Cheapest Health Insurance in India – 10 Cheapest Health Insurance Plans 2024 and Tips to Choose Best one

Updated on Dec 26, 2023

Zaheer khan had purchased a health insurance policy for a sum insured of Rs. 3 lakhs, when he started his first job, at the age of 22. Its premium made it look like the cheapest health insurance policy but he knew the benefits in the long term. In the next 3 years, he underwent surgery which was taken care of by this health policy, and a year later, his wife had a medical condition that required immediate attention, which again was taken care of suitably by the same policy. With a small amount of premium every year, he has been able to protect his and his family`s health emergencies without having to worry about the increasing medical costs.

A healthy lifestyle holds an important place in the modern world, especially with the spread of the covid19 pandemic. The risk of contracting the disease by healthy has increased the fear of other people too. There is a report that suggests that people are seeking to purchase a cheap health insurance policy because the growth of the covid19 pandemic has doubled from the previous year. The threat of a pandemic is far from being over, which is why it is the best time to find an affordable medical insurance plan in case you don’t already have one or even re-evaluate your current health insurance plan.

Also Read: What is a Third Party Administrator (TPA) in Health Insurance & its Role?

Why Do You Need to Purchase the Best Health Insurance Plan?

A good and comprehensive health insurance policy is the need of the hour for every individual. Looking at the rate of inflation in healthcare costs and the innumerable diseases that are engulfing people, no one can deny the importance of health insurance policies at the present moment to keep them and their family members secured against hospitalization and other medical expenses.  However, buying a health insurance plan may be a daunting task looking at the myriad availability of health insurance policies with a range of features and benefits.

At Paybima, we are here to help you make the right and informed decision on picking the best health insurance plan to serve your purpose well. We give you the platform to compare and pick the right policy that may fulfill all the needs of your healthcare as well as that of your family members, such as in-patient hospitalization costs, daycare expenses, pre- and post-hospitalization, critical illness coverage, and more.

10 Cheapest Health Insurance Plans in India 2024

With numerous insurance providers in India that offer a variety of low cost health insurance policies that cover offline and online methods, it could be confusing to pick the best and cheapest health insurance policy that is the least expensive in India between them. Therefore, we have listed some of the best policies that make it simple for you to choose, compare and finalize the best plan that will provide peace of mind for you and a worry-free future for your family. Below is the list of cheap and best health insurance in India with the lowest premiums:

Also Read: Health Insurance Claim Settlement Ratio

Tips on How to Choose the Cheapest Health Insurance in India?

Like other types of investment options, a lowest premium health insurance policy is not a return-oriented investment. However, you should consider it as an investment tool that will help you meet your financial obligations, even in the event of any medical emergency.

The principal goal of low-cost health insurance in India is to offer its customers, the option to receive comprehensive medical care in hospitals without concerns about finances as they pay a reasonable premium. However, an individual health insurance plan is not only about hospitalization and treatment costs but the equal focus must be given to other areas as well, which are listed below for your clear understanding.

1. Recovery Benefit

This feature allows the insured to be paid a specific amount for the remainder of the term of your insurance policy if the original sum insured amount has been exhausted. This is especially useful for family-based health plans that have multiple members in a single health insurance plan. If any member of the family falls sick and uses the full insurance coverage, other members of the family won’t be able to benefit from the insurance policy should they be in a hospital during the same year. With restoration benefits in place, there’s no reason to worry since the insurer will restore the value of the insurance immediately for the remaining time and ensure continuous coverage for everyone who is covered.

2. Top-ups

There are some important events in the life of a person such as being married, having children inheriting wealth from a parent, or being elevated to a higher position. Whatever the reason, you could feel pressured to take advantage of extra health benefits as a result of the increased burden on the responsibilities. It is sometimes difficult to find plans that are suitable to cover every event in your life or to boost your insurance for health and, with the possibility of topping-ups and a choice to extend the coverage of your current policy for a little more premium.

3. No-claim bonuses

Your insurance company will reward you for not submitting any claims during the policy year. The rewards could be of reduction in premiums or discounts in other facilities depending on the policy type and tenure. By choosing a health insurance policy that offers you a considerable amount of no claim bonus, you stand to benefit more from them over a longer period.

