Optima Restore Versus Optima Secure
26 Dec, 2022
by Sameer Kumar
HDFC Optima Secure has removed the cap on room type and it is a new plan. On papers it seems much better than Optima Restore plan. However I fail to understand that how come it is cheaper than Optima Restore (restore combined with protector and unlimited restoration), Does anyone who has worked with these plans can throw some light.
0
Post
Hi,
Optima Secure (OS) is a much better plan when compared to Optima Restore (OR).
Re: Premium difference,
please understand that every health insurance plan undergoes premium revision once in every 2-4 years generally.
So, one reason OS plan is cheaper because OR plan premiums were revised in April 2022 and while the OS plan was newly launched in Jul 2021 and most probably the premium revision would happen after 2-3 years. When OS premium revision happens, OR premium would then seem cheaper and this cycle will repeat. Not just with OR and OS but with any plan of any insurer. For eg. Niva Bupa Reassure whose premiums are now on lower side are going to increase from January 1st/2nd week when some other plan would look cheaper. If the premium difference is not huge, I'd suggest you to always go with the best available plan.
The second reason OS premium may be cheaper is because in OS, the premium is calculated based on each & every insured's age and the premium is going to increase every year as each person's age increases, although it won't be a huge jump. For eg. the premium for a family with 40y, 37y, 11y, 9y would increase when they turn 41y, 38y, 12y, 10y. In OR also, the premium is calculated based on each & every insured's age (unlike before where the premium was calculated based on the highest age), it is still based on age slabs (0-17, 18-35, 36-45, etc.). So, in OR, the premium for a family with 40y, 37y, 11y, 9y would stay the same (until the next premium revision) when they turn 41y, 38y, 12y, 10y because the age slab is not changing. And because OR premium is still based on age slabs, the premium for a 45y (36-45), 36y (36-45), 18y (18-35), 12y (0-17) would be higher when compared to OS premium for same members as the age gap between the 2 adults is high.
Hope this helped.
Thank you