Best Maternity Health Insurance Plans 2025

Deliveries in Indian private hospitals can cost anywhere from ₹50,000 to ₹2.5 lakh, and that’s before you add newborn care. Medical inflation means these numbers climb each year, making maternity cover a tempting add-on for young couples.

At Ditto, we’ve reviewed 100+ health insurance plans to delve deeper into their maternity-linked benefits (if any) and curated a list of recommendations based on IRDAI filings, product brochures, and the numerous maternity-related claims handled by our team in FY 2024–25.

Before we get into the best maternity plans and our top pick, let’s first talk about whether maternity coverage itself is even worth buying in the first place. 

Ditto’s Take: Are Maternity Health Insurance Plans Worth It?

Honestly, retail maternity health insurance plans rarely make sense. Why? Because you pay high premiums for years, face low payout caps, and still foot much of the bill. Instead if you have a group health insurance, check whether it includes maternity cover. This is usually far better: no waiting periods, higher limits, and the cost is built into your benefits. If you don’t have one, it’s smarter to set aside funds for delivery instead of locking into an expensive, low-value retail plan. And remember, no insurer covers an existing pregnancy.

That said, if you’re still keen on exploring retail maternity cover despite the trade-offs, here are the few plans that stand out from the pack in 2025.

Best Health Insurance Plans with Built-In Maternity Cover (2025)

A health insurance plan with a built-in maternity cover combines maternity health insurance plans with comprehensive medical coverage for other illnesses and hospitalisation needs, making them versatile for families. Unlike standalone maternity plans, they also safeguard you against unrelated medical costs. This makes them well-suited for couples who want pregnancy health cover as part of a long-term health strategy.

Perfect for:

• Families who want maternity health insurance plans plus overall protection.
• People who want maternity benefits without managing multiple policies.

Here’s a list of plans we recommend for their solid maternity benefits:

1) Aditya Birla Activ Fit Preferred — Top pick

• Maternity cover: ₹40,000 (normal) / ₹60,000 (C-section) per delivery, up to 2 deliveries over the lifetime (not in a policy year); no room rent restrictions.
• Extras: newborn expenses + vaccinations, stem-cell preservation.
• Waiting period: 3 years.
• Why #1: Clean, predictable maternity limits for two events, solid newborn add-ons, and typically better value per premium rupee vs peers. Doesn’t cover ART/surrogacy though.

Learn more on pages 9-10 of the policy wording.

2) Niva Bupa Aspire Titanium+ — Feature-rich, short wait

• Maternity cover: under M-iracle (special maternity pool that covers pregnancy, newborn care, IVF, surrogacy, and adoption); maternity cover ranges from ₹4,000 to ₹25,000, depending on base SI; no room rent capping.
• Extras: includes surrogacy, adoption charges, ART/IVF, specified vaccines; ectopic pregnancy covered under hospitalization.
• Waiting period: 9 months (shortest waiting period).
• We don’t recommend Niva Bupa Aspire Titanium+. It has strong maternity features and the shortest 9-month wait, but the maternity cover amounts are too low for the premiums charged. On top of that, Niva Bupa has a track record of slower claim approvals, frequent disputes, and higher complaint volumes than peers like Aditya Birla. 

You can find more details in the policy wording on pages 10–11.

3) Tata AIG Medicare Premiere — Clear payouts, pricier

• Maternity cover: ₹50,000 (boy) / ₹60,000 (girl); with no room rent restrictions.
• Extras: 1st-year newborn vaccinations, delivery complications. Wait: 4 years.
• Compared to Aditya & Niva Bupa: Tata AIG offers clear lump-sum payouts and unlimited deliveries, but with a 4-year wait, no pre/post-natal cover, and higher premiums, it lags behind Aditya’s balanced limits and Niva’s faster, feature-rich pool.

You can learn more on pages 17-18 of the policy wording.

If you only need maternity and newborn care, a standalone maternity plan works best. Let's take a look at them.

Best Standalone Maternity Health Insurance Plans (2025)

When your priority is only maternity-related expenses from delivery to newborn care, a standalone maternity health insurance plan can be a smarter choice. But be aware they’re costly overall, with high premiums and benefit caps. These are designed purely for maternity coverage and related benefits like shorter waiting periods, newborn vaccinations, and even fertility treatments.

Such plans work well for:

• Couples planning a baby in 1–2 years.
• Those looking for richer maternity-specific benefits without paying for unrelated features.

The following are maternity health insurance plans with all-round coverage and perks:

1) Care Joy Today Plan — Fastest maternity cover

• Maternity cover: Up to ₹50,000 for a normal or C-section delivery, available only if you’ve chosen a base sum insured of ₹5 lakh. No room rent restriction.
• Extras: pre- & post-natal expenses, newborn hospitalisation, vaccinations, automatic newborn cover within the maternity limit, option to boost child’s SI after birth.
• Waiting period: 9 months.
• Why #1: Very short wait, covers the full pregnancy-to-newborn cycle, and simple maternity benefits. Caveat: waiting period perk is only available to those opting for a 3-year premium payment.

Learn more on page 7 of the policy wording.

