Should I go for Arogya Sanjeevani Plan?

[Disclaimer: I'm no expert, sharing my own experiences & observations]

Hi Saransh,

Hope you & family are doing well in the current times.

I was also looking for a comparison between both the regular health insurance plan & Aarogya Sanjeevani health plan.

And after comparing both the plans side-by-side I came to the conclusion that if we are leaving in a Tier-II or above town (or even if we foresee chances of admission to some nearby large city hospital due to case referral) having a regular health insurance plan with no room rent capping makes more sense than going for Aarogya Sanjeevani plan. Here's why -

1. Room rent is capped at 5K/day in Aarogya Sanjeevani. I live in a Tier-III city currently, we have very low-cost hospitals here (mostly run by trust or cooperatives). But still, room rents during the current scenario of Covid-19 are much more than 5K/day.
2. The actual difference in premium of both the policies isn't that much, maybe 5-15% only. And by that difference, we are eligible for 0% co-pay, no room rent capping, restoration benefits, etc
3. Though the latest cap on sum insured has been increased by IRDAI to 10 lacs now, if you are looking for a larger SI we are out of comparison already.
4. IRDAI doesn't allow any added riders to the Aarogya Sanjeevani policy to make the product feature parity across all vendors.

With the above points, Aarogya Sanjeevani may sound like a useless product, but it has its own advantages that are worth it, like -

1. Portability: for me, this is the best benefit. If I don't like after-sales service or claims support from one insurer, I can easily port to some other insurer instantly, with the exact same features, benefits & NCB.
2. Cost efficiency: If you are living in a small town, for any scenarios except Covid-19, or some very critical illness, the room rent capping doesn't apply, hence making the overall product budget-friendly & lock-ins free. [Pro tip: if you have the liquidity of the difference in the prices, you may create a healthcare fund. This fund may serve as a contribution towards co-pay, support hospital cash requirements, etc]
3. Finally, I don't find the upper limit of 10 Lac to be any less & I'm sure IRDAI may reconsider it as & when required. The same goes with room rent capping etc.

Thanks,

Kautilya Bhardwaj