Hospital Cash Insurance: Benefits of Hospital Daily Cash Policy

What is Hospital Cash Insurance?

Hospital Cash Insurance is simply an insurance policy that provides a fixed sum insured for each day of hospitalization of more than 24-hours. It is a fixed daily allowance that is paid to the policyholder to meet miscellaneous expenses during the period of hospitalization.

The daily cash benefit is provided either as an in-built cover under a health insurance policy or can be purchased as an optional cover. Some health insurance companies also provide a separate hospital cash insurance plan. Moreover, the daily hospital cash benefit is doubled in case of ICU admissions.

Benefits of Daily Hospital Cash Insurance

With the daily hospital cash benefit, you can pay for the medical expenses that are not covered under a comprehensive health insurance plan and meet the extra expenses incurred during hospitalization. This can come in handy during your parents's hospitalization as your parents health insurance policy will cover the additional day-to-day expenses with this benefit.

The daily hospital cash benefit amount is fixed, and if the actual cost is lesser than the daily benefit limit, then the insurer will not ask for any extra amount.

For instance, the coverage limit in a hospital cash plan is Rs. 800, and the actual expense is Rs 500 then also the insurer will pay the amount equal to Rs 800. So, the daily hospital cash rider benefit works as a cushion for the policyholder during the hospitalization.

Hospital Cash Insurance Plans in 2026

Check out the list of hospital cash insurance plans offered by various insurers in the table below:

Daily Hospital Cash Insurance	Amount	Number of Days
Aditya Birla Activ Health Platinum Plan	₹500 to ₹5,000	10 days per claim, 30 days per year
Bajaj Hospital Cash Daily Allowance Plan	₹500 to ₹2,500	30, 60 days per year
Care Health Insurance Plan	₹250 to ₹500	5 days per hospitalization
Cholamandalam Hospital Cash Healthline Plan	₹1,000 to ₹3,000	20, 25 days per year
Digit Health Care Plus Plan	₹100 to ₹5,000	-
Future Generali Hospicash Plan	₹500 to ₹3,000	30, 60, 90, 180 days per year
Galaxy Promise Plan	₹1,000 to ₹3,000	120 days per year
HDFC ERGO Hospital Cash Insurance Plan	₹500 to ₹2,500	30, 60 days per year
ICICI Lombard Hospifund Insurance Plan	₹500 to ₹10,000	5, 10, 15, 30, 60, 90, 180 days per year
IFFCO Tokio Hospital Daily Cash Plan	₹250 to ₹5,000	15, 30, 60, 90, 180 days per year
Liberty Hospi-Cash Connect Plans	₹2,000 to ₹10,000	30 days per hospitalization
Magma HDI OneHealth Insurance Plan	₹500 to ₹1,500	30 days per hospitalization
ManipalCigna ProHealth Cash Plan	₹500 to ₹5,000	60, 90, 180 days per year
National Hospi Cash Plan	₹500 to ₹5,000	30, 60 days per year
New India Premier Mediclaim Plan	₹2,000 to ₹4,000	10 days per hospitalization
Niva Bupa ReAssure 2.0 Plan	₹1,000 to ₹4,000	30 days per hospitalization
Oriental Happy Cash Plan	₹500 to ₹3,000 (25% extra for females)	30, 60 days
Raheja QBE Health QuBE Insurance Plan	₹500	6 days per hospitalization
Reliance Hospi Care Insurance Plan	₹1,000 to ₹4,000	60 days per year
Royal Sundaram Smart Cash Plan	₹3,000	180 days per year
SBI Hospital Daily Cash Insurance Plan	₹500 to ₹2,000	30, 60 days per year
Star Hospital Cash Insurance Plan	₹1,000 to ₹5,000	30, 60, 90, 120, 180 days per year
Tata AIG Flexi Shield Rider	₹500 to ₹50,000	30, 60, 90, 180 days per year
United India Family Medicare Plan	₹500 to 2,000	10 days per year
Universal Sompo Hospital Cash Insurance Plan	₹500 to ₹3,000	15, 30, 45, 60, 90, 180 days per year
Zuno (Formerly Edelweiss) HealthPlus Plan	₹500 to ₹3,000	30 days per year
Zurich Kotak Health Premier Plan	₹500 to ₹2,000	10 days per year

See More Plans

*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. This list of plans listed here comprise of insurance products offered by all the insurance partners of Policybazaar. For complete list of insurers in India refer to the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India website www.irdai.gov.in.

Coverage Provided under the Hospital Cash Insurance

Your health insurance policy pays for most of your medical expenses during hospitalization, but some expenses are still not covered. This can lead to financial distress, especially among senior citizens with limited income. Hospital cash insurance can help pay for non-medical expenses, such as X-ray charges, surgical accessories, visitor charges, etc. This is why elderly people must opt for a hospital cash benefit under their senior citizen health insurance policy.

Also, you can avail of daily hospital cash benefits without submitting any supporting bills for hospitalization of more than 24 hours. This daily cash allowance is only available if the hospitalization becomes admissible.

If the insured is hospitalized for some medical treatment, then the health insurance company pays a lump sum amount daily and the amount can be utilized as per the need of the policyholder.

In some cases, the coverage amount can be used to meet any additional expenses that are not covered by your health insurance policy or for any loss of income during the hospitalization period.

Coverage Limit under the Daily Hospital Cash Plan

Daily cash benefit usually ranges from Rs 100 to Rs 10,000 but the actual amount will vary from one insurer to another. It is suggested to check the hospital cash plan limit in the policy wordings or at the time of purchasing hospital cash insurance.

If the hospital cash benefit is inbuilt in the health insurance plans then the coverage is provided on percentage bases i.e. a percentage (%) of the Sum Insured.

For example, the Daily hospital cash policy can provide 1% of Sum insured as a hospital cash benefit. However, the coverage limit can vary from one insurance company to another and has to be checked at the time of policy purchase.

Tenure of Daily Hospital Cash Benefit

On an average, a daily hospital cash policy benefit is available for 15 days to 45 days. However, the actual number of days can vary from one health insurance provider to the other and the same needs to be checked at the time of policy purchase.

In case you get hospitalized for 10 days then also you are eligible to receive hospital cash benefit for 30 days during the policy term.

FAQs

Q1. What is a hospital cash rider in health insurance plans?

Hospital cash rider provides a fixed coverage amount for each day of hospitalization and a specific number of days. The coverage amount is also provided in case of admission in an ICU or Intensive Unit Care or a lump sum amount in case of surgery.
Q2. What is the minimum age to buy hospital cash insurance?

The minimum age to buy hospital cash insurance remains the same as the age limit mentioned in the base health insurance plan.
Q3. What can I use daily hospital cash benefit for?

The daily cash benefit in health insurance can be used to meet the expenses incurred during the hospital stay on both medical items and personal items. The policyholder can use the amount to meet miscellaneous expenses.
Q4. Does Star health insurance provide daily hospital cash benefit?

Yes, Star health insurance provides daily hospital cash benefit in their health insurance plans.
Q5. What is the coverage limit under the daily hospital cash policy?

The coverage limit under the daily hospital cash policy can be a minimum of Rs 100 and goes up to a maximum of Rs 10,000. However, this will vary on your health insurance plan and also the health insurance company, as there is no fixed limit.
Q6. Does Digit health insurance provides daily hospital cash benefit?

Yes, you can avail of hospital daily cash benefit under your Digit health insurance plan.

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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