4. Cash Allowance

A majority of medical expenses will not be covered through your health insurance policy since certain expenses must be paid out of your pocket, like OPD costs, medical consultations, prescriptions hospital charges, and more. There are health insurance policies that provide a cash allowance daily if the policyholder receives admission to the hospital to take charge of expenses that are out of pocket for the day.

5. Home treatment expenses

Domiciliary treatment or home care involves treatment of a patient at home as a result of no bed availability or facilities in the hospital. This is usually the case during the covid19 crisis that has swept across the nation. While a majority of health insurance providers in India offer home healthcare now, ensure that your policy has this option available.

6. Wellness programs

Health insurance policies nowadays, come with value-added features, including fitness and health-related activities to improve policyholders’ physical and mental health. These programs give benefits in the form of cashback when renewing policies as well as reward points, discount coupons for your partner, exclusive invitations to meditation, yoga, or weight reduction classes, and more. These programs help policyholders be healthy while providing the insurer with more efficiency in keeping claims to a minimum.

7. AYUSH treatment

Nowadays there are health insurance providers that offer insurance for alternative therapies like Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Homeopathy, and more. Look for these treatments’ availability with the insurer, so they are useful for you should you choose to utilize them as a treatment option.

As previously mentioned, rates of health insurance plans are at their lowest when purchased during your early years. So the best way to buy the cheapest health insurance policy in India is to lock the premiums at a young age and continue with them for a longer period or simply refer to PayBima’s expert advice to ascertain the right health insurance policy, coverage amount and the features to suit your needs as per your age and lifestyle.

8. Select the right sum insured

The sum insured or the coverage amount of your policy is an important consideration while buying a health insurance policy. You must ensure to go for policies that allow maximum coverage at a minimum premium rate. This way, you can be sure to receive enhanced coverage against most diseases and health conditions.

9. Pick the right coverage amount

Depending on your needs, you may choose to buy the type of coverage you want – an individual or family floater plan.  A family floater plan will ensure the coverage of every member of the family included under the plan. This way, you are  not required to buy individual plans for each family member and save the hassle of buying separate policies.

10. Check the PED waiting period

The PED or pre-existing disease coverage is another significant consideration that you may take care of while buying a health insurance plan. If you are going through any pre-existing diseases, you may like to get coverage for the same as early as possible after buying the health insurance plan. However, depending on the insurance policy and the insurer, the PED waiting period varies from plan to plan. Hence, it is important to check the same at the time of buying a health insurance policy.

11. Go for lifetime renewability

This is another significant aspect to ensure while buying a health insurance policy. You should always buy health plans that allow lifetime renewability. This is because most health insurance companies in India allow 65 years as the maximum limit to renew policies. Hence, you must look for plans that allow a lifetime renewability option.

12. Check the CSR of the insurer

The CSR or claim settlement ratio of the insurance company is a key factor to consider while buying health insurance plans in India. A high CSR ensures that the insurer will settle your claim without any hassle. Hence, always go for plans with high CSR and good repute in the market.

Also Read: IRDA Claim Settlement Ratio

Benefits of Buying the Best Health Insurance Policy in India

The general perception is that a health insurance policy only covers the costs of hospitalization. However, the fact is, a health insurance plan is a comprehensive product that not only presents monetary assistance for hospitalization but also covers a myriad of benefits to serve the purpose of policyholders.

Here are some benefits of buying the best health insurance policy:

