Top 10 Insurance Companies in India
It is always best to make a well-informed choice when it comes to investing your money. The statement holds true, even more so, when it comes to investing money in your health. A health insurance policy choice is as critical as putting all your eggs in one basket – you are entrusting a company with both your money and your health.
There are a number of factors such as settlement ratio, solvency ratio, network hospitals, variety and flexibility of policies, among others, that determine the efficiency and reliability of health insurance companies. Based on these factors, we have come up with this list of top insurance companies in India for you to consider when opting for a health insurance (in no specific order).
Apollo Munich Health Insurance Company
One of the main reasons why Apollo Munich is among the top-rated health insurance companies in India is definitely the familiarity of the name in the healthcare sector. Asia’s largest integrated healthcare provider, Apollo Hospitals Group has partnered with Munich Health, a world-leader in insurance. It is also a preferred health insurance company because of its wide range of health insurance plans for individuals and families.
Apollo is also on top of the chart when it comes to customer satisfaction, with quick turnarounds like 90% cashless authorisations in under 2 hours and 90% claim settlement within 30 days. While most other insurance companies offer coverage for only up to 2 children, Apollo Munich provides coverage for up to 4 children under a single family policy.
Moreover, as health check-ups are covered on completion of a certain number of claim-free years (variable according to the plan), policyholders find value for the money invested in their insurance.
Health Insurance Portability, a feature introduced by IRDA in 2011 is also well accepted and implemented through a smooth and simple process by Apollo Munich Health.
Star Health and Allied Insurance Co Ltd
Star Health and Allied Insurance Co Ltd is an award-winning health insurance company born out of the unified initiative of several insurance veterans in India. Founded in the year 2006, it has ever since been ranked among the top insurance companies in the country.
Over the years, the company has also been the recipient of several awards – the World Health Organisation (WHO) Award of Excellence in 2017 being just one among many others.
With unique health insurance plans designed specifically for diabetic patients, cardiac patients and persons living with HIV, Star Health is a preferred health insurance company for persons who have pre-existing diseases and require tailor-made policies suited to their specific healthcare needs. Another unique feature of Star Health is that a personalised doctor visit is arranged for all policyholders who get hospitalised.
Star Health and Allied Insurance is also India’s first stand-alone insurance company. It does not depend on an external Third-Party Administrators (TPAs), but handles all claims settlements through an in-house team. This, in turn, ensures a smooth and hassle-free claims process.
Moreover, with more than 8000 preferred network hospitals, policyholders have more hospitals to choose from when opting for cashless treatment.
Max Bupa Health Insurance Company Ltd
Max Bupa Health Insurance Company Ltd is a joint venture between Max India Limited and UK-based healthcare services expert, Bupa. Like Star Health, Max Bupa also has an in-house insurance claims settlement team and works independent of TPAs.
Keeping the traditional Indian family in mind, Max Bupa also offers a unique plan for joint families, wherein 19 members can be insured together. It also boasts of a short waiting period of one year for maternity expenses coverage.
With a claims settlement ratio (CSR) as high as 89%, Max Bupa gives its customers the highest level of surety when it comes to claims. As per the IRDA report, Max Bupa has also addressed and resolved all customer grievances in the year 2016-2017.
At Max Bupa, policyholders who opt for a two-year policy also enjoy a 12.5% discount on the second-year’s premium; this makes it a much-loved policy choice among those looking for cost-effective options.
Religare Health Insurance
Religare Health Insurance is highly recommended and promoted by experts in the healthcare sector including Fortis Hospitals, SRL Diagnostics and Religare Wellness, making it a trusted name in the industry.
With a “no-claim bonus” feature, Religare offers an annual increase of up to 150% in the policyholder’s sum insured. This ensures that policyholders will no longer feel that they have wasted their premium unnecessarily.
Unique add-on policy features of Religare include air-ambulance cover when policyholders need to go for treatments that are unavailable in their city, and global coverage which provides cashless treatment across the globe!
Religare also offers one of the lowest waiting periods for maternity with plans that require only a 9 to 24 months of waiting period.
Cigna TTK Health Insurance Company
When global insurance company Cigna, joined hands with Indian conglomerate TTK, the Cigna TTK Health Insurance Company was born in 2014. This itself is reason enough for its exponential growth and fame in the industry in this short span of four years.
