Star Health
Medi Classic
Medi Classic does a pretty decent job for the most part. And it's not too expensive. However, the policy does have restrictions on the kind of room you can pick and it makes you wait 3 years before covering pre-existing diseases (like diabetes). So you could look at other options within the Star stable. Maybe YoungStar?
What's good here?
You most likely don't have to split the bill
If you bought this policy after you turned 61, you have to pay 10% of the bill every time you make a claim. Otherwise, you are good to go. The insurer will pay all costs up to the sum insured.
Day Care treatments covered
If you’re hospitalized for less than 24 hours in lieu of a minor procedure, then the insurer will cover these costs too. Think dialysis, chemotherapy or minor surgeries.
What's bad here?
Restrictions on the rooms you can pick and much more
Your insurer won’t let you stay in a room whose rent exceeds ₹5,000. But in the event, you breach this limit, get ready to pay a lot more. - Read more here
Your insurer won’t let you stay in a room whose rent exceeds ₹5,000. But in the event, you breach this limit, get ready to pay a lot more. - Read more here
Has disease wise sub-limits
Your insurance cover won’t be fully available in case you are treated for Cataracts, Modern Treatments and a few other diseases. Meaning the insurance company has a cap on the total amount they’ll pay out if you are treated for these specific illnesses.
No coverage if you are forced to hospitalize at home
The insurer will not cover the costs if you are forced to hospitalize at home due to a medical condition. In insurance lingo, they call this a policy with no domiciliary cover.
What's okay here?
Reasonable waiting period for pre-existing diseases
If you’re already dealing with diabetes, cardiovascular problems or any such illnesses, the insurer will cover all costs arising out of these pre-existing problems after you wait for 3 years.
If you’re already dealing with diabetes, cardiovascular problems or any such illnesses, the insurer will cover all costs arising out of these pre-existing problems after you wait for 3 years.
Pre & Post hospitalization
No worries if the doctor had to run a host of diagnostic tests before or after hospitalizing you. The insurer has your back. They will cover this amount in full for a pretty reasonable duration - 30 days before you are hospitalized and 60 days after discharge (but not exceeding 7% of the hospitalization expenses or ₹5,000 per hospitalization whichever is less). This includes the cost of medication by the way.
Underwhelming bonus feature
Your sum insured increases by 5% each year, so long as you make no claims during this period. But before you get too ahead of yourself, do note that they’ll stop offering you the bonus when your sum insured increases by 25%. And while this is a decent deal, most insurance companies offer a much higher bonus. But hey, it's still a bonus.
Some Cover for Alternative Medicine
Think of getting Ayurvedic, Homeopathic or other alternative treatments to cure an illness? Your insurer will pay up to 25% of the cover in case you’re availing these treatments. However, the maximum limit is ₹25,000.
Some Restoration Benefit
Even after you claim part of the cover on one occasion, you will have 200% of the cover restored, if you are hospitalized one more time in a bid to treat a different complication. In the same year, by the way.
No free Health Checkups unless you wait 4 years
If you’re planning on getting a full body checkup just to make sure you’re in fine working condition, the insurer will cover the cost once in 4 years. However, just so you know, most insurance policies offer free yearly health checkups.
Add-on
Hospital Cash
The insurer pays a lumpsum by adding a fixed sum (daily cash) every day until the day of discharge so you can deal with any potential loss in income during this time. The money will be reimbursed to you after you submit the required documents post-discharge, and while this looks like a neat benefit to have, we don’t recommend it since the benefit doesn’t compensate for the extra premium you pay.
Frequently Asked Questions
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