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Insurance Plans Comparison

Care Joy vs ICICI Lombard Health Elite Plus

Make an informed decision with our detailed side-by-side comparison of top health insurance policies. Compare...

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Care

Joy

Maternity and newborn cover with a 9-month maternity waiting period

What Makes It Special:

Care Joy is a hospitalisation plan with built-in maternity and newborn cover. The Joy Today variant is the faster-access option, with a 9-month waiting period for maternity claims. The other variant, Joy Tomorrow, has a 24-month wait. Maternity benefits are capped at ₹35,000 on a ₹3 lakh sum insured and ₹50,000...

Best For:

  • Long-term peace of mind with 3-year policy term

  • Cashless treatment across 8,000+ hospitals

  • Comprehensive family protection during pregnancy

  • Maternity and Newborn health coverage

VS
ICICI Lombard

Health Elite Plus

Get a single private room and reset up to 100% of the sum insured once for the same illness and unlimited times for a different illness, with a 20% loyalty bonus up to 100% that stays after a claim.

What Makes It Special:

ICICI Lombard Health Elite Plus offers an unlimited reset benefit that can replenish up to 100% of the base sum insured when the available cover becomes insufficient after previous claims. It can be used unlimited times for different illnesses and once for the same illness, subject to policy conditions. The plan...

Best For:

  • Buyers who want the option to add specific benefits, such as worldwide hospitalisation cover or outpatient services, subject to eligibility and additional premium.

  • Customers seeking benefits such as donor expenses, domiciliary hospitalisation and air ambulance cover.

  • People who value a guaranteed cumulative bonus that can increase their available cover over time.

  • Buyers who want a reset benefit for eligible subsequent hospitalisation claims.

  • Individuals or families looking for a health insurance plan with multiple sum insured options.

Insurance Plans Comparison

Get Personalized Advice

Our insurance experts are here to help you make the right choice. Get personalized recommendations based on your specific needs and budget.

Quick Decision Guide

  • You want cashless access to 8,000+ hospitals across India

  • You prefer short waiting period for maternity benefits (9 months)

  • You want maternity and newborn cover under one plan

  • You’re planning for pregnancy or expanding your family soon.

  • If you need worldwide cover or other add-ons, confirm their availability, waiting periods, limits and additional premium before purchasing.

  • If you opt for voluntary co-payment or treatment outside your selected pricing zone, account for the applicable out-of-pocket share.

  • If you expect to use outpatient services, confirm whether the optional BeFit cover is selected and what its specific limits include.

  • If you have a pre-existing condition, check the 24-month waiting period and disclose your medical history accurately.

  • Choose a sum insured that fits your expected medical costs and check how room eligibility changes at the ₹20 lakh threshold.

Insurance Plans Comparison

Detailed Features Comparison

Compare the key features of different health insurance plans

Joy
Joy

Health Insurance Plan

Brochure

VS
Health Elite Plus
Health Elite Plus

Health Insurance Plan

Room Rent

Joy

Covers a Single Private Room with AC. A higher room category means room, boarding, nursing, OT and doctor/surgeon fees are reduced in proportion to the difference in room rent.

VS

Health Elite Plus

  1. Normal: Covered Up to Sum Insured
  2. ICU: Covered up to sum insured
ICU Charges

Joy

ICU charges (ICU bed, monitoring devices, critical care nursing and intensivist charges) are payable as part of in-patient hospitalisation up to the sum insured. There is no separate ICU sublimit.

VS

Health Elite Plus

Not verified for the exact current variant configuration.

Advanced Treatments

Joy

Information Unavailable

VS

Health Elite Plus

  1. Oral chemotherapy
  2. Robotic surgeries
  3. Stem cell therapy
Co-payment

Joy

20% of each admissible claim applies if the insured's entry age (eldest member for a floater) is 60 years or above. No co-payment applies for entry ages below 60.

VS

Health Elite Plus

Insured can choose 10% or 20% co-payment, allowing cost-sharing for lower premium expenses.

Disease-wise sublimits

Joy

No disease-specific caps apply to general hospitalisation, which is payable up to the sum insured. Fixed limits apply to maternity (₹35,000/₹50,000), newborn baby (₹30,000/₹50,000) and ambulance (₹1,000 per claim).

VS

Health Elite Plus

Cataract treatment is limited to 10% of the sum insured, up to ₹1 lakh per eye, after the applicable two-year period. Other applicable limits and exclusions must be checked in the policy wording.

Cashless Healthcare Providers

Joy

Cashless treatment is available at 11,400+ Care network hospitals across India. Pre-authorisation is required, and the network list can change, so check the hospital list before admission.

VS

Health Elite Plus

10,000+ Cashless Healthcare Providers

Restoration Benefit

Joy

Not available. Once the sum insured is used, it is not restored within the same policy year. The optional No Claim Bonanza is a bonus for claim-free years, not a restoration benefit.

VS

Health Elite Plus

Reset of up to 100% of the base sum insured, unlimited times for different illnesses and once for the same illness. It does not trigger on the first claim and is subject to the policy conditions.

Cumulative Bonus

Joy

Optional "No Claim Bonanza", available for an additional premium. After three consecutive claim-free policy years, the sum insured increases by 100% of the expiring sum insured. The accrued bonus cannot exceed 100% of the sum insured in the renewed policy. If a claim is made, the accrued bonus is not carried to the next renewal, but the base sum insured is never reduced. The bonus is lost if the policy is not renewed within the grace period.

