Health Insurance Done Right

One hospitalisation in a metro tier-1 ICU can cost ₹15–40 lakh. Employer health cover — typically ₹3–5 lakh — will not close that gap. Building the right personal health cover is not about buying the most expensive plan; it is about layering the right instruments.

The recommended architecture is two layers. Base policy: a family floater of ₹10–15 lakh covering self, spouse and children — this is your first-rupee cover, handles the common claims (day-care, surgeries, maternity), and builds no-claim bonuses. Super top-up: an additional ₹50 lakh to ₹1 crore that kicks in above a deductible equal to the base sum insured. Super top-ups are dramatically cheaper per rupee of cover because they only trigger on catastrophic claims.

Non-negotiable features: no room-rent capping (or full private room), no disease-wise sub-limits, restoration benefit, no co-payment for the primary insured, and lifetime renewability. IRDAI's 2020 standardisation removed most predatory exclusions, but sub-limits and co-pay clauses still hide in cheap policies — read the schedule.

Buy young. Health insurance is priced on age at entry and pre-existing conditions at underwriting. A policy bought at 30 costs a fraction of one bought at 50, and the pre-existing waiting period is served while you are still healthy. Do not wait until you have a diagnosis to buy — by then, the market prices you out.

Add a separate critical illness rider (₹25–50 lakh) that pays a lump sum on diagnosis of specified illnesses. This funds the non-hospital costs — home care, income loss, second opinions abroad — that health insurance never pays for.