Individual Health Insurance
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- Separate Health Cover
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Updated on Apr 29, 2025 4 min read
Individual health plans secure you financially from the stress caused by medical emergencies or hospitalizations and planned treatments and allow you to focus on recovery. It is your shield against all your medical care worries. These plans are designed to combat medical care inflation that is on a consistent rise across the globe including India. A recent study shedding light on the workforce of India found that India has the highest medical inflation in Asia, reaching 14%. The consistent rise in medical inflation puts a heavy burden on the country's workforce.
Individual health insurance offers medical care to individuals on an individual sum insured basis. In simple words, individual health plans have a separate premium for each family member in case each family member purchases an individual health plan. The sum insured is assigned to the policyholder for their utilization and can not be applied to any other family member. Individual health plans provide coverage for in-patient hospitalization expenses like room rent, doctor's fees, OPD, and pharmacy, along with other features like AYUSH treatments, daycare procedures, emergency ambulance service, and more. Individual health plans can be purchased for a tenure of 1/2/3 years and offer a lifetime renewability feature to customers. Individual health plans are offered by multiple health insurance providers regulated by the IRDAI.
Opting for an individual health insurance plan might be the smart choice for a lot of people as per their needs and requirements. Some of the features of an individual health plan are listed below
One of the best things a young individual can do is purchase an individual health plan. It is an ideal health plan for those transitioning from education to their first job. As the sum insured is to be utilized by only one individual, it is best to avail of individual coverage as the premiums at a young age will be minimal and provide you with optimal coverage.
Customers can choose among multiple additional rider benefits to elevate the overall coverage benefits of their individual health plans. Rider availability and options may vary from insurer to insurer. Some common riders offered with individual health plans are critical illness, personal accident, hospital cash, OPD, global coverage, and more.
With individual health plans, a certain percentage of no-claim bonus is offered to insured individuals which is added to the sum insured at the time of policy renewal increasing the overall coverage amount. This no-claim bonus benefit is offered to the customers if they undergo their policy tenure without filing for any claims.
Individual health plans offer a lifetime renewability option wherein an individual is eligible to continuously avail of medical care coverage for as long as they can pay premiums. Once you have invested in a health plan, you can continue to enjoy the benefits every 1/2/3 years as per your renewal cycle.
Multiple discounts are applicable under individual health plans such as long-term discounts for purchasing health plans for 2 or 3 years. Good health discounts are offered by individual health plans wherein if someone has maintained their health, a certain percentage of discounts are applicable on premiums.
Mentioned below are some of our top picks for individual health plans that will help you make an informed decision
| Individual Health Plan |
Sum Insured |
Entry Age |
Unique Feature |
| Care Supreme Health Plan | 7 L to 1 Crore | 18 to 99 Years | Cumulative bonus of up to 500% |
| Niva Bupa Reassure 2.0 | 5 L to 1 Crore | 18 years to no age limit | Carry forward unutilized sum insured to the next policy year |
| Star Health Youngstar Plan | 3 L to 1 Crore | 18 to 40 years | Additional basic sum insured available for road accidents |
| Aditya Birla Activ Health Platinum Enhance | 2 L to 2 Crore | 5 years to no maximum entry age | Mental Illness hospitalization available |
| ManipalCigna Prime Advantage | 5 L to 1 Crore | 18 years to no maximum entry age | Switch off your health plan for 30 days and get discounts on renewal premiums |
| Bajaj Allianz Health Guard Plan | 2 L to 1 Crore | 18 to 65 Years | 100% sum insured reinstatement in case of exhaustion |
| Cholamandalam Flexi Health | 5 to 25 Lakhs | 18 to 65 Years | Additional sum insured available for road accidents |
| Future Generali Health Absolute | 3 L to 1 Crore | 18 years - no maximum entry age | Features such as fitness tracking, mental health cover, teleconsultation, and more |
| HDFC Ergo My Health Suraksha | 3 L to 75 L | 18 to 65 Years | Avail post-diagnosis support with the plan |
| ICICI Lombard Health AdvantEdge | 5 L to 3 Crores | 18 to 65 Years | Multiple optional benefits like domestic air ambulance, worldwide cover, ambulance assistance, etc. |