2) Star Women Care Plan — Wider women’s health focus

• Maternity cover: covers delivery expenses (normal or C-section, including pre- and post-natal costs) up to the following limits: ₹25,000 for SI of ₹5–10 lakh, ₹50,000 for SI of ₹15–20 lakh, ₹75,000 for SI of ₹25–50 lakh, and ₹1,00,000 for SI of ₹1 crore. The benefit applies to a maximum of 2 deliveries over the policy’s lifetime, with a 24-month wait for SI of ₹5–10 lakh and a 12-month wait for SI of ₹15 lakh and above. Pre- and post-hospitalisation expenses are not covered under this section. Up to Single private AC room is covered.
• Extras: fertility treatments, newborn care & vaccinations, preventive health checks, wellness benefits for women.
• Waiting period: 2 years; geared toward ongoing women’s health, not just pregnancy.
• Why #2: Broader women’s health perks plus fertility coverage, but not ideal if you need comprehensive family-wide health protection alongside maternity.

You can see the full benefits and conditions on pages 4-6 of the policy wording.

Let us now explore maternity health insurance plans that offer add-on options.

Best Maternity Health Insurance Plans with Add-Ons

Plans like ICICI ELEVATE and STAR Super Star offer maternity riders that may look attractive at first, but they fall short in practice; premiums shoot up (sometimes 6–7× higher than base plans with built-in maternity cover), hospital networks are smaller, claim settlement ratios are weaker, and complaint volumes are higher. While the base policies without riders can be decent, once you add a maternity rider you’re locked into high recurring premiums for a benefit you’ll likely use only once or twice, making them financially unjustifiable compared to standalone or built-in maternity health insurance plans.

We’re showing them here just so you know what’s out there. Right after this, we’ll do a premium comparison to make the differences crystal clear.

1). ICICI ELEVATE — Add-on heavy, maternity capped

• Maternity cover: Up to 10% of SI, capped at ₹1 lakh; applies to both normal and C-section deliveries.
• Extras: Pre- & post-natal expenses, newborn cover up to 2× maternity limit, vaccinations, surrogacy & oocyte donor expenses (up to ₹5 lakh), wellness rewards.
• Room eligibility: Single private room (upgradeable with add-on).
• Waiting period: 2 years (can reduce to 1 year with add-on).
• Drawbacks: Smaller hospital network and weaker CSR compared to peers.

To learn more, check out pages 18-19 of the policy wording.

2). STAR Super Star — Higher limits, weaker service

• Maternity cover: ₹2–₹5 lakh for delivery expenses (normal or C-section), with no room rent restrictions.
• Extras: Newborn expenses, vaccinations, Assisted Reproductive Treatments (ART); up to 4 deliveries covered; even available for women already pregnant (with prescribed scans).
• Waiting period: 1–2 years.
• Drawbacks: Low claim settlement ratio and high complaint volumes, raising concerns about service reliability.

See pages 13-14 of the policy wording to get the full breakdown.

Premium Comparison of Top Maternity Health Insurance Plans

Below is a premium comparison for a 35-year-old male and 33-year-old female, with a ₹10 lakh sum insured, based in Delhi.

As you can see, premiums range from ₹13,960 for basic ICICI Elevate (without maternity) to over ₹1 lakh with riders. In contrast, Aditya Birla Active Fit and Star Women Care offer the most affordable balance, while ICICI’s maternity add-ons and Star’s reproduction options are prohibitively expensive.

Our Top Pick: Aditya Birla Active Fit Preferred

Aditya Birla Active Fit Preferred is the most balanced maternity plan for 2025, with clear payouts (₹40k normal / ₹60k C-section, up to 2 deliveries), no room rent cap, newborn + vaccination cover, and a fair 3-year wait — all at one of the lowest premiums. The cost-to-benefit ratio is far stronger than most peers, and coverage is clean and easy to claim.

Although Star plans have lower premiums, we do not recommend them due to weaker performance metrics (83% settlement ratio and 46 complaints per 10,000 claims). Aditya Birla, on the other hand, has a 95% claim settlement ratio and 22 complaints per 10,000 claims.

Quick Tips for Choosing Maternity Health Insurance Plans

• Check waiting periods first: Most plans have a 9-month to 3-year wait. If you’re already pregnant, retail cover won’t apply (rare exception: STAR Super Star Women Care add-on with approved scans).
• Do the math on premiums vs payout: Maternity is priced high because it’s a near-certain claim. Often, you’ll end up paying more in premiums during the wait than the capped payout is worth.
• Check if newborn covered from Day 1: Without this, most retail plans only add the baby after 90 days. This could leave you to bear NICU (₹25k–₹50k/day), vaccinations (₹10k–₹15k), and common complications, which can be costly.
• Check ART benefits if needed: IVF, surrogacy, and adoption aren’t covered by all plans, so shortlist those that explicitly include Assisted Reproduction and see how they are covered and to what extent.
• Think long-term: Built-in maternity in family floater plans can cover multiple pregnancies, unlike standalone plans that usually cap at 1–2 deliveries.

For the full picture, check out our complete maternity health insurance guide. Uncover what it is, how it works, waiting periods, costs, sub-limits, pros & cons, and tips to choose the right plan for your needs.

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