• Avail cashless treatment – The best feature of a health insurance policy is that it offers cashless treatment at network hospitals. Hence, in the case of hospitalization, the policyholder doesn’t have to pay the hospitalization bill at the time of getting discharged from the hospital. The insurance company settles the bill directly with the hospital. So, even if you are in a financially difficult situation, you can still manage to get your treatment done without any hassle.
• Daily cash allowance – Another excellent benefit of a health insurance company is that it offers a daily cash amount during the term of hospitalization of the insured to support the regular needs of the insured like medicines and other supplies or to fulfill the needs of the attendant. The daily cash allowance doesn’t disturb your coverage amount or sum insured of your policy. The daily allowance is available up to a particular limit.
• Tax benefits – Medical/health insurance also offers the benefit of tax deductions to the insured under section 80D of the Income Tax Act. So, the insured can avail of a tax exemption facility for the premiums paid to stay covered under the health insurance plan. The tax deduction is offered for up to INR 25,000 of the insurance premium paid.  Further, this amount is up to INR 30,000 in the case of health insurance for elderly or senior citizens.
• Coverage against life-threatening diseases – Lifestyle diseases are at their peak in the present situation. They are not just deadly but their treatment is very expensive. People with regular incomes find it difficult to afford the expenses related to the treatment of such critical diseases.  Hence, the coverage of your health insurance policy is important for the insured to avail of cashless treatment during hospitalization. This way, you can ensure that you get proper care for the lifestyle diseases you are suffering from without worrying about the expenses. However, most health insurance policies offer critical illness coverage as an add-on rider, which requires the insured to pay a certain extra premium.
• Preventive health check-ups – Most comprehensive health insurance policies in India offer the facility of free preventive health check-ups once every one or two years as per the terms and conditions of the policy. This helps the insured and his/her family members get a free annual health check-up to keep track of their health condition and take care of any illness in the initial stages.
• Other benefits – If you purchase the best health insurance policy from the best health insurance company in India, you will also receive other benefits like free consultation on healthcare with professional physicians, and nutritionists, along with other facilities like daycare facilities for insured, domiciliary coverage, AYUSH coverage, many other riders and add-ons and so on.

Brief Description of Best Health Insurance plans

1. Care Health Insurance plan

Care Health Care Insurance Plan by Care Health Insurance Company is a comprehensive healthcare policy available as individual as well as family floater coverage. The plan comes with a wide range of benefits and features like pre- and post-hospitalization, domiciliary treatment, alternative/AYUSH therapy, air ambulance, international second opinion, and more

Features include:

• The plan covers in-patient hospitalization including ICU and room rent coverage
• 30 days pre-hospitalization and 60 days post-hospitalization coverage is also available under the plan
• Daycare expenses are also covered under the Care Health Insurance Plan
• The plan also covers ambulance services on the road during accidents and emergencies
• The insured may avail of a daily hospital allowance under the Care Health Insurance plans
• Any expenses incurred during the process of organ donor will be covered under the plan
• Alternate or AYUSH treatments including Ayurveda, Homeopathy, and Unani are also covered under the policy
• The cost of an international second opinion by another doctor is also covered under the plan
• The plan also offers tax benefits on premiums paid u/s 80C of the Income Tax

2. Digit Health Care Plus OPD Insurance Plan

This is another comprehensive health insurance policy available with minimum limitations and maximum coverage.

Here are some features:

• The plan doesn’t have any age-specific clause for co-pay
• There are no restrictions on room rent under the plan
• Cumulative bonus benefit is also available under the plan
• Coverage against mental health diseases is also covered under the plan
• Hospitalization coverage costs also be incurred up to the sum assured
• You may also avail of add-on benefits like maternity coverage, AYUSH, and more

3. SBI Aarogya Plus Plan

SBI Arogya Plus plan is yet another comprehensive Mediclaim policy providing coverage against expenses like pre- and post-hospitalization (for 60 days pre- and 90 days post-hospitalization).

Here are some key features:

• The plan covers air ambulance charges for up to INR 1 lakh
• It covers maternity expenses after a waiting period of 9 months
• The sum insured under the plan ranged between INR 10 to INR 30 lakh
• The plan covers daycare charges for up to 142 days
• Medical tests are not required for policy seekers of up to 55 years of age
• The plan is available as individual and family floater type
• Tax benefits u/s 80D is also available

4. Manipal Cigna Lifetime Healthcare

This health insurance policy comes with an unlimited sum insured restoration option along with several other benefits such as maternity and newborn expenses, vaccination charges, and more.

Here are some features:

• The policy comes with an enhanced sum insured of up to INR 50 lakh to suit healthcare needs
• The policy covers hospitalization costs for the treatment of diseases, diagnostics charges, medicines, consumables, room rent charges, ICU expenses, OT charges, surgical equipment charges, and more
• The plan is available with a lifetime renewal option
• With a long-term policy period, the plan offers 1, 2, and 3-year policy tenure
• Pre- and post-hospitalization charges are also covered under the plan for up to 60 and 180 days

5. Aditya Birla Health Enhanced Plan

The plan covers individuals as well as families with comprehensive healthcare protection. It comes with many interesting features and benefits.

