Understanding Hospital Daily Cash Plans

A plan which seeks to supplement your normal health insurance cover, a hospital daily cash plan provides various advantages. But first, let us understand the plan in details.

What is a hospital daily cash plan?

As the name suggests, the hospital daily cash plan is a health plan which provides a fixed amount for each day you are hospitalized. The amount paid is fixed at the time of policy issuance and would remain fixed. The plan is a defined benefit plan in the sense that it pays a fixed amount irrespective of the actual amount of expenses.

So, if you are hospitalized with a plan which pays Rs.1000 per day of hospitalization, whether you incur Rs.800 or Rs.1200 as actual charges would be irrelevant and the insurer would pay a fixed benefit of Rs.1000 for each day of your hospitalization.

What is the coverage under the plan?

A daily hospital cash plan would determine coverage based on the daily allowance you choose under the plan. The range of daily cash available is from Rs.500 to Rs.3000. if the insured is admitted in the ICU, the daily cash allowance generally increases twofold or by any other factor as specified in the policy. Some plans also allow additional multiple of the cash allowance in case a surgery is undertaken by the insured.

Are there any conditions in the plan?

Like any other health insurance plan, these plans too come with a waiting period clause. However, the waiting period in these plans are of shorter tenures. Another condition that the plan specifies is that the hospitalization must be for a minimum period of 24 hours to avail the allowance payable.

Thus, Day Care Procedures are not covered under the scope of this plan. There is also a maximum ceiling on the number of hospitalization days in a policy year for which the allowance is payable. This ceiling is usually of 30, 60 or 90 days.

What are the benefits of the plan?

The advantages that a daily hospital cash plan provides are many. So let’s understand them one at a time:

Blanket cover for those additional expenses – Even though your mediclaim policy covers your hospitalization expenses, some expenses are not covered by your health plan. Such expenses are called inadmissible expenses and include surgical accessories, X-Ray charges, expenses incurred by accompanying family members, etc. A daily hospital cash plan provides a lump sum amount in case of hospitalization and this amount can be used as per the liberty of the insured. He can use the money for meeting such additional expenses or for even compensating the loss of income during the period of hospitalization.
Taking care of extra hospital bills – Even though your health plan would cover your hospital bills, in case of a huge claim, your health plan might fall short in meeting the entire claim. A daily hospital cash plan would help in covering up any extra claim you might face.
Preserving your No Claim Bonus (NCB) – If you are hospitalized for a minor complication, the bill for which is not very high, you can utilize your daily cash plan to pay for the hospital bills instead of raising a claim in your health plan. This would help you in preserving the No Claim Bonus of your health insurance plan which would have been lost otherwise.

What should you do?

Buying a hospital daily cash plan makes a lot of sense if we take the above benefits of the plan into consideration. However, do remember that these plans should be considered as a supplement to your existing health insurance plan and not its substitute.

Hospital cash plans only provide a daily allowance in case of hospitalization while a health plan provides a more comprehensive coverage and cannot be foregone. Instead, you should add a hospital daily cash plan to your existing health plan and cover those little extra expenses which a hospitalization is bound to throw your way.

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Disclaimer: The list mentioned is according to the alphabetical order of the insurance companies. Policybazaar does not endorse, rate or recommend any particular insurer or insurance product offered by any insurer. For complete list of insurers in India refer to the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India website www.irdai.gov.in

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*We will respond in the first instance within 30 minutes of the customers contacting us. 30-minute claim support service is for the purpose of giving reasonable assistance to the policyholder in pursuance of the claim. Settlement of claim (including cashless claim) is the responsibility of the insurer as per policy terms and conditions. The 30- minute claim support is subject to our operations not being impacted by a system failure or force majeure event or for reasons beyond our control. For further details, 24x7 Claims Support Helpline can be reached out at 1800-258-5881.

*Product information is authentic and solely based on the information received from the Insurer. Policybazaar is acting only as a facilitator and claims settlement shall be at the sole discretion of the Insurer. Policybazaar does not provide any medical or surgical advice or diagnosis and is not responsible for your interactions / treatment by a medical practitioner/hospital. Please consult a registered medical practitioner for any medical or surgical advice. The Information that you obtain or receive from Policybazaar, and its employees, or otherwise on the Website is for informational purposes only. As per the Insurance guidelines, you are allowed to cancel the policy with-in 30 days from the date of Issuance of policy.This option is available incase of policies with a term of one year or more.

*All the health insurance plans cover hospitalization expenses including COVID-19 treatment cover up to the specified limits. You can also buy specific COVID-19 health insurance policies such as Corona Kavach Policy and Corona Rakshak policy.

**All savings and online discounts are provided by insurers as per IRDAI approved insurance plans. #Tax Benefits are subject to changes in tax laws. GST Exemptions depend on fulfilment of qualification criteria and submission of relevant documents.

*₹1748/month is the starting price for a 1 crore health insurance for an 18-year-old male, with no pre-existing diseases. Discount on renewal premium is subject to the number of wellness points earned in the health insurance policy. For more details about the plans, please read the sale brochure carefully to get upto 100% discount on renewal premium.

*₹400/month is the starting price for ₹ 5 lakh Health insurance for a 30 year old male & 29 years old female, living in Delhi with no pre-existing diseases

*₹541/month is the starting price for ₹ 10 lakh Health insurance for a 30 year old male & 29 years old female, living in Delhi with no pre-existing diseases

*₹762/month is the starting price for ₹ 1 Crore Health insurance for a 30 year old male & 29 years old female, living in Delhi with no pre-existing diseases

*₹243/month(₹ 8/day) is the starting price for a 5 lakh health insurance for a 20-year-old male, non-smoker, living in Bengaluru with no pre-existing diseases

*₹2020/month is the starting price for ₹ 1 Cr Health insurance for a 50 year old male & 50 years old female, living in Bangalore with no pre-existing diseases rounded off to nearest 10.

*₹390/month (₹13 per day) is starting price for 1 cr. Health insurance for 25 years old male, with pre-existing diseases, residing from tier 1 city rounded off to the nearest 10.

*No medical tests are required unless requested by the insurer’s underwriter. In-case of pre-existing diseases relevant medical proof would be required as per the terms and condition of the policy opted.

*The values taken for effective cost calculation are indicative values and may change as per the selected plan.

*Coverage upto double the amount of Sum Insured is available on certain covers for a minimum plan of Rs. 5 Lakh on the first claim only to an individual of upto 45 years of age with no pre-existing diseases. The benefit is available with or without extra cost depending on the plan chosen.

*Coverage of pre-existing diseases is provided by insurer as per their underwriting policy.

*The scope of coverage may vary from plan to plan.

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