Health Insurance
Star
Founded in 2006, Star Health is India's first standalone health insurance company. It has a suit of products catering to the requirements of individuals, families, senior citizens, and people with chronic conditions. It has in-house claims settlement team and has a vast network of cashless hospitals.
Star Health insurance plans
Medi Classic
Medi Classic does a pretty decent job for the most part. And it's not too expensive. However, the policy does have restrictions on the kind of room you can pick and it makes you wait 4 years before covering pre-existing diseases (like diabetes). So you could look at other options within the Star stable. Maybe YoungStar?
Women Care
Star Women Care is a plan specifically built for women. It extends coverage for assisted reproductive treatments (upto a certain limit). It pays out specific amounts for surrogacy, IVF, Oocyte donor care and other related treatments after you serve a three year waiting period. And it offers meaningful coverage in other areas too. The only downside is that you will have to settle for room rent restrictions while buying a plan with a sum assure of 50 Lakh or less, sub-limits on modern treatments and the fact that Star’s claim settlement numbers aren’t all that great.
Special Care
STAR Special Care is a plan specifically designed for people aged between 3 and 25 years with Autism Spectrum Disorder. And considering this is a plan built for special needs individuals, it comes with several restrictions including restrictions on the kind of room you can pick, a co-payment clause and limited pre/post–hospitalization coverage. Also, Star’s claim settlement processes have been deteriorating rapidly of late. So that’s also something you should consider.
Family Health Optima
Family Health Optima is a pretty decent policy. It's fairly inexpensive. It has decent coverage. But they will make you wait 4 years before they start covering pre-existing diseases (like diabetes). So it might be prudent to read the fine print before you buy this policy, considering they have a few extra conditions
Red Carpet Senior Citizens
Red Carpet is your default choice if you’re 60+, with pre-existing complications or if nobody is willing to insure you. However, if you have other alternatives, this policy could be a letdown, considering, with most diseases, the insurer will only offer you a fraction of the total cover.
Cardiac Care Platinum
A policy specifically meant for cardiac patients as it covers expenses related to angiograms, cardiac devices and even heart transplants with 30 days waiting period.
Medi Classic Gold
Medi Classic Gold does a pretty good job for the most part. It has pretty decent coverage. It has a few useful benefits. It's not too expensive. However, the policy does make you wait 4 years before covering pre-existing diseases (like diabetes). So you could look at other options within the Star stable. Maybe YoungStar?
Comprehensive
As the name suggests, Star Comprehensive policy is really comprehensive. They even cover dental complications subject to certain conditions. And if you have pre-existing diseases (like diabetes) you can ask them to start covering these illnesses after only one year - by paying a little extra of course. It’s called the PED Buyback rider. All in all, a great policy. Even if its slightly on the expensive side.
Cancer Care Platinum
Star’s Cancer Care Platinum is one of the very few health insurance policies available in the industry that have been crafted to cater to cancer patients. Now, the policy has a few downsides, including a mandatory copayment for those who are 61 years or above (during purchase and/or during renewal), no restoration benefits, a very low No-Claim Bonus (5% up to 50%), and disease-wise sub-limits on both modern treatments and cataracts. In addition, Star’s credibility as an insurer has taken massive hits due to a variety of complaints. And yet, this plan is widely popular considering its niche target pool of potential policyholders and a lack of comprehensive policies for cancer patients across the market.
Special Care Gold
Star Special Care Gold is a plan specifically designed for people with disabilities and those diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. The upside is that this is one of the few plans that extend protection for disabled individuals. The downside is that it comes with several restrictions on coverage and added benefits. There’s also the fact that Star’s claim settlement processes have been deteriorating rapidly of late.
Assure
Star Assure is a modest plan with reasonable features. The benefits include an in-born maternity cover and protection for Assisted Reproduction Treatment. However, the downside is that many of the benefits (including room choice and pre-existing condition waiting periods) depend on the sum assured you choose. If you want comprehensive coverage, then you will likely have to pick a cover of 50 Lakhs and above, which in turn makes it expensive.
Young Star
Young Star is your default choice if you are below 40 and you have pre-existing diseases (like diabetes etc). Because while most policies will make you wait a lot, this policy will start covering complications arising out of pre-existing diseases after just one year. They'll even issue the policy without pre-medical screening. And considering it's economical, it has to be one of the best policies in its class.
Health Gain
Health Gain is a plain vanilla policy. It doesn't offer a whole host of extra benefits. It makes you wait 4 years before covering pre-existing illnesses (like diabetes). You don't get coverage beyond 5 lakhs with this policy and it's not exactly cheap either. However, it does offer some coverage for outpatient consultations subject to certain conditions. So maybe you could still give it a shot.
