When it comes to selecting a health insurance company, you need to consider various factors to ascertain the stability of the company. Claim settlement ratio is one of the key metrics used to determine the ability of the insurance company in paying insurance claims.
A comprehensive health insurance policy is an absolute necessity, and there is no second thought about it. Health insurance is essential for financial security that we cannot negotiate with. It prevents us from the burden of arranging for finances at short notice. Leading health insurance companies in India help us to prepare financially against unforeseen medical emergencies and planned hospitalisation. Health insurance policies generally include diagnostic, hospitalisation charges, hospital room rent, medical tests, pre, and post-hospitalisation charges, etc. Different health insurance plans offer several features and benefits, and each of them is customised to meet your medical needs. All you need to do is to do thorough research about the health insurance policies and the best company to meet your insurance requirement. To help you make an informed decision, here is the list of top health insurance companies in India.
List of health insurance companies in India
Merely buying a health insurance plan won’t suffice. In order to select the best health insurance provider, there are certain factors that you need to take into consideration. The right approach is to compare different health insurance companies based on their incurred claim ratio, pre-existing disease coverage waiting period, network hospitals, the coverage, co-payment clause, and limitations, among other features.
Oriental Health Insurance
Established in 1947, this Delhi-based health insurance company is one of the recognised companies in the insurance sector. Its reliability and efficiency reflect from its incurred claim ratio, which is one of the highest among the leading health insurance providers in India. Oriental Health Insurance is a central government undertaking and offers health insurance products to urban as well as rural India. Currently, apart from India, the company has a presence in countries like Dubai, Nepal, and Kuwait.
United India Insurance Company Limited
With an exceptional incurred claim ratio, United India Insurance Company is renowned for its vast customer base over one crore. The company offers an extensive range of products to meet a variety of needs of its customers.
National Health Insurance Company Limited
A public health insurance company offers customized insurance solutions for individuals, motor, and fire apart from comprehensive health insurance products. The company has a high incurred claim ratio, proving its quality of service and reliability.
Star Health InsuranceCompany Limited
Star Health and Allied Insurance Company is one of the biggest standalone health insurance company in the country founded in the year 2006. The company covers a vast network of hospitals, which is approximately 7000. The company also specialises in accident policies and travel insurance, apart from health insurance plans.
Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Limited
Bajaj Allianz General Insurance was a joint venture between Bajaj Finserv and Allianz SE. Bajaj Finserv has a stake of 74%, while the remaining share belongs to Allianz SE. The health insurance company has 3700 network hospitals.
ManipalCigna Health Insurance Company Limited
The company is a joint venture between the Manipal Group and Cigna Corporation. The company offers a full range of insurance products ranging from health, critical illness, personal accident, travel, and employer-employee groups to meet diverse insurance needs.
IFFCO Tokio General Insurance Company Limited
The company is a joint venture between IFFCO- Indian Farmers Fertilizer Co-operative, and Tokio Marine and Nichido Fire Group. The company was established in the year 2000 with an array of health insurance products designed to meet the unique health insurance requirements of its customers.
New India Assurance Company Limited
One of the oldest general insurance companies founded in the year 1919, the company currently has more than 2097 branches in the country. It offers a variety of health insurance products at an affordable cost.
Reliance Health insurance Company Limited
This private-sector health insurance company currently occupies 8% market share. The company boasts the highest claim settlement ratio among its peers.
Royal Sundaram Health Insurance Company Limited
The Company was the first to introduce the concept of cashless benefit for health insurance policies in the country. It is a joint venture between Sundaram Finance – An Indian NBFC and RSA – A general insurance company in the UK.
TATA AIG Health Insurance Company Limited
The Company is a joint venture between Tata Group and American International Group formed in the year 2001. Apart from health insurance, the company also offers lifestyle insurance, travel insurance, motor insurance, etc.
Cholamandalam MD Health insurance Company Limited
The Company was formed by the partnership between Murugappa Group of India and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group of Japan. Apart from health insurance, the company is specialised in a wide range of insurance products such as motor, marine, rural, and travel insurance.
