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Insurance Plans Comparison

HDFC ERGO EquiCover vs ICICI Lombard Golden Shield

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

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HDFC ERGO

EquiCover

Get inpatient hospitalisation for a certified disability or for people living with HIV/AIDS, excluding anti-retroviral treatment, plus AYUSH care up to the sum insured and a 20% co-pay on every claim.

What Makes It Special:

EquiCover is an indemnity health insurance product specifically filed for applicants who are routinely declined or heavily loaded on standard plans: persons certified with not less than 40% of a specified disability under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 or the Mental Healthcare Act 2017, and individuals with...

Best For:

  • Families covering a dependent child with a certified disability, since children can be enrolled on an individual policy of their own

  • Buyers who want a first layer of hospitalisation cover and are willing to pay extra to remove the standard 20% co-payment

  • Applicants with one of the 21 listed disabilities — including blindness, locomotor disability, thalassemia, haemophilia, sickle cell disease, autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, mental illness and Parkinson's disease

  • Individuals living with HIV/AIDS seeking in-patient hospitalisation cover for medical conditions generally

  • Persons holding a disability certificate for not less than 40% of a specified disability from a government-appointed medical board, who cannot obtain standard health cover

VS
ICICI Lombard

Golden Shield

Cover hospital care for seniors, with a twin-sharing room below ₹10 lakh and a single private AC room from ₹10 lakh, a 50% co-pay on every admissible claim, and 60 days before admission plus 180 days after discharge.

What Makes It Special:

ICICI Lombard Golden Shield is designed for senior citizens and offers hospitalisation cover through individual and family floater options. Benefits include inpatient treatment, daycare procedures, AYUSH hospitalisation, pre- and post-hospitalisation expenses, domiciliary treatment and a Reset Benefit. The policy also offers a Loyalty Bonus and optional features such as Claim...

Best For:

  • Buyers seeking additional features such as Claim Protector or Care Management Plus, subject to availability and eligibility.

  • Customers who want to evaluate options for reducing the policy's standard co-payment.

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

  • Older couples looking for a shared family floater or individual cover options.

  • Senior citizens seeking health insurance for eligible hospitalisation expenses.

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

  • If you are being covered for HIV/AIDS, note that antiretroviral treatment costs are excluded, so budget for that medication separately.

  • A disability certificate from a government-appointed medical board is a condition precedent to the disability cover, so obtain and keep it before applying.

  • The sum insured is limited to ₹4 lakh or ₹5 lakh, so treat this as a base layer and consider whether a separate top-up or group cover is available to you for larger claims.

  • Room rent is capped at 1% of sum insured per day and ICU at 2%, which on a ₹5 lakh cover is ₹5,000 and ₹10,000 a day, so check those limits against room rates at the hospitals you would use.

  • Price the optional co-payment waiver before buying, because without it you bear 20% of every admissible claim — ₹1 lakh on a ₹5 lakh claim at the maximum sum insured.

  • Compare the disease-specific sublimits with your healthcare needs, especially for cataract, cardiovascular treatment, cancer and renal conditions.

  • Review the 24-month PED and specified-disease waiting periods, along with the separate 90-day exclusion for hypertension, diabetes and cardiac conditions.

  • Check the room category linked to your sum insured to avoid unexpected proportionate deductions.

  • Review the base 50% co-payment carefully and compare the additional premium for reducing it to 40%, 30% or 20%.

  • Select a sum insured based on expected medical expenses and confirm that the desired option is available for your age and health profile.

Insurance Plans Comparison

Detailed Features Comparison

Compare the key features of different health insurance plans

EquiCover
EquiCover

Health Insurance Plan

VS
Golden Shield
Golden Shield

Health Insurance Plan

Brochure

Room Rent

EquiCover

Normal: Up to 1% of Sum Insured per day

ICU: Up to 2% of Sum Insured per day

VS

Golden Shield

ICICI Lombard's Health Shield plan offers comprehensive coverage with no specific capping on room rent or ICU charges.

ICU Charges

EquiCover

Up to 2% of Sum Insured per day

VS

Golden Shield

Covered under eligible inpatient hospitalisation, subject to the annual sum insured and applicable policy conditions.

Advanced Treatments

EquiCover

Uterine Artery Embolization (UAE)

HIFU (High Intensity Focused Ultrasound)

Balloon Sinuplasty

Deep Brain Stimulation

Oral Chemotherapy

Immunotherapy (Monoclonal Antibody Injection)

Intra Vitreal Injections

Robotic Surgeries

Stereotactic Radio Surgeries

Bronchial Thermoplasty

Vaporisation of Prostate

IONM (Intra Operative Neuro Monitoring)

Hematopoietic Stem Cell Therapy for Bone Marrow Transplant

VS

Golden Shield

The plan covers advanced treatments like robotic surgeries, immunotherapy, oral chemotherapy, stem cell therapy, and minimally invasive procedures for various conditions.

