<img height="1" width="1" style="display:none" src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=7698356820180471&ev=PageView&noscript=1" />

Introduction

Before we start comparing these two policies we have to set out some ground rules.

Both products are marketed by different insurance companies. Comprehensive is sold by Star Health and Digit Insurance Smart Option is sold by Digit. So any meaningful comparison should include a comparison of the product alongside the insurers themselves.

Second, we know that both products have massive differences in their core structure. Comprehensive is more comprehensive. It covers a lot more use cases and doesn’t have any egregious conditions. However, Digit Insurance Smart Option is quite basic. It offers little protection and may not be entirely suitable if you are looking for robust protection. So fundamentally, they’re two very different products.

And finally, any comparison is ultimately futile without considering the use case. Who are you buying this policy for? You, your family, your parents?

That’s something you’ll need to answer before using this guide. So with that introduction out of the way, we can get to comparing the actual policies themselves.


Let’s start with Comprehensive. The product comes from Star Health’s stable:

Star Health Insurance is India's first standalone health insurance firm. And with an army of retail advisors pushing their products across the country, they’ve managed to capture a fair share of the Indian market.

The company also boasts a network of over 14,000+ hospitals and a decent claim settlement ratio of 83%.


Digit Insurance Smart Option meanwhile comes from Digit’s stable:

Digit Insurance is a 4-year-old InsurTech start-up financed by the Fairfax Group, a prominent Financial Services company. And despite not having the most extensive track record, they have managed to market products that are truly affordable.

They also have a claim settlement ratio of 97% alongside 16,400+ network hospitals and they are brimming with potential.

talk to us

Talk to IRDAI-certified experts

If you want help with selecting the best health policy tailored to your needs, book a FREE call with our experts today by clicking here.

Compare Insurances

Insurance Parameters

Recommended
Not Recommended
Network hospitals
14,000+
16,400+
Claim settlement ratio

(avg. of last 3 years)

83%
97%
Co-payment

10%

(if purchased after turning 61)

No

Room rent

Single Private room

Any Room

(up to 1% of sum insured)

Disease sub-limit

Yes

No

Pre existing diseases waiting

3 years

4 years

Pre/Post hospitalization

60/90 days

30/60 days

No claim bonus

50% per year

(up to 100%)

10% per year

(up to 50%)

Domiciliary
Ayush treatments
Restoration benefit

100% restoration

(once for any illness

after complete exhaustion of sum insured)

Health check-up
Once every year
Once every year
Maternity

Available

(up to ₹20,000 after 2 years)

Out Patient Department

Up to ₹1,200

(cap of ₹300 on each consultation)

Day care

Feature Comparison

coPay

Co payment

With a co-payment clause, the insurer will mandate that you pay a part of the bill. So if the bill adds up to Rs. 2,00,000 and the co-payment is set at 20% then you could be asked to pay Rs. 40,000 from the bill. In this case, however, Comprehensive requires you to co-pay a part of the bill 10% if you purchase after turning 61 whereas Digit Insurance Smart Option doesn’t impose a co-payment clause

roomRent

Room rent

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, Comprehensive lets you stay in a single private room and Digit Insurance Smart Option only lets you stay in a room whose rent doesn’t exceed 1% of the sum insured. In effect, both policies impose restrictions on the kind of room you can pick.

diseaseSublimit

Sub limits

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, Comprehensive imposes disease-wise sub-limits on Modern treatments whereas Digit Insurance Smart Option doesn’t impose a disease wise sub-limit.

ped

Waiting periods for pre-existing diseases

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, Comprehensive imposes a waiting period of 3 years on pre-existing diseases while Digit Insurance Smart Option extends a waiting period of 4 years on existing conditions.

prePost

Pre and post Hospitalization expenses

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, Comprehensive covers expenses incurred 60 days before hospitalization and expenses incurred 90 days post-hospitalization. Meanwhile, Digit Insurance Smart Option covers expenses incurred 30 days before hospitalization and expenses incurred 60 after hospitalization, although there may be different sub-limits

ncb

No claim bonus

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, Comprehensive offers a no-claim bonus of 50% whereas Digit Insurance Smart Option offers a no-claim bonus of 10%. And the no-claim bonus may be capped at different levels too.

domiciliary

Domiciliary

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, Comprehensive offers domiciliary cover. And Digit Insurance Smart Option also coves domiciliary expenses.

ayush

Ayush treatments

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 Comprehensive covers Ayush treatments whereas Digit Insurance Smart Option doesn’t extend coverage for Ayush treatments.

maternity

Maternity benefits

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, however, Comprehensive offers maternity cover whereas Digit Insurance Smart Option doesn’t offer protection for maternity-related hospitalizations.

opd

Out Patient Department (OPD)

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, Comprehensive offers OPD cover whereas Digit Insurance Smart Option doesn’t offer OPD protection.

Final Conclusion

After considering all the features on hand, we believe that Digit Insurance Smart Option is a better alternative to Comprehensive for most use cases that we’ve evaluated so far.

talk to us

Select the best plan with our help!

Get in touch to find out what plan works best for you. Zero fuss. Zero spam. Zero charges. Book a call now. Limited slots available!