Introduction

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

Both products are marketed by different insurance companies. Activ Health Platinum Enhanced is sold by Aditya Birla and Cardiac Care Platinum is sold by Star Health. 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. Activ Health Platinum Enhanced is quite comprehensive. It offers considerable protection and it doesn’t impose as many restrictions. However, Cardiac Care Platinum is specifically designed for people suffering from heart ailments. 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 Activ Health Platinum Enhanced. The product comes from Aditya Birla’s stable:

The company only began operations in the year 2016 as a subsidiary of Aditya Birla Capital Ltd., which in turn happens to be a joint venture between the famed Aditya Birla Group and MMI Holdings (South Africa).

While the company boasts a claim settlement ratio of 87.54% along with a network of more than 10,051+ hospitals, do remember they’ve only been in the market for a few years now. So they don’t have an extensive track record.


Cardiac Care Platinum meanwhile comes from Star Health’s stable:

Star Health Insurance is India's first standalone health insurance firm. And with an army of retail advisors pushing their products across the country, they’ve managed to capture a fair share of the Indian market.

The company also boasts a network of over 13,000+ hospitals and a decent claim settlement ratio of 83.07%.

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Compare Insurances

Network hospitals10,051+13,000+
Claim settlement ratio

(avg. of last 3 years)

87.54%83.07%
Co-payment

No

No

Room rent

Any Room

Single Private room

Disease sub-limit

No

No

Pre existing diseases waiting

3 years

4 years

Pre/Post hospitalization

60/180 days

30/60 days

No claim bonus

50% per year

(up to 100%)

10% per year

(up to 100%)

Domiciliary
Ayush treatments
Restoration benefit

100% restoration

(once for different illness)

100% restoration

(once for any illness)

Health check-up
Once every year
Once every 3 years
Maternity
Out Patient Department

Up to ₹3,500

Day care

Feature Comparison

co_pay

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, Activ Health Platinum Enhanced has an optional co-payment clause, if you wish to do so. And Cardiac Care Platinum doesn’t impose a co-payment clause.

room_rent

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, Activ Health Platinum Enhanced lets you stay in Any Room and Cardiac Care Platinum lets you stay in a single private room. In effect, both policies impose restrictions on the kind of room you can pick.

disease_sublimit

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, neither Activ Health Platinum Enhanced imposes disease-wise sub-limits nor does Cardiac Care Platinum

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. In this case, Activ Health Platinum Enhanced imposes a waiting period of 3 years on pre-existing diseases while Cardiac Care Platinum extends a waiting period of 4 years on existing conditions.

pre_post

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, Activ Health Platinum Enhanced covers expenses incurred 60 days before hospitalization and expenses incurred 180 days post-hospitalization. Meanwhile, Cardiac Care Platinum 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, Activ Health Platinum Enhanced offers a no-claim bonus of 50% whereas Cardiac Care Platinum offers a no-claim bonus of 10%. And the no-claim bonus may be capped at different levels too.

domiciallary

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, Activ Health Platinum Enhanced offers domiciliary cover whereas Cardiac Care Platinum doesn’t offer domiciliary protection.

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 Activ Health Platinum Enhanced covers Ayush treatments whereas Cardiac Care Platinum doesn’t extend 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, neither Activ Health Platinum Enhanced offers maternity cover nor does Cardiac Care Platinum.

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, Activ Health Platinum Enhanced doesn’t offer OPD protection whereas Cardiac Care Platinum offers OPD cover.

Final Conclusion

If you’re specifically looking to buy a policy for people suffering from heart ailments, Cardiac Care Platinum makes a lot of sense. But considering Star Health has a claim settlement ratio that can only be considered sub-par at best, we would still recommend going with anything that Aditya Birla has to offer, if the policy is made available to you.

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