HDFC ERGO Health Insurance Company Limited
HDFC Ergo is a partnership between HDFC Limited and ERGO International AG. The company offers a variety of health insurance policies to meet a variety of requirements of its customers. Apart from health insurance, it also offers motor, travel, personal accident, and marine insurance.
Raheja QBE General Insurance Company Limited
The Company was formed as a result of a partnership between Prism Cement Limited and QBE Holdings – A subsidiary of the Australian based QBE insurance group. Apart from health insurance products, the insurance it is known for corporate insurance solutions.
Niva Bupa Health Insurance Company Limited
Niva Bupa Health Insurance Company is a partnership between Max India Company Limited and UK based Bupa Finance PLC. The company is well-known for its comprehensive health insurance solutions for individuals and families.
Religare Health Insurance Company Limited
It is one of the most prominent insurance companies in the country with customized health insurance solutions for its customers. Currently, the company has 4500 network hospitals on its list.
Apollo Munich Health Insurance Company Limited
It is one of the most renowned health insurance companies in the country. The company offers a wide variety of products which are customised to suit the different needs of its customers.
Aditya Birla Health Insurance Company Limited
Aditya Birla Health Insurance Company was established as a joint venture between Aditya Birla Group and a South African company – MMI Holdings. With its presence in over 600 cities, the company offers unique healthcare solutions like chronic care and incentivised wellness.
United India Insurance Company Limited
This government insurance company provides multiple insurance products in the healthcare domain. The health insurance products offered by United India Health Insurance Company offers wide coverage and an array of health insurance benefit. The company has a strong network of hospitals for policyholders to get cashless healthcare services.
Incurred Claim Ratio of 2017 - 2018
Incurred Claim ratio is one of the critical factors that you should consider while deciding on the insurance company. It refers to the total number of health insurance claims settled by the insurance company. It is calculated by dividing the total number of mediclaims received by the total number of them settled.
Below is the list of insurance companies with their respective claim settlement ratio for the year 2017 - 2018.
Incurred Claims Ratio in Percentage for Financial Year 2017-18
Standalone Health Insurance Companies
| Insurer | Health |
|---|---|
| ADITYA BIRLA | 89.05 |
| APOLLO MUNICH | 62.47 |
| CIGNATTK | 46.29 |
| MAX BUPA | 50.19 |
| RELIGARE | 51.97 |
| STAR HEALTH | 61.76 |
General Insurance Companies
| Insurer | Health |
|---|---|
| NATIONAL | 115.55 |
| NEW INDIA | 103.19 |
| ORIENTAL | 113.86 |
| UNITED | 110.95 |
| ACKO | 65.02 |
| BAJAJ ALLIANZ | 77.61 |
| BHARTI AXA | 98.50 |
| CHOLAMANDALAM MS | 39.96 |
| DHFL | 7.89 |
| EDELWEISS | 70.01 |
| FUTURE GENERALI | 87.42 |
| HDFC ERGO | 52.58 |
| GO DIGIT | 60.00 |
| ICICI LOMBARD | 68.26 |
| IFFCO TOKIO | 90.69 |
| KOTAK MAHINDRA | 48.21 |
| LIBERTY GENERAL | 74.58 |
| MAGMA HDI | 34.93 |
| RAHEJA QBE | 18.19 |
| RELIANCE | 106.54 |
| ROYAL SUNDARAM | 61.41 |
| SBI GENERAL | 52.93 |
| SHRIRAM | 50.83 |
| TATA AIG | 60.68 |
| UNIVERSAL SOMPO | 104.17 |
To sum up
Choosing the right health insurance company is not a difficult task, provided your expectations are clear from a health insurance plan. Besides, it is wise to undertake a detailed background check of the health insurance company that you intend to buy a policy from. Also, remember to check the incurred claim settlement ratio. The ratio helps you to determine the efficiency in processing the claim and the reliability of services. The higher the incurred claim ratio of an insurance company, the higher the chances that your claim will be processed quickly and smoothly, as and when the need arises.