Here are some features:

• The plan comes with a sum-insured reload facility which can be availed of in case of insufficient SI.
• An extra benefit of a daily cash allowance is also offered of up to INR 500 under the plan
• The plan allows free medical check-ups to all insured once for every policy year
• It covers other features like organ donor charges, domiciliary hospitalization costs, daycare procedures, and more
• The policy offers emergency ambulance expenses as well as pre-and post-hospitalization charges
• It covers Ayush treatment and second opinion for critical diseases

6. Bajaj Allianz Health Guard Plan

This is another comprehensive plan that offers protection against major healthcare expenses. It is available for both individuals and families and allows coverage against pregnancy and newborn.

Some features include:

• The plan covers in-patient hospitalization including ICU, surgery, and room rent coverage
• 60 days pre-hospitalization and 90 days post-hospitalization coverage is also available under the plan
• Road ambulance expenses are also covered under the plan for up to INR 20,000 every policy year
• Convalescence benefit is also available under the plan
• Daycare expenses are also covered under the Care Health Insurance Plan
• The plan also covers ambulance services on the road during accidents and emergencies
• The insured may avail of a daily hospital allowance under the Care Health Insurance plans
• Any expenses incurred during the process of organ donor will be covered under the plan
• Alternate or AYUSH treatments including Ayurveda, Homeopathy, and Unani are also covered under the policy

7. Niva Bupa Health Companion Plan

Niva Bupa Health Companion is one of the top comprehensive health insurance policies by Niva Bupa, earlier known as Max Bupa health insurance company. The plan is available for both individuals and nuclear families and is available for a two-year tenure.

Here are some features:

• The plan covers in-patient hospitalization including ICU, surgery, and room rent coverage
• The plan comes with room rent coverage without any cap (except in the case of a suite and beyond)
• Pre-hospitalization of 30 days and post-hospitalization of 60 days is available under the plan
• The plan covers daycare treatment costs
• the refill benefit of the sum insured is available under the plan

8. Bharti AXA Smart Health Insurance

This is an excellent policy available with several features and benefits such as renewal discounts, NCB benefits, free health check-ups, and more.

Here are some key features:

• The plan can be purchased by anyone between 91 days to 65 years of age
• The policy offers a range of sum insured for up to INR 5 lakh
• Spouse and 2 dependent children are covered under the family floater policy
• The plan covers critical illnesses and recuperation benefits for critical diseases
• Day-care and Ayush treatment is covered
• Domiciliary hospitalization is also covered up to 10% of SI

9. Cholamandalam Healthline Insurance Plan

This health insurance plan offers protection based on family floater coverage and compensates for costs incurred under treatment of Ayurveda along with regular treatment. You can cover your spouse and kids under the plan.

Features include:

• The plan covers maternity expenses
• You are not required to take up pre-screening medical check-up to the age of 55 years
• Standard, superior, and advanced are the three variants of the plan available
• Organ transplant costs are covered under the plan (excluding the organ cost)
• External aids such as contact lenses, hearing aids, etc. are also covered

10. IFFCO Tokio Individual Health Protector Plan

You may be covered on an individual and family floater basis under this plan. It covers hospitalization expenses as well as high-cost treatments for diseases and injuries. It covers additional expenses above the deductible.

Here are some features:

• Individuals above the age of 18 and below the age of 65 years are eligible under the plan
• The cost incurred on the purchase of vitamins is included as part of the hospitalization under this plan
• You can buy it as a one-year policy or a top-up/super top-up plan

11. Kotak Mahindra Health Premier Plan

This is another premier health insurance plan that offers healthcare protection as well as value-added advantages in terms of health and wellness.

Here are some features:

• The policy is available on an individual and family floater basis
• 3 adults and 3 kids (dependent) are covered under the family floater plan
• The policy can be purchased for 1-, 2- and 3-year policy term
• Various discounts such as family, long-term policy, etc., are available
• All variants offer a lifelong renewal option
• Add-on covers for critical illness and PA are available

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