Aditya Birla vs Star Health: Activ One vs Comprehensive 2026

Aditya Birla Activ One MAX vs Star Health Comprehensive: Which is Better in 2026?

Aditya Birla Activ One MAX is the stronger plan for most buyers. Against Star Health Comprehensive it has no room-rent cap, pays for consumables, refills the sum insured an unlimited number of times a year, covers 90 days before and 180 days after a hospital stay, and adds 100% of the base cover every year whether or not you claim, up to 500%. Star Comprehensive caps the room at a single private A/C room, does not pay consumables, refills once a year, covers 60 and 90 days, and caps its bonus at 100%. Star's advantages are maternity and newborn cover and outpatient consultations.

The insurers' records point the same way. Aditya Birla Health settled 96.5% of claims and drew 18.2 complaints per 10,000 claims; Star Health settled 89.3% and drew 53.9 (IRDAI data, a weighted average of the last three financial years, latest available as of March 2026). Activ One is one filing (UIN ADIHLIP24097V012324) sold in seven variants; this page compares MAX. Plan terms come from the Activ One MAX and Star Comprehensive records in nyvo's policy database.

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Head-to-Head Comparison

CSR and complaints: IRDAI data, a weighted average of the last three financial years, latest available as of March 2026, with complaints counted per 10,000 claims. Plan terms: nyvo's policy database, built from the Activ One MAX policy wording and Activ One prospectus (UIN ADIHLIP24097V012324) and Star Comprehensive's brochure and policy wording (UIN SHAHLIP26044V092526).

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Premium Comparison

nyvo's own premium data holds no plan-by-plan figures for Activ One MAX or Star Comprehensive, so this page does not quote premiums, and neither plan can honestly be called the cheaper one. Get both quoted on the same age, city, sum insured and family members, then check what the Activ One quote has switched on. A per-claim deductible of ₹15,000 or ₹25,000, a room-type restriction or the Preferred Provider Network discount each lowers the premium by lowering the cover; Chronic Care, which adds day-one cover for seven chronic conditions, raises it.

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Where Aditya Birla Wins – And It Wins Big

1. CSR: 96.5% vs 89.3%

Aditya Birla Health settled 96.5% of claims against Star Health's 89.3%, a gap of 7.2 percentage points (IRDAI data, a weighted average of the last three financial years, latest available as of March 2026). The ratio counts health claims by number: those paid, against those paid or repudiated.

2. Complaint Ratio: 18.2 vs 53.9

Aditya Birla Health drew 18.2 complaints per 10,000 claims against Star Health's 53.9, on the same IRDAI data. Because the figure is per 10,000 claims, it is already scaled for how many claims each insurer handles, so a larger insurer does not score worse for its size alone.

3. Bonus: 100% a year, claims or not

By year six a ₹10 lakh Activ One MAX policy carries ₹60 lakh of cover, three times Star Comprehensive's ₹20 lakh. The bigger difference is the condition: Super Credit is added irrespective of claims as long as you renew without a break, while Star's is a no-claim bonus, so its column assumes a claim-free first year. Super Credit stops at 500% of base cover or ₹3 crore, whichever comes first. Read no-claim bonus vs guaranteed bonus.

4. Consumables paid and no room cap

Activ One MAX builds in Claim Protect, which pays every non-payable item across all four lists of the policy annexure on an admissible claim. Star Comprehensive deducts its excluded-items list from every settled claim and has no rider to buy it back. MAX also pays room rent and ICU at actuals in any room category, where Star caps the room at a single private A/C room and, if you go higher, cuts the bill proportionately, except medicines, implants and tests. Read why consumables end up on your bill.

5. Unlimited restoration

Super Reload refills the base sum insured an unlimited number of times in a policy year, for the same illness or a different one, from the second claim in the life of the policy onwards. Star Comprehensive refills 100% once a policy year. Read how restoration actually works.

6. Longer pre- and post-hospitalisation cover: 90 and 180 days

Activ One MAX covers expenses from 90 days before admission and 180 days after discharge; Star Comprehensive covers 60 and 90. For conditions that need rounds of scans before admission and long follow-up after, such as cancer or cardiac care, both windows matter.

