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Healthcare costs in India are rising upwards at a steady rate. When Shikha realised this fact, she immediately opted for a family floater plan. It was a safety net she chose at the right time, as a few months later she suffered an injury and was hospitalised. A month later, her mother was also hospitalised for a minor ailment.
The total hospitalization expenses came out to be Rs 7 lakh. The base health insurance policy opted by Shikha had a maximum coverage of Rs 5 lakh. Having always trusted her decision-making abilities, Shikha is now stress-free about how the remaining expenses would be covered. She also had purchased a super top up health insurance plan that will now cover all those expenses that she would have to bear otherwise from her pocket.
A regular health policy may not be enough to match the medical expenditures that can be surprisingly high at times. Buying a super top-up plan is a sensible decision you can make to stay financially prepared for contingencies.
What is a Super Top Up Policy?
Healthcare costs are at an all-time high which is why it is essential to have a health cover. Medical expenditures can sometimes take us by surprise and exceed the amount that an existing health policy can actually cover. Here is when super top up plans help by providing financial back-up in such challenging situations.
Super top up health insurance policies, like top-up policies, provide added coverage of the base health insurance plan above a threshold limit known as a deductible. The deductible is a pre-defined amount up to which your super top-up /top-up plan will not provide cover. You would have to bear the expenses up to this limit either through your existing health plan or directly from the pocket.
While a top-up plan offers coverage only for a single claim, a super top-up plan is advantageous since it considers the cumulative hospitalization expenses in a policy year and covers multiple claims.
Example: Rajiv has a regular health insurance plan with a sum insured of Rs 5 lakh. He also opted for a super top-up plan with a sum insured of Rs 10 lakh and a deductible of Rs 2 lakh. Let us understand the various scenarios where the super top-up plan proves beneficial for the insured.
| Scenario | How Super Top Up Health Insurance Works? |
| Rajiv gets hospitalized for surgery and incurs expenses of Rs. 5 lakh. | The base health plan will cover up to Rs 2 lakh, and super top-up plan will cover the remaining expenses up to Rs 3 lakh. |
| Rajiv gets hospitalized twice in the same year. He incurred a total bill of Rs. 3 lakh in the first hospitalization and Rs. 4 lakh in the second hospitalization. | The base health plan will cover up to Rs 3 lakh in the first hospitalization, and super top-up plan will cover the remaining expenses up to Rs 4 lakh in the second hospitalization. |
| Rajiv gets hospitalized twice in the same year. He incurred a total bill of Rs. 5 lakh in the first hospitalization and Rs. 7 lakh in the second hospitalization | The base health plan will cover up to Rs 5 lakh, and super top-up plan will cover the remaining expenses up to Rs 7 lakh. The base plan will not cover the second hospitalization expenses as it will offer a maximum coverage up to Rs 5 lakh. |
One has to note that the super top-up insurance plan covers multiple claims for the cumulative healthcare expenses above the deductible limit in a policy year. The insured pays deductible once, and the super top-up plan covers subsequent claims in the year. One can utilise the base plan to cover the expenses below the deductible.
>> Click Here to Know is It Wiser to Opt for Health Insurance Plan with a Higher Sum Insured or a Super Top-Up
What are the Advantages of Super Top-up Health Insurance?
By opting for a super top-up plan, a policyholder of an existing health insurance plan will have a lot advantages, as discussed below:
- Going for a health insurance plan with increased coverage would mean a higher premium amount. Choosing a super top-up plan instead is an affordable option. Super top-up plans that come with a high deductible amount have a low premium cost. With proper planning, you can avail the full benefits of such plans without any cost burden.
- If you do not have a regular health insurance plan, it is still possible to purchase a super top-up plan. However, it is recommended to buy a base plan to cover the amounts below the deductible. Otherwise, you may have to bear the expenses from your pocket.
- You get the choice to customise your policy by selecting the suitable sum insured option and deductible.
- You do not need to buy a super top-up plan from your existing insurer. You can avail the plan from any other insurer. Care Health Insurance offers ‘Enhance’ with numerous benefits, such as cashless treatment facility, annual health check-up and a range of sum insured options.
- Super top-up plans are available as individual covers as well as family floater policies.
- Moreover, a super top-up plan proves vital in the present pandemic situation as it will cover the unexpected expenses due to coronavirus treatment.
- One can access the cashless hospitalization facility at any of our 22100+ cashless healthcare providers or apply for reimbursement claim if treatment was taken at a non-network hospital.
What is the difference between a Rider and a Super Top-up Plan?
In the times of rising medical inflation and new health risks, it is crucial to assess whether your existing health insurance is adequate to cover the hefty medical bills incurred in a single year. Opting for optional benefits, also known as riders, is an excellent way to boost your regular health insurance. Some examples of optional benefits are OPD care, unlimited automatic recharge, and daily allowance.
Further, you might consider opting for a higher sum insured in your regular health plan. However, that may impact you owing to the high premium. Therefore, a cost-effective way to increase the coverage of your existing plan is to invest in a super top-up plan.
Super top-up plans significantly differ from riders or optional benefits. A rider is an additional feature the policyholder can choose with a basic health plan. The premium will increase, depending on the preferred benefits one has chosen. On the other hand, the super top-up plan is a type of health insurance that provides additional coverage to your basic health plan, thus securing your finances in the event of any medical emergency. Such plans are based on the concept of deductible – a specified amount that the policyholder must bear in a policy year before the policy coverage starts.
Super top-up policies come with numerous benefits and policy coverage includes in-patient care, pre-and-post hospitalization medical expenses, day care treatment, and organ donor cover. Thus, it is an ideal choice if your aim is securing your finances and make the most of your health cover.
Takeaway
A super top up health insurance is recommended for anyone having a health cover and is looking to minimise the burden of substantial medical costs. In particular, such plans are beneficial if your existing policy proves inadequate. It is especially valid for those having mediclaim policy offered by an employer. Further, you can secure your elderly parents’ health by investing in a senior citizen health plan and boost the coverage with a super top-up plan.
If you know that there are high medical expenditures you might have to deal with, it is wise to choose a super top-up plan that will prevent any impact on your savings.
Care Health Insurance offers ‘Enhance’, a super top-up plan with a range of options of the sum insured and deductible, to enable you to make the right choice for your financial security.
>>Click Here to Know These 5 Important Things to Consider When Opting for a Super-Top Up
Disclaimer: Please read the brochure and prospectus to know more about our health insurance plans cover as conditions may vary.
