Health Companion in one table
| Insurer | Niva Bupa Health Insurance Company Limited |
|---|---|
| Sum insured | ₹3 lakh to ₹1 crore on individual and floater – 3 / 4 lakh (variant 1), 5 / 7.5 / 10 / 12.5 lakh (variant 2), 15 / 20 / 30 / 50 / 100 lakh (variant 3). ₹2 lakh survives for renewing customers only. Family First runs ₹1 to ₹10 lakh per person with a ₹3 to ₹20 lakh shared floater on top |
Claim settlement and complaint figures are IRDAI-published and held centrally by NYVO, not taken from the insurer's marketing.
What Health Companion 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 Niva Bupa's own policy wording.
| Feature | This plan | What good looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Co-payment | None as standard. A 20% co-pay applies only if you hold the old Tiered Network cost-sharing option and treat in a metro | No Co-payment |
| Room Rent Limit | Any room up to the sum insured except a suite or above. Take a suite and a pro-rata deduction applies to the whole bill | No room rent capping |
| Disease sub-limit | No disease sub-limits, but road ambulance is capped at ₹3,000 per hospitalisation | No sub-limit |
| No Claim Bonus | 20% of the expiring base cover added per claim-free year, capped at 100% | 50% each year (Minimum upto 100%) |
| Refill (Restoration) Benefit | 100% of base cover, once per policy year, and only for a different illness from the one already claimed | 100% restoration once in a year |
| Pre-Hospitalization | 30 days, reimbursement only | At least 60 days |
| Post-Hospitalization | 60 days, reimbursement only | At least 120 days |
| Consumables | Non-medical items in the policy annexure are not payable, and there is no option to add them | Consumables covered |
| Day-Care Treatment | Covered up to the sum insured | Covered without a capped list |
| AYUSH Treatment | Alternative treatments covered up to the sum insured | Included |
| Health Check-up | Annual on the ₹5 lakh and above bands. Once every two years on the ₹2 to ₹4 lakh band | Included |
| Emergency Ambulance | Up to ₹3,000 per hospitalisation | Covered at actuals |
| Entry age | Adults from 18 with no upper limit. Dependent children 91 days to 21 years, moving to their own policy at 22 with waiting-period credit | No maximum entry age |
Health Companion add-ons you can buy with it
Each of these costs extra and each has its own conditions. Some are genuinely worth it; several exist to patch a gap in the base plan. Ask what each one adds before it goes on your quote.
Health Companion discounts you can ask for
Published discounts on this plan. Most are applied at quote stage rather than offered, so it is worth naming the ones you qualify for. Every figure is a ceiling, not a promise - what you actually get depends on the case.
| Discount | Worth | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Favourable claim experience | Up to 39% | A level-based renewal discount. A new policy starts at level 0 with 30% off; a claim-free year moves you up a level, and a claim above ₹1.5 lakh drops you three. |
| Long-term discount | Up to 12.5% and 15% | 12.5% off the second year's premium and 15% off the third on a multi-year policy. |
| No-claim discount | ₹49 flat | A flat ₹49 off at renewal in any year you are also being credited a no-claim bonus. |
From the Health Companion prospectus. Discounts apply to the premium and are subject to the insurer's own rules.
Health Companion waiting 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.
| Initial Waiting Period | 30 days |
|---|---|
| Specific Illness | 24 months |
| Pre-Existing Disease | 36 months |
| Personal Waiting Period (conditions named on your schedule) | 24 months |
The named illnesses that wait 24 months
These wait 24 months from the start of your first policy. An accident is covered from day one and cancer after only the 30-day wait. If the same condition is also pre-existing, the longer 36-month clock applies instead. Indicative list – the wording carries the full set.
Health Companion exclusions: what the 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.
Where Health Companion 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.
Health Companion questions, answered
How long are the pre- and post-hospitalisation windows on Health Companion?
30 days before admission and 60 days after discharge, and both are reimbursement-only. This is the part of the plan buyers most often get wrong, because the wider 60/180 windows are standard elsewhere in Niva Bupa's own range. Anything you spend on consultations, scans or medicines outside those windows is yours to pay.
How fast does the no-claim bonus build?
20% of your expiring base cover is added for each claim-free year, and it stops at 100%. So a ₹10 lakh policy reaches ₹20 lakh after five clean years and goes no further. A claim in the preceding year means no increase for that year, though a claim you reported and the insurer rejected does not cost you the bonus.
Can I take any hospital room?
Any category except a suite or above, paid up to your sum insured. If you do take a suite, the insurer pays only a proportion of the whole set of associated medical expenses, not just the extra room charge – which is why the room decision affects far more than the room bill.
How does the refill benefit work?
Once your base cover and accumulated bonus are used up, the refill puts back up to 100% of the base cover for the rest of that year. Two limits matter: it is available only once in a policy year, and it cannot be used for the illness you have already claimed for, including its complications and follow-up.
What is Family First?
A structure rather than a benefit. Each person gets their own base cover of ₹1 to ₹10 lakh, and a shared floater of ₹3 to ₹20 lakh sits on top. Someone who burns through their individual cover can then draw on the shared pool. It lets you insure parents and in-laws in the same policy without giving everyone the same large individual limit.
What are the waiting periods?
30 days for any illness other than an accident, 24 months for a named list of conditions, and 36 months for pre-existing disease. On top of that the insurer can name specific conditions on your schedule under a personal waiting period, which runs 24 months. Cancer is a carve-out: it is covered after just the 30-day wait.
Read it from the insurer
We summarise. The policy wording is the contract, and it is the only document that settles a dispute. These links go to the insurer's own pages.
Understand the terms before you commit
A plan page tells you what this policy does. These explain why each term matters and what it costs you when it is missing.
Other Niva Bupa plans we have read
Niva Bupa files these separately, and the terms differ between them. If you are choosing within the range, compare the waiting periods and the exclusions rather than the sum insured.