Care Classic vs Star Health Comprehensive

If the policy does impose room rent restrictions then the insurer may only let you stay in a room of a certain specification or impose a cap on the total room rent. If you were to breach either criterion then the insurance company may ask you to pay a portion of all the expenses you incurred while staying in the room. In this case, however, Care Classic lets you stay in a single private room and Comprehensive also lets you stay in a single private room. Nothing fancy.

Some policies will tell you that they will cover all medical expenses up until the sum insured, but then impose caps on the total costs you can incur while dealing with a very specific list of diseases. We call these caps “Disease Wise Sub Limits.” In this case, Care Classic imposes disease-wise sub-limits on null whereas Comprehensive doesn’t impose a disease wise sub-limit.

If you’re suffering from a lifestyle condition or if you’ve had surgery in the past, or if you’re dealing with an acute or chronic illness at the time of buying the policy, then the insurer may classify this as a pre-existing disease. And they may tell you that they will only cover these illnesses after some time. In this case, Care Classic imposes a waiting period of 4 years on pre-existing diseases while Comprehensive extends a waiting period of 3 years on existing conditions.

Most people aren’t hospitalized right off the bat. Instead, they’ll have to go through a whole series of diagnostic tests before hospitalization and take medication post-discharge. These costs are outlined as pre-hospitalization expenses and post-hospitalization expenses respectively. In this case, Care Classic covers expenses incurred 60 days before hospitalization and expenses incurred 90 days post-hospitalization. Meanwhile, Comprehensive covers expenses incurred 60 days before hospitalization and expenses incurred 90 after hospitalization, although there may be different sub-limits

Some policies will tell you that they will incentivize you for not making a claim in any given year. And they offer such incentives by offering extra cover on top of the existing sum insured. This extra cover is categorized as a no-claim bonus. In this case, however, Care Classic offers a no-claim bonus of 25% whereas Comprehensive offers a no-claim bonus of 50%. And the no-claim bonus may be capped at different levels too.

Imagine you are forced to treat yourself at home because you don’t find a hospital bed, or you have a chronic condition that prevents you from visiting one, then, insurers may choose to cover your treatment even if you’re hospitalized at home. And such costs are collectively categorized as domiciliary treatment costs. In this case, however, Care Classic offers domiciliary cover. And Comprehensive also coves domiciliary expenses.

Most policies only cover treatments administered in a registered medical facility. However, on some occasions, you may want to pursue alternative treatments including homoeopathy, Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha. These treatments are collectively categorized as Ayush treatments. And in this case, Care Classic covers Ayush procedures and Comprehensive also extends coverage for Ayush treatments.

If you’re hospitalized during childbirth, then you may have to incur significant costs during delivery of your newborn, child care and other related matters during the course of the hospitalization. These costs are collectively termed maternity costs. And in this case, Care Classic offers maternity cover and Comprehensive offers maternity cover too, although the sub-limits for normal delivery and C-section procedures may be different, including the waiting period.

Doctor visits and regular consultations aren’t usually covered by health insurance policies. They are categorized as Outpatient consultations (or OPD treatments) and patients have to bear the cost on their own. In this case, however, Care Classic doesn’t offer OPD protection whereas Comprehensive offers OPD cover.