Health insurance cover types in India compared
Individual, floater, super top-up, group, standard and government schemes side by side.
This table compares types of health cover, not insurers or prices. Most families in India combine two or three of these: an employer's group policy, a personal base policy, a super top-up, and for eligible households Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY. Read across a row to see what each type is good for and where it usually catches people out. The guides linked in the notes go deeper on each one.
Select a column header to sort.
| Cover type | How it works | Good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual policy | Each person has their own sum insured; premium priced on that person's age | Older members, people with health conditions, anyone who needs cover that does not shrink when a family member claims | Several policies cost more in total than one floater for a young family |
| Family floater | One sum insured shared by everyone on the policy; premium driven by the oldest member's age | Young couples and children with low expected claims | One big claim can use up the cover for everyone; adding parents makes the premium jump |
| Super top-up | Pays above a deductible counted on the total of all claims in a policy year | Raising cover cheaply on top of a base or employer policy | The deductible must be met first; check whether it applies per policy year and to all members |
| Top-up (per claim) | Pays above a deductible for each single claim | Rarely the best choice once super top-ups are available | Several mid-sized claims in a year may never cross the per-claim threshold |
| Group (employer) cover | Policy bought by the employer for staff and often dependants; terms negotiated by the employer | Day-one cover for many conditions, often maternity and no waiting periods | Usually ends when you leave the job; GST at 18% still applies to group policies |
| Arogya Sanjeevani (standard product) | IRDAI-mandated standard policy with uniform wording across insurers | A simple, comparable basic policy | Fixed features such as a co-pay and room-rent limits; check current sum insured range |
| Disease-specific or critical illness | Fixed lump sum on diagnosis of a listed illness, or cover for one condition | Income replacement and non-hospital costs after a major diagnosis | Does not replace hospital indemnity cover; survival period and definitions apply |
| Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY | Government scheme: up to ₹5 lakh per family per year, cashless at empanelled hospitals | Eligible households, and all citizens aged 70+ through the Ayushman Vay Vandana card | Only empanelled hospitals; eligibility rules; does not cover OPD |
| CGHS / state government schemes | Health schemes for central government employees and pensioners, or state-run schemes | Members of those schemes | Rules and hospital lists differ by scheme and state; some choices are mutually exclusive |
Features differ between policies of the same type; the policy wording and Customer Information Sheet decide. Group policies and their GST treatment depend on the employer's contract. Check rules with IRDAI, PM-JAY eligibility with the National Health Authority and PM-JAY, and complaints with Bima Bharosa. Guides: individual vs floater, super top-up maths, group cover, PM-JAY.