Medical inflation in India is running at about 14% a year. Let that sink in. A hospital bill that costs ₹5 lakh today could be ₹10 lakh in five years. And a ₹5 lakh health policy? In my opinion, that is a joke for any serious hospital stay. A cardiac procedure, a cancer treatment, or even a bad accident can easily run into tens of lakhs. You do not want to find that out when you are lying in a hospital bed.
Here is what I would do. Get a base policy of ₹5 to ₹10 lakh. That covers your everyday hospital visits and minor procedures. Then add a Super Top-up of ₹90 lakh with a deductible equal to your base policy. So if your base is ₹5 lakh, your Super Top-up kicks in only after you have used up that ₹5 lakh. The deductible is the amount you must exhaust before the top-up pays. This setup gives you ₹1 Crore total coverage at a fraction of what a standalone ₹1 Crore policy would cost. I have seen people pay half or even less compared to a single large policy. The math works.
When you shop for a Super Top-up, look for a few things. "Lock the Clock" is a feature some insurers offer. It means your premium stays fixed at the age you entered. So if you buy at 30, you pay the 30-year-old premium even when you are 50. That is huge because health insurance gets expensive fast as you age. Unlimited restoration is another one. If you use up your sum insured in a year, some policies restore it for another claim in the same year. Useful if you or a family member needs multiple hospitalizations. Consumables coverage is also worth checking. Many policies exclude things like gloves, syringes, and masks. In a long stay, those add up. A policy that covers consumables can save you a lot of out-of-pocket pain.
I know health insurance feels like a boring expense. You pay every year and hope you never use it. But this is the one thing you should never cheap out on. A single medical emergency can wipe out years of savings. I have seen it happen. Someone skips the top-up to save ₹3,000 a year, then faces a ₹25 lakh bill. They end up selling assets or taking loans. Do not be that person.
One more tip. Buy when you are young and healthy. Pre-existing conditions make it harder and costlier to get cover. If you are in your twenties or early thirties, lock in a good policy now. Your future self will thank you. And please, read the fine print. Room rent limits, co-pays, and sub-limits can surprise you when you least expect it. Know what you are buying. Health insurance is not exciting, but it is essential. Treat it that way.