What makes Cigna TTK a preference for most health insurance customers is the absence of the co-pay clause. This applies to all plans, without exceptions of age or medical conditions.
Moreover, under the Pro-Health Protect Plan of the company, policyholders are given an all-inclusive coverage including room expenses, surgeon’s fees, nurses fees, anaethesia, blood, oxygen, medicines, drugs, and other consumables as well. With a plan like this, customers have literally no expenses and, therefore, nothing to worry about!
Cigna TTK also offers its customers the ability to opt for a completely tailor-made plan, so that each policyholder can choose only what is needed in their specific case and leave out the aspects that do not apply.
National Insurance Company Ltd
National Insurance Company Ltd is the oldest insurance company in India, with over 112 years of experience in the field. This public health insurance company offers a wide range of insurance policies, which have taken shape over the years, according to the transforming needs of the people.
Being a fully government-owned company, policyholders find it to be a trustworthy choice when it comes to investing their money.
Moreover, policyholders have a wealth of choice when it comes to choosing from among the 6000+ hospitals that are in the company’s preferred network.
With a wide range of mediclaim policies, this health insurance is preferred by many employers to offer a health cover for their employees.
The New India Assurance Co. Ltd
The New India Assurance Co. Ltd is a multinational general insurance company with its presence spread across 28 countries. It is also one of the oldest and widely preferred insurance companies in India.
Similar to the National Insurance Company, it is also a government-owned insurance company, naturally winning the trust of the people.
The company shares a common in-house TPA along with four other public sector insurance companies in India, and assures policyholders of a hassle-free claim settlement experience with greater transparency.
As with the National Insurance Company, The New India Assurance Company is also well-known for a range of mediclaim policies. A highlight of this company’s mediclaim policies is that it charges differential rates for customers, depending on the location of their location.
Asha Kiran, a special medical insurance policy of the The New India Assurance Company, is a policy made available with special benefits exclusively to families with a girl child.
Universal Sompo General Insurance Co Ltd
India’s first public-private partnership insurance company, Universal Sompo is a joint venture between Indian Overseas Bank, Allahabad Bank, Karnataka Bank, Dabur Investment Corporation and Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance (the largest insurance company in Japan).
With over 17 policies to choose from in the area of health alone, Universal Sompo ensures that their customers have plenty of options to choose from when it comes to the important decision of investing in their health.
With a high claim settlement ratio of 73.47% and a healthy incurred claim ratio of 70.91%, Universal Sompo is a reliable option for those seeking a good health insurance policy.
Moreover, as per the IRDA report, Universal Sompo also has an exceptional record of 100.00% in resolving grievances, making it a company that is accountable and loyal to its customers.
HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company
HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company, the fourth-largest insurance company in India offers a plethora of health insurance policies, suited for the varying needs of its customers.
These health insurance policies not only cover hospitalisation charges in times of illnesses or accidents, but also take care of pre and post hospitalisation expenses, expenses for domiciliary treatments, and also day-care procedures that require no hospitalisation.
More than 6000 hospitals are part of its network, and offer easy access of cashless claims. Another feature that makes HDFC ERGO a popular choice is that there is no need for the policyholder to co-pay.
Bajaj Allianz General Insurance
Bajaj Allianz has emerged from the partnership between Bajaj Finserv Limited and Allianz SE.
Health cash is a unique add-on feature of the company, through which the policyholder receives a daily allowance during hospitalised days to cover all auxiliary expenses during the period.
The company also boasts of claim settlements within one hour, and 24/7 call assistance for settlement of claims.
Health Claim by Direct Click (CDC) is a feature in the Bajaj Allianz Insurance Wallet App that enables policyholders to raise health claim requests of up to Rs. 20000/- without the interference of a hospital or TPA, directly through the touch of a finger. In thise digital era, this paperless, time-saving feature that is much welcomed by all its customers!
All these features bring Bajaj Allianz into the top ten insurance companies in India, and it is no wonder that more than 2.9 lakhs health Insurance claims were processed by the company in 2017-2018.
Summing it up
This is not an exhaustive list – there are many other prominent insurance companies in India, each one with its own unique set of pros and cons.
We recommend that you go beyond just the basics, take the time to understand different policies offered by different insurance companies and then make the choice that seems best suited for you and your family.