VS

Health Elite Plus

Loyalty bonus is described in the available policy information; current applicable rate and maximum require verification.

Daycare Treatment

Joy

Covers a long list of procedures that need less than 24 hours of hospitalisation (for example cataract, dialysis, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, lithotripsy, tonsillectomy and arthroscopy). Cover is up to the sum insured and subject to waiting periods.

VS

Health Elite Plus

Covers procedures requiring less than 24-hour hospitalization, like cataract surgery and chemotherapy.

Consumable Cover

Joy

Not covered. Non-medical items (for example gloves, masks, diapers, kits, belts, surcharges and similar items in the policy's non-payable list) are excluded. Some items, such as admission and registration charges, are treated as part of room or procedure charges and are not paid separately.

VS

Health Elite Plus

Not verified as a standard benefit for the exact current variant.

AYUSH Treatment

Joy

Not offered as a standard benefit. Treatment under Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy, and other non-allopathic treatment, is excluded.

VS

Health Elite Plus

Coverage for Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy at government-recognized institutions.

Initial Waiting Period

Joy

30 days

VS

Health Elite Plus

30 days for illnesses from the start of the policy; accidents are excluded from this waiting-period restriction.

Specific Waiting Period

Joy

24 months of continuous coverage for listed conditions and procedures. These include arthritis and spinal disorders, joint replacement, benign ENT disorders, benign prostatic hypertrophy, cataract, piles/fissure/fistula, hernia and hydrocele, hysterectomy for fibroids, kidney or gall bladder stones, and varicose veins. Accident-related claims are exempt. Prior continuous coverage can reduce the waiting period. If a listed condition is also pre-existing, the longer waiting period applies.

VS

Health Elite Plus

24 months for specified diseases and procedures listed in the policy.

PED Waiting Period

Joy

36 months of continuous coverage from the first policy with Care. Pre-existing conditions must be declared at proposal. If the sum insured is increased, the waiting period applies afresh to the increased amount. Continuous prior coverage with another insurer can reduce the waiting period on porting.

VS

Health Elite Plus

24 months for declared and accepted pre-existing diseases, subject to policy terms and applicable portability rules.

Modern Treatment

Joy

Covers 12 listed advanced treatments within the sum insured: uterine artery embolization and HIFU, balloon sinuplasty, deep brain stimulation, oral chemotherapy, monoclonal antibody immunotherapy (injection), intravitreal injections, robotic surgeries, stereotactic radio surgeries, bronchial thermoplasty, laser prostate vaporisation (green laser or holmium laser), intra-operative neuro monitoring (IONM), and hematopoietic stem cell therapy for bone marrow transplant in blood disorders. Advanced methods outside this list are not covered.

VS

Health Elite Plus

Covered up to the annual sum insured, subject to policy terms and exclusions.

Annual Health Checkup

Joy

Not available as a benefit. Depending on age and sum insured, Care may ask for pre-policy medical tests at its own cost. If the proposal is declined or the policy is cancelled in the free-look period, the test cost is deducted from the refund.

VS

Health Elite Plus

Preventive health check-up available at designated centres, subject to policy conditions.

Pre-Hospitalisation

Joy

30 days before admission. Expenses must relate to the same illness or injury and the hospitalisation claim must be admissible.

VS

Health Elite Plus

60 days


Post-Hospitalisation

Joy

60 days after discharge. Expenses must relate to the same illness or injury and the main hospitalisation claim must be admissible.

VS

Health Elite Plus

180 days.

Outpatient Department Cover (OPD Expense)

Joy

Not covered. Routine consultations, tests and pharmacy bills without hospital admission are not payable. Pre- and post-natal expenses are covered only within the maternity limit and as part of the delivery hospitalisation claim.

VS

Health Elite Plus

Not included as a general unlimited standard benefit. Optional BeFit provides specified outpatient consultations and related benefits on a cashless basis, according to the selected plan.

Deductible Option

Joy

No deductible applies. This is a base indemnity plan, not a top-up.

VS

Health Elite Plus

No deductible option.

Coverage Options

Joy

Sum insured of ₹3 lakh or ₹5 lakh, on an Individual or Family Floater basis. Policy term is 3 years. Entry age is 18 to 65 years for adults, 1 day to 24 years for children, and 1 day to 90 days for newborns. Lifelong renewability. Maternity cover is available only for insured women aged 45 or below.

VS

Health Elite Plus

Individual and family floater options, with sum insured options from ₹5 lakh to ₹3 crore.

Claim Settlement Ratio

Joy

96.74% for FY 2024-25 (insurer-level, based on IRDAI public disclosures). This reflects Care Health Insurance overall, not Care Joy specifically.

VS

Health Elite Plus

Information Unavailable

Maternity Cover

Joy

Covers delivery hospitalisation (normal and C-section) including pre-natal and post-natal expenses: up to ₹35,000 on a ₹3 lakh sum insured and up to ₹50,000 on a ₹5 lakh sum insured. Waiting period is 9 months of continuous coverage. Newborn baby cover applies if the maternity claim is admissible. Voluntary termination of pregnancy in the first 12 weeks and miscarriage (unless caused by an accident) are not covered. Ectopic pregnancy is covered under regular hospitalisation, not the maternity limit.

VS

Health Elite Plus

Childbirth-related medical expenses are excluded, except ectopic pregnancy, as stated in the exclusions.

Insurance Plans Comparison

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  • One policy covers the entire family

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  • Covers delivery, newborn care, and maternity expenses

  • Reduces financial stress of childbirth costs

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