and oocyte donor care, subject to a three-year waiting period.
- The sum insured ranges from ₹5 lakh to ₹1 crore.
- Pregnancy care is covered on an outpatient basis after pregnancy confirmation, subject to limits.
- A 24-month waiting period applies for ₹5–₹10 lakh sum insured, while ₹15 lakh and above has a shorter 12-month waiting period.
- Newborn treatment expenses are covered if there is a valid delivery claim under the policy. Alternatively, if the mother submitted the 12th- and 20th-week pregnancy scan reports at policy inception and the proposal was accepted, the newborn is covered immediately without any waiting period, as per the policy clause.
Maternity Benefits
Note: The policy specifies a maximum of 2 deliveries(Normal and C-section). The policy includes provisions linked to infertility/ART and gestational surrogacy, with a 36-month waiting period.
3. Star Comprehensive
Star Comprehensive is a versatile health insurance plan for individuals and families, offering wide-ranging coverage. It provides sum insured options from ₹5 lakh to ₹1 crore and includes an optional feature to reduce the waiting period for pre-existing diseases.
Maternity Section with Fixed Sub-Limits
Note: A 24-month waiting period applies to maternity and newborn benefits. After a delivery claim, a fresh 24-month waiting period is triggered again for future claims. The benefit is available only if both the self and the spouse are insured and have been continuously covered for at least 24 months.
4. Star Assure
Star Health Assure is a comprehensive health insurance plan offering coverage up to ₹2 crore. It features unlimited automatic sum insured restoration, wellness discounts. You can choose floater cover for up to nine members, and benefits for maternity like in-utero fetal surgery, and assisted reproductive treatments.
Maternity Benefits in Star Health Insurance Plans
- Maternity cover is usually offered as an inbuilt feature or optional add-on, depending on the plan.
- Waiting periods typically range from 12 to 36 months before claims are allowed.
- Covers normal and C-section deliveries, with sub-limits based on sum insured.
- Newborn baby expenses and initial vaccinations are covered for a limited period.
- Some plans, like the Star Super Star plan, also cover assisted reproductive treatments after specified waiting periods.
Maternity Coverage Without a Waiting Period: What to Understand
- The main reason insurers apply a waiting period is to avoid misuse. If maternity cover started immediately, people could buy a policy after confirming pregnancy, make a claim, and then stop the policy.
- If you’re already pregnant and wondering whether you can buy a health plan, most insurers don’t allow it. Retail health plans do not pay maternity or delivery expenses until the waiting period is completed, so they usually won’t help with an ongoing pregnancy due in the next few months.
- Newborn coverage rules vary. For instance, Star Women Care allows newborn cover without waiting if required pregnancy scan reports are submitted and accepted at policy start, as per policy terms. In general, newborns are covered only after 91 days from birth.
- They must be formally added to the policy within the insurer’s specified timeframe, and coverage is subject to underwriting approval and policy terms.
Premiums with Maternity Coverage
Note: The illustrative annual premiums are for Star Super Star plan for non-smoker profiles, for a health cover of ₹15 Lakh and residing in Delhi.
List of Maternity Coverage With No Waiting Period
In India, there are currently no retail or individual health insurance plans that offer maternity coverage with zero waiting period. The waiting period for availing your maternity benefits might vary depending on the insurer.
For example, the Care Joy Today plan, a maternity-focused health insurance policy, comes with a 9-month waiting period. But the premiums are relatively high and do not offer restoration benefits.
Similarly, Niva Bupa’s Aspire Titanium+ comes with a 9-month waiting period for maternity benefits under the M-iracle benefit.
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Ditto’s Take on Maternity Insurance
Maternity insurance is important if you’re planning a family, but the waiting period matters most. Since most plans require 9 months to 4 years before coverage starts, early planning is essential. Compare plans on waiting periods, delivery limits, and newborn benefits, not just premiums.
Star Health is our partner, but we are not currently recommending their plans as customers face issues with post-sales support, and they have a low claim settlement ratio. The health insurer also faced scrutiny from IRDAI and a high number of customer complaints.
If you are looking for a health plan with reliable insurers, look into our maternity health insurance plans for 2026 to compare options and choose what suits you best. Explore more about how we evaluate health plans through Ditto’s cut.
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