Trustner's View: the cheapest health premium is often the most expensive claim
An opinion on why buyers keep choosing plans that fail them at the hospital counter — and the two clauses that decide it.
By Trustner's View
This is opinion, in Trustner's own voice — not a product recommendation.
Every renewal season we watch the same decision play out. Two health plans, similar sum insured, and the buyer picks the one that is a few hundred rupees cheaper. Months later, a hospital bill arrives, and the "saving" turns into a shortfall many times larger than the premium gap.
The culprit is almost never the sum insured. It is two quiet clauses.
Room rent, and the proportionate deduction trap
A room-rent cap does not just limit the room charge. Take a costlier room than your policy allows, and most insurers scale down the entire linked bill in proportion — surgeon's fee, nursing, everything. A modest room upgrade can quietly halve a large claim. The cheaper plan often has the tighter cap.
Co-pay, the share you pay forever
A co-pay means you carry a fixed percentage of every claim, for as long as you hold the policy. On a large hospitalisation, a 20% co-pay dwarfs any premium you saved at purchase.
The honest way to buy
Price matters — but it is the last filter, not the first. Compare room rent and co-pay first, sum insured second, premium third. A plan that pays 100% of a genuine claim at a fair premium beats a cheaper plan that pays 60% of it, every single time.
That reordering is most of what a good broker does. We would rather sell you the plan that pays than the plan that quotes low. Read the detail in our guide on room rent and co-pay, or ask us to compare your options on the terms that actually decide your payout.
This is Trustner's opinion for general awareness, not personalised insurance advice. For cover matched to your needs, request a free review from a licensed Trustner broker.
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