Introduction

Before we start comparing these two policies we have to set out some ground rules.

Both products are marketed by different insurance companies. Health Care Supreme Smart is sold by Bajaj Allianz and National Senior Citizen Mediclaim policy is sold by National Insurance. So any meaningful comparison should include a comparison of the product alongside the insurers themselves.

Second, we know that both products have massive differences in their core structure. Health Care Supreme Smart is a premium policy built for people who want to leave no stone unturned when it comes to their health. It’s expensive and it does pretty much everything you expect a good policy to do. However, National Senior Citizen Mediclaim policy is specifically designed for senior citizens. So in many ways, you’re comparing apples and oranges here.

And finally, any comparison is ultimately futile without considering the use case. Who are you buying this policy for? You, your family, your parents?

That’s something you’ll need to answer before using this guide. So with that introduction out of the way, we can get to comparing the actual policies themselves.


Let’s start with Health Care Supreme Smart. The product comes from Bajaj Allianz’s stable:

Founded in 2001, the company is a joint venture between Bajaj Finserv Limited (of the Bajaj Group) and Allianz SE, a German financial services corporation.

And while they may not be the biggest insurer out there, they do have a claim settlement ratio of 95%, with a network of more than 8,000 hospitals.


National Senior Citizen Mediclaim policy meanwhile comes from National Insurance’s stable:

National Insurance is the country's oldest general insurance firm and is wholly owned by the Government of India. That means, despite a claim settlement ratio of 93% and over 3,200 network hospitals it can be a bit difficult to reach the insurer when you need them the most. Perhaps due to the fact that they are still a public sector enterprise.

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Insurance Parameters

Recommended
Not Recommended
Network hospitals
8,000+
3,200+
Claim settlement ratio

(avg. of last 3 years)

95%
93%
Co-payment

No

No

Room rent

Any Room

Any Room

(up to 1% of sum insured)

Disease sub-limit

No

Yes

Pre existing diseases waiting

2 years

2 years

Pre/Post hospitalization

60/90 days

30/60 days

No claim bonus

10% per year

(up to 50%)

5% per year

(up to 50%)

Domiciliary
Ayush treatments
Restoration benefit

100% restoration

(once for different illness

after complete exhaustion of sum insured)

Health check-up
Once every year
Once every 2 years
Maternity

Available

(up to ₹40,000 after 2 years)

Out Patient Department

Up to ₹10,000

(Annually)

Day care

Feature Comparison

coPay

Co payment

With a co-payment clause, the insurer will mandate that you pay a part of the bill. So if the bill adds up to Rs. 2,00,000 and the co-payment is set at 20% then you could be asked to pay Rs. 40,000 from the bill. In this case, however, Health Care Supreme Smart doesn’t impose a co-payment clause. And neither does National Senior Citizen Mediclaim policy.

roomRent

Room rent

If the policy does impose room rent restrictions then the insurer may only let you stay in a room of a certain specification or impose a cap on the total room rent. If you were to breach either criterion then the insurance company may ask you to pay a portion of all the expenses you incurred while staying in the room. In this case, however, you can pick any room you want with Health Care Supreme Smart but National Senior Citizen Mediclaim policy only lets you stay in a room whose rent doesn’t exceed 1% of the total sum insured.

diseaseSublimit

Sub limits

Some policies will tell you that they will cover all medical expenses up until the sum insured, but then impose caps on the total costs you can incur while dealing with a very specific list of diseases. We call these caps “Disease Wise Sub Limits.” In this case, Health Care Supreme Smart doesn’t impose a disease wise sub-limit whereas National Senior Citizen Mediclaim policy imposes disease-wise sub-limits on Cataracts, Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia, Modern treatments.

ped

Waiting periods for pre-existing diseases

If you’re suffering from a lifestyle condition or if you’ve had surgery in the past, or if you’re dealing with an acute or chronic illness at the time of buying the policy, then the insurer may classify this as a pre-existing disease. And they may tell you that they will only cover these illnesses after some time. This cooling period is referred to as the Pre-existing-disease waiting period. In this case, Health Care Supreme Smart imposes a 2 year waiting period on pre-existing diseases and National Senior Citizen Mediclaim policy will similarly tell you to wait 2 years before making a claim related to your pre-existing diseases

prePost

Pre and post Hospitalization expenses

Most people aren’t hospitalized right off the bat. Instead, they’ll have to go through a whole series of diagnostic tests before hospitalization and take medication post-discharge. These costs are outlined as pre-hospitalization expenses and post-hospitalization expenses respectively. In this case, Health Care Supreme Smart covers expenses incurred 60 days before hospitalization and expenses incurred 90 days post-hospitalization. Meanwhile, National Senior Citizen Mediclaim policy covers expenses incurred 30 days before hospitalization and expenses incurred 60 after hospitalization, although there may be different sub-limits

ncb

No claim bonus

Some policies will tell you that they will incentivize you for not making a claim in any given year. And they offer such incentives by offering extra cover on top of the existing sum insured. This extra cover is categorized as a no-claim bonus. In this case, however, Health Care Supreme Smart offers a no-claim bonus of 10% whereas National Senior Citizen Mediclaim policy offers a no-claim bonus of 5%. And the no-claim bonus may be capped at different levels too.

domiciliary

Domiciliary

Imagine you are forced to treat yourself at home because you don’t find a hospital bed, or you have a chronic condition that prevents you from visiting one, then, insurers may choose to cover your treatment even if you’re hospitalized at home. And such costs are collectively categorized as domiciliary treatment costs. In this case, however, Health Care Supreme Smart doesn’t offer domiciliary protection whereas National Senior Citizen Mediclaim policy offers domiciliary cover.

ayush

Ayush treatments

Most policies only cover treatments administered in a registered medical facility. However, on some occasions, you may want to pursue alternative treatments including homoeopathy, Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha. These treatments are collectively categorized as Ayush treatments. And in this case, Health Care Supreme Smart covers Ayush procedures and National Senior Citizen Mediclaim policy also extends coverage for Ayush treatments.

maternity

Maternity benefits

If you’re hospitalized during childbirth, then you may have to incur significant costs during delivery of your newborn, child care and other related matters during the course of the hospitalization. These costs are collectively termed maternity costs. And in this case, however, Health Care Supreme Smart offers maternity cover whereas National Senior Citizen Mediclaim policy doesn’t offer protection for maternity-related hospitalizations.

opd

Out Patient Department (OPD)

Doctor visits and regular consultations aren’t usually covered by health insurance policies. They are categorized as Outpatient consultations (or OPD treatments) and patients have to bear the cost on their own. In this case, however, Health Care Supreme Smart offers OPD cover whereas National Senior Citizen Mediclaim policy doesn’t offer OPD protection.

Final Conclusion

Since this isn’t a fair comparison, to begin with, we will only tell you this much. If you want something that’s all encompassing, you could go for Health Care Supreme Smart. However, if you are specifically looking to buy a policy for senior citizens, then you may want to consider National Senior Citizen Mediclaim policy.

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