Diabetes Safe
A decent diabetic specific plan that will cover all diabetes related complications from day 1. The only thing you may want to look out for is what variant you're buying, since one variant makes you wait 1 year before covering diabetes related illnesses.
Super Surplus Gold
The plan does what you expect super top up plans to do and if you have a pre-existing condition, there's nobody else that will cover these complications after just one year. Except, this policy. And while it might not be the most economical option out there, the plan also allows you to top up your cover by about 1 Crore, and that should more than suffice for most people. A solid super-top up plan overall.
Health Premier
Star Health Premier is a plan specifically built for Senior Citizens (50 years and above) who may also want coverage for OPD consultations. The OPD benefits are capped with certain conditions but there aren’t many plans that offer this benefit for senior citizens anyway. The downside is that despite the name “Premier” the plan offers limited protection and has restrictions on the kind of room you can pick, sub-limits on treatments like cataracts and a co-pay of 20% if you are 66 or above. All things considered, this may not be the most effective option for senior citizens especially if you don’t have pre-existing conditions.
Smart Health Pro
Star Smart Health Pro is a comprehensive policy catering to almost everyone. If you are a Star Health loyalist and looking for a policy that offers No-Claim Bonus Super of 50% to 600% and an unlimited restoration add-on, this can be an option. However, the plan has one particular drawback - a 4 year waiting period in the case of those with pre-existing medical conditions. Now, you can overcome this issue with a PED Reduction Rider, but the built-in waiting period is a hurdle. Add to this the issue of Star Health taking a major hit on its credibility. Honestly, you might want to shop around a bit more in search of a comprehensive plan.
Star Health insurance claim process
Star claims can be of different types based on the hospital in which you are getting the treatment. If it’s part of Star's network hospitals, you can get a “Cashless claim” in which insurance company directly pays the bills to the hospital. But if your choice of hospital is not part of their network, then you have to pay the bills and apply for reimbursement claim. Here’s a brief process for both types of claims:
Cashless Claims
Inform the Hospital Desk
All network hospitals have an insurance desk. You can submit your policy copy (even soft copy works), ID proof, initial diagnosis report and the insurance desk will request the insurance company for “pre-authorization”. In case of planned treatments, you need to do this process 2 days before hospitalization
Insurer’s decision
Based on the provided documents, insurance company approve the claim and the hospital will start the treatment and they will co-ordinate with insurer for the treatment costs. In case of Cashless claim rejection, you can still go ahead with the treatment. In this case, you will need to pay the bills initially and can file for a reimbursement claim later
Discharge
If your cashless claim is approved, at the time of discharge, the insurance company will do the final settlement with the hospital and once that is sorted, you are good to go.
Reimbursement Claims
Inform the insurance company
For any planned treatments, you need to inform the insurance company 2 days before hospitalisation. In case of emergency, you can inform within 24 hours of admission. Insurance company will acknowledge the intimation.
Hospitalization
You need to submit a insurance claim form along with original copies of hospital bills, doctor consultation reports, and diagonstic reports.
File the claim
Within 30 days post discharge, you can initiate the claim online or at any of the registered offices of the insurance company. You need to fill a claim form and attach all the reports and bills.
Insurer’s decision
Based on the claim form and submitted documents, insurance company will settle the claims as per policy terms and conditions.
Star Health Insurance Renewal
Firstly, if you’ve purchased the policy online, you’ll always receive an intimation e-mail from the insurer around 30 days before the renewal date. The e-mail will have a renewal link that will directly take you to the page where you can make the payment and check policy details. And it’s done. You’ll receive the policy document via e-mail.
However, in case you choose to do it on your own, here’s what you need to do:
Visit the website
Visit the Star website and then go to the Renewal section here.
Enter details
You’d be asked to provide your current policy number which you can find in the policy soft copy. You may as well be asked to enter your mobile number, email ID, Date of Birth or policy expiry date.
Review and edit the policy details
Next, you’ll be able to see details of your new policy and the renewal premium you need to pay. Also, you’ll be given the option to make some changes related to sum insured, existing covered members, etc.
Complete the payment and it’s done
Once you confirm the details, you’ll be directed to the payment gateway. Once the payment is complete, you’ll receive your new policy soft copy via e-mail.
Few things to consider when renewing your Star health insurance policy
- If you want to increase your Sum Insured, now is the time. You can’t do it anytime during the year.
- If you didn’t make a claim in the past year, make sure you have been given a no-claim bonus if your policy offers it.
- If you want to add members like your spouse or kids, you have the option to do so only at the time of renewal. So do give this a thought.
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