What does 'annual aggregate' deductible mean?

Every claim in the policy year counts towards the same deductible rather than each claim facing it separately. Three admissions of ₹40,000 against a ₹1 lakh deductible cross it together; under a per-claim deductible none of them would.

How do I choose the deductible?

Set it at or just below the cover you already hold, so the two meet without a gap. A deductible far below your existing cover means you are paying twice for the same rupees.

The New India Assurance Company Top-Up Mediclaim Review 2026: Features, Waiting Periods & Claims

Name: Top-Up Mediclaim by The New India Assurance Company Limited
Brand: The New India Assurance Company Limited

The New India Assurance Company Limited Top-Up Mediclaim

India's largest general insurer's top-up, refiled in 2024-25. Its network of roughly 20,855 hospitals is the biggest of any insurer we track, and its complaint volume is among the lowest. It pays above an annual aggregate deductible, so it is bought to sit on top of an existing policy rather than replace one.

Read from the insurer's own policy wording and reviewed by Shadab Sayeed

01The detail

Top-Up Mediclaim in one table

Claim settlement ratio

95%FY 2024–25

95% recommended

Complaints per 10,000

5.9policies

Under 10 recommended

Insurer	The New India Assurance Company Limited
Sum insured	Above the deductible chosen at purchase.
Entry age	As set out in the policy schedule.

Claim settlement and complaint figures are IRDAI-published and held centrally by NYVO, not taken from the insurer's marketing.

02Cover

What Top-Up Mediclaim covers

These are the terms that decide what you are actually paid when you claim. Room rent, co-pay and restoration do more to shape a settlement than the sum insured does, and they are read from The New India Assurance Company Limited's own policy wording.

Feature	This plan	What good looks like
Hospital network	About 20,855 hospitals - the largest of any insurer we cover	Matters most outside metros
How the deductible works	Annual aggregate. Every claim in the policy year counts towards the same deductible, so several smaller admissions can cross it together rather than each facing it separately.	Aggregate is better than per-claim
Deductible options	Chosen at purchase and stated on the policy schedule	Match it to the cover you already hold
Cover above the deductible	Above the deductible chosen at purchase	₹50 lakh or more for a metro family

What this plan does

03Waiting periods

When each part of the cover starts

Waiting periods run from the day cover began, not from the day you fall ill, and they run in parallel rather than one after another.

Pre-existing disease	36 months of continuous cover

04Exclusions

What this plan will not pay for

Every policy carries exclusions, and they are the clauses people read for the first time at claim stage. These are the ones worth knowing before you buy.

Not coveredIndicative, not exhaustive. Your policy wording is the contract.

01Any claim below the deductible. That is the design of the product, but a year of small claims pays nothing.

02Pre-existing diseases and their direct complications, until 36 months of continuous cover.

03Where the sum insured is increased, the waiting periods start again on the increase only.

05The honest bit

Where Top-Up Mediclaim falls short

No plan is right for everyone, and a page that only lists strengths is not much use to you. These are the gaps we would raise on a call before recommending it.

Worth knowing before you buyNone of these are dealbreakers on their own. They are the trade-offs this plan asks you to accept.

01It is not a standalone policy. A super top-up pays only above the deductible, so if your base cover lapses or a claim falls below the deductible, nothing is paid. Buying one without an underlying policy is the most common mistake with this product.

02A public-sector insurer, so expect a slower and more paperwork-heavy claim than a private one - but 5.9 complaints per 10,000 says that paperwork mostly ends in payment.

03The deductible resets every policy year, so an illness spanning two policy years crosses it twice.

04A top-up only makes sense if its deductible is close to the cover you already hold. Too low and you are paying twice for the same rupees; too high and there is a gap neither policy fills.

06FAQs

Top-Up Mediclaim questions, answered

In practice, yes. It only pays above the deductible you choose, so every claim below that figure is yours. It is designed to sit on top of a retail policy or an employer's cover.

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