| Kotak Health Premier | 2 L to 2 Crore | 18 to 65 Years | Earn health rewards and points to gain discounts on renewal premiums |
| Liberty Health Connect | 3 to 15 L | 18 to 65 Years | Enhance your cumulative bonus as per the plan variant chosen |
| Magma HDI One Health Plan | 2 L to 1 Crore | 18 years to no maximum age limit | Opt for deductibles as per your choice up to INR 10 L |
| Raheja QBE Health QuBE Plan | 1 to 50 L | 18 to 65 Years | Choose from 4 different plan options along with sub-limit waiver add-on cover |
| Reliance General Health Infinity Insurance Plan | 5 L to 5 Crores | 18 to 65 Years | Avail premium discounts for maintaining BMI and good health |
| Royal Sundaram Lifeline Health Plan | 2 L to 1.5 Crore | 18 years to no maximum age limit | App based cabs available as a part of ambulance cover for customer convenience in the time of emergency |
| SBI General Super Health Insurance | 3 L to 2 Crores | 18 years to no maximum age limit | Get 3 times coverage of your base sum insured on diagnosis of a serious illness |
| Universal Sompo A Plus Health Insurance | 5 L to 1 Crore | 18 to 75 Years | Covers psychiatric illness under the plan |
| National Young India Mediclaim Policy | 3 to 10 L | 18 to 43 Years | Affordable health plan with covid vaccination, and wellness discounts |
| The New India Premier Mediclaim Policy | 15 L to 1 Crore | 18 to 65 Years | Avail of critical care benefit as optional coverage |
| Oriental Youth Eco Care Plan | 3 L to 1 Crore | 18 to 45 Years | Avail of mental illness cover under this plan |
| United India Individual Health Insurance | 2 to 20 Lakhs | 18 to 65 Years | Avail daily cash allowance optional cover |
The age (last birthday) at which you buy an insurance policy is your entry age to that policy. Insurance policies usually come with a minimum and maximum age at entry which means that you must attain a specific age or should be less than the maximum age to buy a policy.
Sum insured is the maximum monetary coverage that a health insurance policy provides you. You should decide your sum insured based on the cost of medical treatments, your health, income, and lifestyle habits.
A unique healthcare plan offering extensive coverage to individuals and families under a single plan with affordable premiums.
Unique Features
Niva Bupa Reassure 2.0 provides insurance holders with a high sum insured through their platinum, titanium, and bronze variants along with a multitude of other features.
Unique Features
Created for young individuals under 40 years of age. It also offers various benefits such as discounts on renewals, incentive-led wellness programs, lowest waiting periods.
Unique Features
A unique Plan with features such as a chronic management program, modern treatments, covid-19, and more.
Unique Benefits
A plan with 3 variants offering up to 1 Cr SI. It covers expenses incurred during hospitalization resulting from serious illness or accident.
Unique Features
A plan with sum insured, premium payments and tenure options. Provides coverage for alternate treatments besides allopathy too.
Unique Features
A plan that provides physical & mental health coverage .The plan also includes accidental hospitalization and wellness benefits.
Unique Benefits
Offers 360 degrees protection to you and your family with multiple SI options of 3 to 75 Lakhs. Comes with EMI and lifelong entry option.
Unique Features
ICICI Lombard Health AdvantEdge is a holistic plan that covers the policyholder against 20 critical illnesses including cancer.
Unique Features
A comprehensive health plan that offers protection plus rewards and value-added benefits. Additionally, the plan also comes with in-built maternity coverage.
Unique Features
A plan designed to cover you and your family with 4 different variants to choose from Basic, e-connect, Elite, and Supreme. The plan offers a sum insured up to 15L.
Unique Features
It is a comprehensive insurance policy that comes in an Individual and Family Floater option, wherein you can cover up to 4 adults and 3 children under a floater policy.
Unique Features
A health plan suitable for individuals and families. The given plan offers a sum insured for up to 50L.
Unique Features
A plan that covers you and your family offering a sum insured of 5 lakhs to 5 crores. The plan offers 15 different types of discounts.
Unique Features
A comprehensive health plan that comes with 3 variants and up to 1.5 crores Sum Insured.
Unique Features
An all-inclusive insurance cover to cater to your health & fitness needs. It is an individual and family floater policy with 7 optional covers to select from.
Unique Benefits
A versatile health insurance policy available on an individual and family floater basis offering various optional covers.
Unique Features
The plan comes in 2 different variants offering a sum assured up to 1 Cr. The policyholder can cover his/her entire family under one policy.
Unique Features
An individual health insurance policy that covers hospitalization, day care and ayurvedic expenses.
