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 Insurance Platinum is sold by Edelweiss and Senior Citizen Plan is sold by United India. 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 Insurance Platinum 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, Senior Citizen Plan 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 Insurance Platinum. The product comes from Edelweiss’s stable:

Edelweiss Health Insurance company was founded in 2017 when they were hived off the homegrown Edelweiss Financial Services Limited. The company provides an array of products across multiple categories and they boast a claim settlement ratio of almost 94.57% with more than 3,281 network hospitals.

The only problem is - They’re still trying to find a firm foothold in the market.


Senior Citizen Plan meanwhile comes from United India’s stable:

United India General Insurance company is an amalgamation of 22 different entities. The insurer has played an integral part in underwriting numerous government insurance schemes like - Maharashtra Government’s Mahathma Jyothiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana Health Insurance Scheme (2020) & Prime Minister Suraksha Bima Yojana.

However, since it is a government-owned insurance firm, it’s not the most nimble insurance company out there.

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Compare Insurances

Network hospitals3,2813,043
Claim settlement ratio

(avg. of last 3 years)

94.57%94.94%
Co-payment

No

No

Room rent

Single Private room

Any Room

(up to 1% of sum insured)

Disease sub-limit

No

Yes

Pre existing diseases waiting

2 years

4 years

Pre/Post hospitalization

90/180 days

30/60 days

No claim bonus

50% per year

(up to 100%)

Domiciliary
Ayush treatments
Restoration benefit

100% restoration

(once for different illness)

Health check-up
Once every year
Once every 3 years
Maternity

Available

(up to ₹2,00,000 after 4 years)

Out Patient Department
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, Health Insurance Platinum has an optional co-payment clause, if you wish to do so. And Senior Citizen Plan 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, Health Insurance Platinum lets you stay in a single private room and Senior Citizen Plan only lets you stay in a room whose rent doesn’t exceed 1% of the sum insured. 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, Health Insurance Platinum doesn’t impose a disease wise sub-limit whereas Senior Citizen Plan imposes disease-wise sub-limits on Heart diseases, Major surgeries.

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, Health Insurance Platinum imposes a waiting period of 2 years on pre-existing diseases while Senior Citizen Plan 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, Health Insurance Platinum covers expenses incurred 90 days before hospitalization and expenses incurred 180 days post-hospitalization. Meanwhile, Senior Citizen Plan 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 Insurance Platinum offers a no-claim bonus whereas Senior Citizen Plan doesn’t offer a no-claim bonus.

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, Health Insurance Platinum offers domiciliary cover. And Senior Citizen Plan also coves domiciliary expenses.

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 Insurance Platinum covers Ayush procedures and Senior Citizen Plan 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 Insurance Platinum offers maternity cover whereas Senior Citizen Plan 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, neither Health Insurance Platinum extends coverage for outpatient consultations, nor does Senior Citizen Plan.

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 Insurance Platinum. However, if you are specifically looking to buy a policy for senior citizens, then you may want to consider Senior Citizen Plan.

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