8 Major difference between Top-Up and Super Top-Up Health Insurance Plans in India
An individual purchases insurance because it helps protect health and provides safety and security during times of medical emergencies. This ensures that they are not under any financial strain in the event of a health emergency.
An insurance plan acts as a protection against a financial loss. This forms a contract between the insurer and the insured. Purchasing a health insurance plan is expensive for an individual. To receive coverage, one has to pay premiums. In some cases, the cover offered is not sufficient for an individual, yet it is very difficult for one to purchase a second insurance plan.
For such people, two new instruments have come up under the subsections of insurance; top-up insurance and super top-up insurance. Let’s understand them in detail.
What is Top-up Insurance Plan?
Top-up health insurance provides additional cover to an individual for a single claim. This plan extends the threshold limit offered by the base plan. It means that such a plan will cover an individual or a family against a financial strain in the event of medical emergencies just by providing additional coverage for a small cost.
Such a policy is subscribed by a person who believes that the coverage offered by their base plan is not sufficient and buying second health insurance is not affordable.
Top 8 Features of a top-up insurance plan
- Convertible: A top-up insurance plan can be easily converted into a health plan in case the insured wishes to do so or during a medical emergency.
- No sub-limits: While giving admission to the patient in the hospital, expenses such as costs of medicines, room rent, medical practitioner’s fees, and more are chargeable. The top-up insurance provider does not set any sub-limit or restriction on such hospitalization expenses.
- Bonus: In good times like the insured not being admitted for hospitalization and is healthy for a year or more than, the insurance provider pays-out a No-claim bonus or NCB to the insured. It is also called a cumulative bonus.
- Medical Screening: An individual purchasing such a plan will not have to go through any such tests if he/she is below the age of 45 years. The eligibility factor of age varies from company to company.
- Lifelong Renewability: An insurance company provides life-long renewability to the insured. Such a contract does not need to be time-bound.
- Tax Benefits: The purchase of an insurance plan is a plan to which tax benefits are substantial. These benefits are given under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act, 1961. This helps an individual enjoy the benefit of tax exemption of up to INR 1.5 lakhs.
- Purchase: Such a plan is purchased from the base plan insurer. It is not compulsory to subscribe for a top-up policy from the same insurer. A person can opt for such a plan from another insurance provider.
- Free look-up period: An insurance provider gives the insured a look-up period of 15-30 days, means within the days provided a person can surrender the policy without any penalties such as surrender charges.
Top-up health insurance is issuable for 1-2 years up to lifetime renewability. Such a policy provides coverage only on one-time hospitalization.
What is Super top-up Insurance Plan?
A super top-up health insurance plan is the additional coverage received by the insured on payment of additional premium. The cover offered in such a policy is for multiple claims. The claims can be diverse and do not need to have the same illness caused in the past. A person can claim after one or multiple hospitalizations. The Super top-up plan comes into the picture only when the deductible amount chosen by the insured has surpassed.
The features of super top-up insurance are-
- Tax Exemption: Under section 80D of the income tax act, an insurance holder enjoys the benefit of tax exemptions.
- Covers Pandemic: In such a situation of COVID-19, an insured does not need to worry as, in case of any contingent condition, the plan will provide coverage to the individual. The policy will provide coverage if the insured is admitted to a hospital for less than 24 hours and also when the bill has exhausted the base plan amount.
- Coverage: This plan provides coverage for in-patient hospitalization, pre and post-hospitalization, as well as medical daycare procedures.
- Customization: A person purchasing super top-up health insurance can comfortably customize the plan according to his/her requirements.
- Room Rent: The insurance company does not set any such sub-limit on the room rent of the insured. The policyholder can choose a private room if needed.
- Premium and Coverage: The premium paid for such a policy is low and thus affordable. The cover offered by the insured exhausts only when the amount invested has been exhausted.
A super top-up plan does not lapse until the entire amount is exhausted. This plan is useable for upgrading the assured individual from the base policy. It is also called a health booster policy.
8 Major Difference between Top Up and Super Top Up Health Insurance Plans
Here we listed the 8 top differences between top-up and super top-up health insurance plans in India as mentioned below:-
| S. No. | Differences | Top-up Health Insurance | Super Top-up Health Insurance |
| 1 | Purpose | The top-up insurance plan offers additional coverage only after the deductible amount of 1 claim has been surpassed. | Super top-up insurance plans offer coverage after the total of all the hospitalization bills cross the threshold limit. |
| 2 | Premium Payable | The premium payable for this policy is comparatively lesser than super top-up insurance. | The premium payable is a tad higher than the premium payable for top-up insurance. |
| 3 | How it works | Top-up health insurance works on the principle of “per claim” or “per hospitalization.” | Super top-up works on the permit of multiple claims. |
| 4 | Deductibles | The deductible amount needs to be surpassed in every top-up insurance plan to claim the additional coverage. | Once the deductible amount surpasses, the other claims are reimbursable. |
| 5 | Hospitalization | A single hospitalization is covered. | Multiple hospital admissions are covered. |
| 6 | Claims | The claim is reimbursable only if the deductible amount has crossed. | The filing of multiple claims is possible only once the deductible has surpassed. |
| 7 | Lapse of claim | Policy lapses after 1 claim. | Policy lapses only when the entire premium paid is exhausted. |
| 8 | How to choose? | If a person is not suffering from any chronic illness or risk of a terminal illness, then top-up insurance is good enough. | If a person is high-risk or likely to be hospitalized more than once, then the person should choose super top-up insurance. |
The important point in top-up and the super top-up plan is to check the pre-existing conditions to the policy. The insured shall choose the deductible amount wisely. The deductible amount shall always be less or equal to the base plan.
FAQs:
Why do people not go for top-up health policies only, which are cheaper than base health policy?
While purchasing top-up health insurance, an individual need to choose a deductible amount. While paying the hospitalization bill, this deductible amount will have to pay out of the insured’s pocket (if he does not have a base plan). The whole point of purchasing an insurance plan is to avoid any financial strain as if the insured needs to pay out of pocket. The base plan amount also acts like the deductible amount. Buying a top-up or super top-up insurance plan without a base plan is largely pointless.
Which is better - top up versus super top up?
To answer this question, one must ensure medical fitness. If the individual is not suffering from any serious-illness or is fit, then such a person shall opt for a top-up insurance plan. A person facing a high risk of life or diseases such as blood pressure and diabetes; such a person shall opt for super top-up health insurance. This policy helps an individual to cover other types of medical unfitness too.
What are the best top-up and super top-up health insurance policies?
Here are the best top-up health insurance plans we recommend you to check out.
1. HDFC Ergo’s – My health Medisure super top-up.
2. Royal Sundaram’s – Lifeline Supreme (super top-up).
3. Manipal Cigna’s – Manipal Cigna ProHealth protect.
4. New India Assurance’s – New India top-up Mediclaim.