Unique Features
The generic eligibility criteria of individual health plans are mentioned below
| Entry Age |
Minimum: 18 Years Maximum: 65 to 70 Years Some plans offer lifelong renewability |
| Sum-Insured | 5 L to 6 Crores |
| Policy Tenure | 1/2/3 Years |
| Initial Waiting Period | 30 Days |
| Pre-existing Disease Waiting Period | 2 to 4 years, depending on insurer |
| Tax Benefits | Under Section 80 D |
Individual health plans are an excellent choice for you
When buying an individual health insurance plan, a common question frequently asked is if the amount of sum insured chosen is sufficient for me. As per various insurance experts, it is advised that the individual health plan sum insured should be a minimum of INR 10 Lakhs or 50% of your annual income. Individual health plans can offer a wide range of sums insured going up to INR 1 crore or more. For example, if your annual income is INR 20 lakhs, you must invest in a minimum of INR 10 lakhs health cover.
There are certain factors that you must keep in mind before you invest your hard-earned money in individual medical insurance.
Before selecting an individual health plan, make sure you check for the claim settlement ratio of the company. The higher the claim settlement ratio the easier will be the claim settlement process. CSR is the indicator of the number of claims settled by the insurance company as compared to the number of claims received.
When purchasing an individual health plan take care of the list of network hospitals provided by the insurer. Network hospitals are the list of hospitals that have a tie-up with the insurance provider providing cashless treatments to the policyholder.
Purchase an individual health plan that offers you an adequate sum insured as per your needs and requirements. It is easy to overestimate the sum insured you need and pay a higher premium thinking you may require a higher sum insured but often times it may not be true. Consider all factors like age, health conditions, family medical history, and more before selecting your sum insured value.
Individual health plans offer a plethora of additional riders like critical illness, personal accident, hospital cash, and more. It is essential to opt for those riders that are required by you in order to enhance the overall protection of your health plan.
The ability to pay individual health plan premiums is of vital importance. Purchasing a health plan and not being able to pay the health premiums leads to cancellation of policies and default in premium payments which might lead to policy dismissal. Opt for an individual health plan that offers affordable premiums.
Listed below are the benefits and key inclusions of an individual health plan
| Individual Health Plan Inclusions | What Does It Do? |
| In-patient hospitalization | All medical expenses accumulated at the time of hospitalization like room rent, doctor's fee, OPD, Pharmacy, surgery costs, etc. are covered by the individual health plan |
| Daycare Procedures | The policyholder is covered for all daycare procedures that require less than 24 hours of hospitalization as per the list of daycare procedures provided by the individual health plan |
| Organ Donor Cover | Insurance holders are covered for expenses related to the surgery, or acquiring an organ donor for the insured individual under an individual health insurance |
| Ambulance Cover | Emergency road ambulance cover is available for insured individuals as per the sub-limit defined by the individual health plan |
| AYUSH Cover | Also known as alternative treatments in the fields of Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy are covered by an individual health plan |
| Annual Health Check-Ups | The facility of annual health check-ups and expenses related to the same are covered by individual health insurance plans |
| Pre and Post Hospitalization | Expenses incurred before and after the hospitalization tenure are covered by individual health plans |
| Domiciliary Hospitalization | On the recommendation of a doctor, if the insured individual requires medical attention at their own home it is covered by individual health plans |
Individual health plans do not cover the following conditions
A waiting period is a common clause under individual health plans. During this time period, individual health plan sum insured amount can not be claimed by the insured individual till they fulfill the waiting period tenure. Waiting periods vary from insurer to insurer and are of different types that are mentioned below
The initial waiting period is generally 30 days. It is the time period from the purchase of an individual health insurance policy till the policy is activated. During this time period, no features of the health plan are active and can not be claimed by the insured individual.
Specific ailments and diseases like cataracts, joint replacement surgery, knee bariatric surgery, and other specific procedures have a waiting period of 24 to 48 months as per your individual health plan terms and conditions
The pre-existing waiting period is applicable for certain conditions that an insurance holder has before they purchase the individual health plan. PED waiting periods can vary between 2 to 4 years as per the plan you choose.