Co-payment

EquiCover

20% Co-payment on every admissible claim

VS

Golden Shield

The ICICI Lombard Golden Shield plan includes a mandatory 50% co-payment, meaning policyholders are responsible for half of the admissible claim amount, while the insurer covers the remaining 50%. This co-payment applies to all claims made under the policy.

Disease-wise sublimits

EquiCover

Yes — cataract treatment limited to ₹40,000 per eye per policy year; modern treatment capped at 50% of Sum Insured; emergency ground ambulance limited to ₹2,000 per hospitalisation

VS

Golden Shield

Yes. Cataract and specified cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, cancer, renal, long-bone/joint and robotic-surgery treatments have limits that vary by sum insured.

Waiting Period

EquiCover

Initial Waiting Period: 30 Days

Pre-existing Disease Waiting Period:

  1. 24 Months for pre-existing disability
  2. 36 Months for other pre-existing conditions

Specific Disease/Procedure Waiting Period: 24 Months

VS

Golden Shield

Information Unavailable

Cashless Healthcare Providers

EquiCover

Cashless treatment available through network providers

VS

Golden Shield

10,896+ hospitals across India.

Restoration Benefit

EquiCover

Not specified — no restoration, recharge or reinstatement of sum insured is provided in the policy document

VS

Golden Shield

Unlimited Reset Benefit of up to 100% of the annual sum insured for eligible subsequent claims. It does not apply to the first claim and has restrictions for the same illness or related complications.

Daycare Treatment

EquiCover

Covered

VS

Golden Shield

Covered under the policy. 

Cumulative Bonus

EquiCover

Not specified — no cumulative bonus or no-claim increase in sum insured is provided in the policy document

VS

Golden Shield

Loyalty Bonus accumulates under the policy's renewal rules; accrued bonus is not reduced merely because a claim is made.

Consumable Cover

EquiCover

Not specified

VS

Golden Shield

Claim Protector is available as an optional cover for eligible non-medical items associated with an accepted inpatient claim.

AYUSH Treatment

EquiCover

Covered up to 100% of Sum Insured

VS

Golden Shield

Covered under this policy

Initial Waiting Period

EquiCover

30 days for all claims except those resulting from an accident; not applicable after twelve months of continuous coverage

VS

Golden Shield

30 days for illnesses, except covered accident-related hospitalisation.

Specific Waiting Period

EquiCover

24 months for listed conditions and surgical procedures; not applicable to accident claims

VS

Golden Shield

24 months for listed diseases and procedures.

PED Waiting Period

EquiCover

24 months for the covered pre-existing disability; 36 months for other pre-existing conditions, excluding the covered disability and HIV/AIDS

VS

Golden Shield

24 months of continuous coverage for declared and accepted pre-existing diseases.

Modern Treatment

EquiCover

Listed procedures covered up to 50% of Sum Insured, as in-patient or day care treatment

VS

Golden Shield

Listed modern treatments are covered up to the annual sum insured, subject to specified sublimits.

Annual Health Checkup

EquiCover

Not specified. A pre-policy check-up may be required based on age and sum insured, with 100% of the expense reimbursed on acceptance of the proposal

VS

Golden Shield

Information Unavailable

Pre-Hospitalisation

EquiCover

Information Unavailable

VS

Golden Shield

60 days before hospitalisation, subject to policy terms and the accepted inpatient claim.

Post-Hospitalisation

EquiCover

60 days from the date of discharge; claimable on a reimbursement basis only

VS

Golden Shield

Up to 7% of hospitalisation expenses, subject to a maximum of ₹5,000 for ₹3–5 lakh sum insured, ₹7,000 for ₹10–15 lakh, and ₹10,000 for ₹20–50 lakh.

Outpatient Department Cover (OPD Expense)

EquiCover

Not specified

VS

Golden Shield

Not included as a general standard reimbursement benefit. Outpatient consultations may be available through the optional Care Management Plus Program.

Deductible Option

EquiCover

Not specified

VS

Golden Shield

Optional voluntary deductible of 20% of the annual sum insured, applied on an aggregate basis during the policy year.

Coverage Options

EquiCover

Information Unavailable

VS

Golden Shield

Individual or family floater; optional Claim Protector, reduced co-payment, voluntary deductible and Care Management Plus Program.

Claim Settlement Ratio

EquiCover

97.45%

VS

Golden Shield

FY 24-25: ~84%

Maternity Cover

EquiCover

Information Unavailable

VS

Golden Shield

Not covered under this senior-citizen-focused plan.

Insurance Plans Comparison

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Get a dedicated expert managing your claim end-to-end, from hospital admission to approval, including dispute resolution and support

What Our Experts Help You With

Personalised Recommendations

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Explore Insurance Category

Senior Citizen Health Plan

Senior Citizen Health Plan

  • Secure against age-related medical costs

  • Tailored for seniors healthcare needs

Most Popular

Family Health Plan

Family Health Plan

  • One policy covers the entire family

  • High sum insured with cashless care

  • Multiple coverage options based on your family needs

Maternity Health Plan

Maternity Health Plan

  • Covers delivery, newborn care, and maternity expenses

  • Reduces financial stress of childbirth costs

Insurance Plans Comparison

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