7. Day-one cover for chronic conditions, as an add-on

On MAX, the paid Chronic Care option waives both the pre-existing and the 30-day initial waits for seven named conditions: diabetes, hypertension, asthma, high cholesterol, COPD, obesity, and coronary artery disease with a PTCA done more than a year ago. Star Comprehensive's option, the pre-existing disease buy-back, still leaves a 12-month wait and can only be bought at first purchase. Chronic Care is built into the Activ One VYTL variant, so a buyer with one of these conditions should price both.

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Where Star Health Wins

1. Maternity and newborn cover

Star Comprehensive pays ₹15,000 to ₹1 lakh per delivery depending on the cover tier, for up to two deliveries in the life of the policy, after a 24-month wait, with newborn cover of ₹1 lakh to ₹2 lakh alongside. Activ One MAX excludes maternity and childbirth other than an ectopic pregnancy, and no Activ One variant offers a maternity option. Read maternity cover, honestly.

2. Outpatient consultations without an activity condition

Star Comprehensive pays ₹300 a consultation within an annual limit of ₹1,200 to ₹5,000 depending on cover, cashless at a network facility, plus ₹5,000 to ₹15,000 for dental and ophthalmic treatment once every three years. On Activ One MAX, outpatient spending comes from HealthReturns, up to 100% of the premium, which you earn back by staying active; cashless consultations for the seven chronic conditions come with the Chronic Management Program add-on.

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The Verdict Is Clear

nyvo Verdict

Aditya Birla Activ One MAX is the better plan for most buyers. It leads on both published claim measures and on every core term that decides how much of a big bill gets paid: room rent, consumables, restoration, pre- and post-hospitalisation, and a bonus that a claim does not stop.

Consider Star Health only if: you want maternity and newborn cover, which no Activ One variant offers, or outpatient consultations paid without an activity condition. Weigh that against its room cap, unpaid consumables and Star Health's weaker claim record, and check that the hospitals you would actually use are on the insurer's cashless network list for your city.

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Back to: Best Health Insurance Plans 2026 | Health Insurance Guide

FAQs – Aditya Birla vs Star Health

Why is Star Health's CSR so much lower than Aditya Birla's?

IRDAI publishes the ratios, not the reasons behind them. On IRDAI data (a weighted average of the last three financial years, latest available as of March 2026), Aditya Birla Health settled 96.5% of claims and Star Health 89.3%, and Star drew 53.9 complaints per 10,000 claims against Aditya Birla's 18.2. Both are rates, so they already allow for how many claims each insurer handles.

Is Aditya Birla Health Insurance reliable for large claims?

Its published record is strong, though no public figure isolates large claims. Aditya Birla Health settled 96.5% of claims by number and drew 18.2 complaints per 10,000 claims (IRDAI data, a weighted average of the last three financial years, latest available as of March 2026). On a large bill, MAX's uncapped room rent, built-in consumables cover and unlimited restoration decide how much gets paid.

Can I port from Star Health to Aditya Birla?

Yes, at renewal, and your waiting-period credit carries over up to your old sum insured plus eligible bonus. One Activ One rule to know: the options that shorten its 24-month and 3-year waits can only be chosen at the inception of your first policy, not added at a renewal. Read the portability guide.

Which is better for a family floater, Star or Aditya Birla?

Aditya Birla, unless the family is planning a child. A floater shares one sum insured, and Activ One MAX protects it better with unlimited restoration and a bonus that grows whether or not anyone claims; its floater covers up to 2 adults and 4 children. Star Comprehensive is the choice only if maternity and newborn cover matter, because no Activ One variant covers childbirth.

Which insurer has more network hospitals in my city?

Check each insurer's list for your city: nyvo does not publish a network count for either insurer, because a national total says little about the hospitals near you. Both insurers publish a cashless hospital locator, so confirm the hospitals you would actually use before you choose.

Source: Claim and complaint ratios are a weighted average of the last three financial years, latest available as of March 2026, from IRDAI's published data.

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