Benefit from top-up health insurance

Now, assume another scenario. You have an existing policy of Rs 3 lakh and a top-up policy of Rs 5 lakh with a deductible of Rs 3 lakh. Your wife gets hospitalised twice in a year with bills of Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 2 lakh each. Then the top-up will not be triggered in both cases. Further, if both your wife and son are hospitalised with expenses of Rs 2.5 lakh each during the year, even then the top-up will not be triggered.

Features

The top-up policy can be bought from the same or different insurers.

Top-ups are available for both individual and family floater policies.

Pre-existing illnesses are generally not covered for a certain number of years. Basic exclusions, coverage and age limits depends on each insurer.

Premium paid towards top-up policies are eligible for tax deduction under Section 80D.

Top-up plans are not riders which usually can be bought with health insurance policies, which include hospital cash, personal accident and critical illness covers. Top-up plans have similar features as a regular health insurance plan, except for the higher amount of deductible.

A top-up plan is a cheap and easy option to increase your health cover, rather than being burdened with many health insurance policies.

— Author is CEO, BankBazaar.com

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