Riders are responsible for enhancing the overall coverage of the health plan by offering coverage against critical illnesses, personal accidents, and more. The riders offered vary from insurer to insurer and one must understand their requirements before opting for a rider
| Health Insurance Riders | Benefits |
| Personal Accident Rider | Will provide the insured individual with a lump sum amount or their nominee if the insured suffers from partial/total disability due to an accident. |
| Critical Illness Rider | Critical Illness riders offer a lump sum amount to the policyholder on the diagnosis of a critical illness such as cancer, kidney failure, brain surgery, heart attack, or more listed ailments in the policy. |
| Daily Hospital Cash Rider | As the name suggests daily hospital cash riders offer hospital cash allowance on a daily basis till the time you are hospitalized. |
| Reduction In Waiting Period Rider | The reduction in waiting period riders offers the insurance holder a reduced waiting period for most PEDs. |
| OPD Rider | OPD riders cover medical expenses incurred due to doctor's consultation fees, X-rays, ECGs, other diagnostic tests, medicine bills, and more. |
| PED Coverage From Day 1 Rider | PEDs like diabetes, hypertension, and asthma are covered from day 1 on purchase of the PED rider. |
Certain key differences between family and individual health insurance are mentioned below
| Features | Individual Health Insurance | Family Health Insurance |
| Who Is Covered? | The individual health plan provides medical care coverage to a single person | A family health insurance plan offers medical care for up to 15 family members or more depending on insurer to insurer |
| Sum Insured | The sum insured is assigned to the policyholder on an individual basis and no one else can file a claim under an individual health plan other than the policyholder themselves | In a family health insurance, a single sum insured is used to cover all the registered family members under the policy till the sum insured is exhausted |
| Premiums | Premiums are calculated on the basis of age, lifestyle, income, and other factors of the insured individual. | Family health insurance premiums are calculated with respect to the oldest member of the family |
Follow these simple steps in order to purchase the best health insurance plans in India
Visit the official website of PolicyX.
Click on the 'Health Insurance' tab which will open up a digital form for you to fill out.
Fill in all the necessary details such as your age, the sum insured required, you want and click on 'View Plans'.
Select your city and click on 'Proceed'.
Further, fill in your name and mobile number and click on 'Get Free Quotes'.
You will be directed toward a list of health insurance plans wherein you can compare the plans of your choice and pay for the one you want as per your needs and requirements.
Individual Health plans are essential for everyone. You do not have to share the total sum insured with your family members and it is utilized entirely by you. An excellent financial tool for young individuals who are transitioning into professional jobs from education as it not only protects you but also provides you with tax benefits. So go ahead and start your financial planning by investing in an individual health plan with PolicyX and gain important comparisons and insights into the best individual health plans for you.
The following are the top 5 individual insurance plans in India based on the latest claim settlement ratio (CSR) for the year 2021–22:
Individual health insurance offers medical care to individuals on an individual sum insured basis. In simple words, individual health plans have a separate premium for each family member in case each family member purchases an individual health plan. The sum insured is assigned to the policyholder for their utilization and can not be applied to any other family member. Individual health plans provide coverage for in-patient hospitalization expenses like room rent, doctor’s fees, OPD, and pharmacy, along with other features like AYUSH treatments, daycare procedures, emergency ambulance service, and more.
Tax benefits under section 80 D of the Income Tax Act are applicable for insured individuals.
The general eligibility criteria for investing in an individual health plan is from 18 to 65 years for most health insurance providers.
An individual health plan provides a sum insured to one policyholder and the medical coverage and benefits are applicable only to that individual. Whereas, in a family health insurance a single sum insured is utilized by all the family members that are covered under a family floater plan.
The general waiting period applicable in an individual health plan is an initial waiting period of 30 days along with specific ailments and pre-existing diseases waiting period which may vary between 24 months to 36 months depending on the insurer.
It is advised to invest in an individual health plan with a sum insured value of at least 50% of your annual income. For example, if your annual income is INR 20 Lakhs your sum insured should be INR 10 Lakhs at least.
The various inclusions of an individual health plan are
Policyholders can opt from the following riders available
Yes, it is advised to invest in individual health plans as early as possible as the premiums are much lower in your 20s than they will be in your 30s. Buying an individual health plan also provides you with holistic medical care features as well as tax benefits.
Yes, policyholders can avail of Tax Deduction under section 80D of the Income Tax Act. Tax deductions can range from Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 1 Lakh, depending on the age and number of members added to the plan.
Individual health insurance covers the following expenses:
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Simran is an insurance expert with more than 4 years of experience in the industry. An expert with previous experience in BFSI, Ed-tech, and insurance, she proactively helps her readers stay on par with all the latest Insurance industry developments.
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February 5, 2023
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