Star Health Insurance vs Apollo Health Insurance
The current pandemic has highlighted how fragile human life is. Health emergencies can arise anytime. It is wiser to prepare for them than struggle in hard times. Also, given the rising cost of healthcare in India, it is better to invest in health insurance policies sooner rather than later.
So, read the comprehensive analysis of Star Health Insurance and Apollo Health Insurance Comparison and take your pick:
Star Health Insurance VERSUS Apollo Health Insurance – Overview
| Parameter | Star Health Insurance | Apollo Health Insurance |
| Number of health insurance plans | 11 | 10+ |
| E-services | Policy purchase, renewal, claim settlement, online doctor consultation and expert support | Policy purchase, renewal, claim settlement and 24*7 instant support via app |
| Branches | 640+ | 120+ |
| Incurred claims ratio | 63% | 63% |
| Claim settlement time | 90% cashless claims settlement within 2 hours | 60 minutes to approve claims in 90% of the cases |
| Hospital network in India | More than 9,900 | More than 10,000 |
Source: Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) Annual Report 2018-19, official company websites.
Health Insurance Policy: Star Health Insurance VERSUS Apollo Health Insurance
Founded in 2006, Star Health Insurance is a stand-alone health insurer. The company has earned a good reputation for its carefully-crafted range of health insurance plans. It offers 11 insurance policies, including individual, family, critical illness, diabetes, COVID-19 plans, etc.
Apollo Health Insurance was founded in 2007. In 2019, Apollo was acquired by HDFC. Apollo is now called HDFC ERGO. It aims to provide quality healthcare and reliable insurance policies covering individuals, families, diabetics, COVID-19 etc.
Below is the detailed policy-wise Star Health Insurance and Apollo Health Insurance comparison:
Individual and Family Plans
Star Health Insurance offers individual and family floater plans for you and your loved ones. Key features include:
- Available for anyone between 18 and 65 years of age
- Offers protection for self, spouse and three dependent kids, between the age of three months to 25 years
- Includes expenses like pre-and post-hospitalisation, delivery and newborn, organ donation, health check-ups, AYUSH treatment and others
- Provides accidental and permanent total disablement cover
- Includes additional costs like air ambulance and second medical opinions
- Offers 100% automatic renewal of the sum insured, subject to terms and conditions
Apollo Health Insurance aims to provide comprehensive coverage and wellness-oriented plans. The Important features of its individual and family health plan include:
- Offers different health policies like Optima Restore, Easy Health, Health Wallet, Optima Super etc.
- Includes different benefits under each insurance plan. Most plans cover costs like pre-and post-hospitalisation, health check-ups, emergency ambulance services, day-care procedures, in-patient care, maternity, etc.
- Provides advanced benefits like critical illness, recovery expenses, etc. in some plans
- Provides customised plans for young families
Critical Illness Plans
Star Health Insurance has a separate critical illness insurance policy. Some features are:
- Includes nine specific critical ailments such as cancer, chronic kidney disease, brain surgery, major organ transplant, etc.
- Offers lump sum payment on diagnosis of a mentioned critical illness
- Reimburses regular hospitalisation costs and ambulance charges
- Covers non-allopathic treatment
- Allows lifelong policy renewal
Apollo Health Insurance offers a critical illness plan called Optima Vital. Important features include:
- Available for anyone between 18 years and 65 years of age
- Includes 37 Critical diseases like cancer, hypertension, kidney failure, coma, brain surgery, blindness, Apallic syndrome, major burns, etc.
- Covers second opinion costs
- Protects self, spouse, two parents and up to four children
- Allows life-long renewal policy renewal
Diabetes Plans
Star Health Insurance offers a special Diabetes Safe Insurance Policy to protect diabetic patients. Here are the details:
- Available on an individual or floater basis
- Offer two different plans – A and B. The former requires a medical examination. The latter is available without a medical test.
- Covers hospitalisation expenses for both Diabetes Type 1 and 2. Also includes diagnostic costs, medicine and drug expenses, medical consultation fees, day-care costs, etc.
- Offers compensation for the accidental death of the chosen policyholder
- Applies no waiting period clause under Diabetes insurance plan A, but has a 12-month waiting period under Plan B
Apollo Health Insurance offers health insurance and a customised management plan for Diabetes patients called Energy. Key features include:
- Offers a personalised wellness program comprising health coach, regular health monitoring and diet and fitness plan
- Includes benefits like health check-ups, in-patient expenses, day-care costs, pre-and post-hospitalisation expenses, organ donation, emergency ambulance, etc.
- Allows 100% restoration of the sum assured
- Offers premium discounts for staying fit and healthy
- No waiting period
Carefully assess all the plans and study their features to buy an adequate insurance cover. You can get help in policy selection from professional insurance experts before buying insurance online.
Star Health Insurance Vs Apollo Health Insurance Plan
Who can buy the diabetes insurance plan?
A Diabetes Health Plan is for individuals suffering from Diabetes Type 1 and Type 2, pre-diabetes or even hypertension in some cases.
What is the AYUSH benefit?
Insurance policies that offer AYUSH benefit will cover costs of treatment under Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH).
Star Health Insurance VERSUS Apollo Health Insurance – Which is better?
Both insurers have a good reputation and offer a plethora of insurance plans. The final choice depends on your healthcare needs and the type of insurance plan you want to buy. You can check the detailed comparison of their health insurance plans on our platform (iiflinsurance.com)
