Have you thought about the disease “Diabetes”? Do you know that there are separate and comprehensive health insurance for diabetic patients?
The most common disease these days is diabetes in India which has become common after you cross 40 years of age. If we go back a decade or two, the common age of diabetes was 60+ years in India. The change in lifestyle and food habits of people is the main culprit in the spread of diabetes rapidly in India. Since the diabetes cases are rising in India, insurance companies have come up with a unique health insurance product known as diabetes health insurance plan. While few companies offer the diabetes health insurance plan on a stand-alone basis, few other companies offer the diabetes insurance as a comprehensive insurance plan.
Diabetes is a long term chronic condition which occurs when the pancreas is not able to make insulin, a chemical which is required to keep the blood sugar levels in a particular limit. In diabetes the body cannot make use of the insulin the pancreas secretes. If the body is not able to make good use of the insulin, then there would be a sudden spike or drop in the sugar levels which would lead to serious health conditions. Insulin is a hormone secreted by the pancreas which acts as a key to absorb the glucose from the food consumed into the body and pass it to the bloodstream and then to the cells, thereby producing energy. Carbohydrates consumed into the body will be broken down into glucose, insulin helps to take the glucose into the cells.
But what happens when insulin is not secreted properly or the body is not able to utilize the insulin properly? Yes, you guessed it correctly. It results in a disease called diabetes.
What’s on this page?
There are two types of diabetes which can happen to your body which are mentioned below:-
Type 1: This type of diabetes can develop at any age but is more frequent in children and adolescents. In type 1 diabetes the insulin level produced in the body is very low which means that a person should take insulin to maintain blood glucose levels in the body. This type of diabetes requires continuous insulin intake which means that the possibility of getting health insurance makes it difficult.
Type 2: This type of diabetes is common in adults and accounts for around 90% of diabetes cases in India. Patients with this type of diabetes usually do not require insulin intake and can live on medicines. In this type of diabetes the body would not be able to make use of the insulin properly thereby requiring medicines to make the insulin work. Diabetes of this type can be treated by maintaining a healthy lifestyle and engaging in exercise regularly with a healthy diet.
Gestational Diabetes: This type of diabetes occurs in women at the time of childbirth or pregnancy and can lead to complications during the childbirth. In most cases the Gestational diabetes wanes off after the pregnancy but it may lead to the risk of diabetes type 2 in the future.
The best diabetes health insurance plans or the best mediclaim policy for diabetic patients in India in 2022 are compared below:-
| Item | Star Health Diabetes Safe health insurance Plan | HDFC Ergo Energy Diabetes health insurance plan |
| Eligibility | Any person with type I or type II diabetes mellitus aged between 18 years and 65 years. | Any person in the age group of 18 years to 65 years at entry currently diagnosed with Type I diabetes or Type II diabetes or Pre-Diabetes. |
| Renewal | Lifelong renewal | Lifelong renewal |
| Policy Term | 1year/2 years/3 years. For policies more than 1 year the basic sum insured is for each year, without any carry forward benefit in sum insured to the next year. | 1 year and renewal to be done each year after that. |
| Sum Insured | Rs.3 Lakhs to Rs.10 Lakhs | Rs.2 Lakhs to Rs.50 Lakhs |
| Day 1 Cover | Day 1 cover for all hospitalization arising out of diabetes. | Covers hospitalization expenses of all diseases arising out of diabetes from day 1. |
| Pre hospitalization expenses | 30 days prior to the date of hospitalization | 30 days prior to the date of hospitalization |
| Post hospitalization expenses | 60 days after discharge from hospital not exceeding 7% of the hospitalization expenses or Rs.5000/- per hospitalization whichever is less. | 60 days after discharge from hospital |
| Day care procedures | All day care procedures are covered under this health insurance with diabetes cover. | Medical expenses for day care procedures are covered under this diabetes health insurance plan. |
| Pre policy checkup | Compulsory at any of the network hospitals for which 100% of the expenses would be reimbursed on acceptance of the proposal. | |
| Room rent expenses | Single Standard AC room | Shared accommodation benefit |
| Nursing expenses | Paid | Paid |
| Organ donor expenses | Paid | Paid |
| Emergency Ambulance | Rs.2000/- per policy period | Rs.2000/- per hospitalization |
| Cost of Medicine, Drugs, Blood, Oxygen, Consumables etc. | Payable under the policy | Payable under the policy |
| Restore Benefit | Automatic restoration benefit of basic sum insured by 100% upon exhaustion of the basic sum insured. | Instant addition of 100% of the basic sum insured on complete or partial utilization of sum insured. |
| HbA1C Checkup benefit | Once every 6 months – Up to Rs.750/- per event up to Rs.1500/- per policy period. | Maximum of 2 claims in a policy period with a gap of minimum 3 months each- Up to Rs. 750/- on each claim is payable. |
| ICU expenses | Payable under this diabetes health insurance plan. | Payable under this health insurance for diabetic patients. |
| Cumulative Bonus | As accrued under the policy | As accrued under the policy. |
The best private health insurance for diabetes in India in 2022 is Star health insurance’s Diabetes safe health insurance plan. Star health insurance is the pioneer in the health insurance business in India and has introduced many disease specific health insurance plans in India. HDFC Ergo is also the best insurance company for diabetes which covers the diabetes in a separate health insurance plan and is considered as one of the best diabetes health insurance companies in India in 2022. There are many other insurance companies in India which are covering diabetes in a comprehensive health insurance policy in addition to other illnesses or diseases. The best private health insurance for diabetes in India covered on a comprehensive basis are ICICI Lombard, Nivi Bupa health insurance for diabetes etc.
For more information on health insurance for diabetic patients can be availed by booking a call with Ethika insurance broking which has a team of health insurance advisors to guide you.
