Max Bupa Health Recharge Plan vs Star Super Surplus Plan

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CA: Niva Bupa Health Recharge | Star Surplus Gold | ICICI

You can never be sure about life and health. The pandemic has again highlighted that we tend to forget our life and health as we go about our daily routines.

OneAssure Team

September 25, 2025

Need advice tailored to you?

Looking for the right plan? You don't have to guess. Let us compare the fine print for you and give you an unbiased recommendation.

Need advice tailored to you?

Looking for the right plan? You don't have to guess. Let us compare the fine print for you and give you an unbiased recommendation.

The rising cost of medicines and hospitalisation, also known as medical inflation, is a modern-day reality, especially in a developing country like ours. This is where health insurance comes to play. It aims to shield your finances from the high costs of hospitalisations. It covers your hospitalisation expenses up to a limit known as sum insured. Consider in a given year, your hospitalisation expenses go beyond the sum insured. In that case, you will have to pay the difference from your pocket. This situation can be very challenging.Think of a time when you or your family member is hospitalised, and the bill amounts to ₹15 lakhs. Your health insurance sum insured is only ₹10 lakhs. What would you do? You would have to pay the difference of ₹5 lakhs out of your own pocket. That’s when a super top-up health insurance policy can save the day. This plan adds a higher sum insured at a comparatively lower premium. Super top-up health insurance tops up your sum insured if you have utilized all of your original sum insured. It does this at a relatively lower premium than the cumulative sum insured would have attracted.Here are three super top-up health insurance plans that stand out:

ICICI Lombard Health Booster
Star Surplus Gold
Niva Bupa Health Recharge

All three plans can be purchased as individual plans or family floater plans. They cover pre-hospitalisation, hospitalisation and post-hospitalisation expenses. Additionally, Daycare or Out Patient Department procedures are included in all three. Let us look at their benefits:

Benefits		ICICI Lombard Health Booster	Star Plus Gold	Niva Bupa Health Recharge
Renewability	Lifetime	Lifetime	Lifetime
In-Patient Hospitalisation	Covered upto sum insured	Covered upto sum insured	Covered upto sum insured
Pre-insurance Medical Test	No pre-policy medical tests for sum insured up to Rs. 10 lakhs (up to 45 years of age)	Not Required	Required
Organ Donor	Hospitalisation expenses for undergoing an organ transplant surgery, up to the sum insured	Organ Donor Expenses—for organ transplantation where the insured person is the recipient—are payable provided the claim for transplantation is payable and subject to the availability of the sum insured. Donor screening expenses and post-donation complications of the donor are not payable	Medical expenses for an organ donor’s inpatient treatment for the harvesting of the organ donated is also covered
Modern Treatments	Not Covered	Coverage for Modern Treatment up to limits mentioned in the policy	Not Covered
Alternative Treatments	Hospitalisation expenses for Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) treatment on a reimbursement basis	Not Covered	Ayurvedic, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy treatments covered
Sum Insured Restoration	Not available	Recharge Benefit: If the sum insured under the policy is exhausted/ exceeded during the policy period, additional indemnity up to the limits stated in the policy would be provided once for the remaining policy period	Not available
Pre-existing Waiting Period	24 months	36 months for silver and 12 months for gold	36 months
Road Ambulance Cover	Emergency road ambulance expenses, up to 1% of your sum insured, maximum up to ₹5,000 per event	Emergency ambulance charges for transporting the insured patient to the hospital up to ₹3,000/- per policy period	Up to ₹1,500 per hospitalisation

Here are the highlights of each plan:

ICICI Lombard Health Booster

Wide range of sum insured (₹5 lakhs to ₹50 lakhs) to suit your individual or family needs
Flexible deductible options (₹3 lakhs, ₹4 lakhs or ₹5 lakhs) to choose from
10% and 12.5% discount on 2 year and 3-year policies, respectively
Cashless treatment at 6300+ network hospitals across India
Response for cashless claims in 4 hours and reimbursement claims within 14 days from receipt of last document/information
Quick and hassle-free claim filing and tracking on website and ICICI Lombard Take Care app

Star Surplus Gold

Top-up at an affordable premium: A Top-up policy providing higher sum insured at a very affordable premium
No pre-acceptance medical screening: No pre-acceptance medical screening is required
Flexible policy basis: This policy can be taken on both Individual and Floater basis
Maternity cover: Maternity expenses covered upto specified limits
Air ambulance cover: Air ambulance facility covered up to 10% of the sum insured
Organ Donor Expenses: Organ Donor Expenses covered
Policy Term: Policy can be taken for one year or two years
Instalment Options: Instalment facility available
Wellness Program: Wellness services available

Niva Bupa Health Recharge

No room rent cap: Covered up to sum insured
Daycare Treatment: Covered up to sum insured
Cover Available: Up to ₹95 lakh
In-patient Treatment: Covered up to sum insured
Family Combination Applicable: Up to 2 Adults and 4 Children
e-Consultation: Avail unlimited teleconsultations
Pharmacy and diagnostic services: Get discounts through empaneled service provider
Loyalty Benefits: Get loyalty addition of 5% on sum insured per year; maximum up to 50%
Emergency Ambulance: Up to ₹1,500 per hospitalisation
Alternative treatment: Get cover for Ayurvedic, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy treatments
Renewal for life: Lifetime renewal for existing customers

A super top-up health insurance plans support you financially in a medical emergency.With health expenses on the rise, having a super top-up health insurance policy for higher hospitalisation coverage is sound. A super top-up health insurance plan doesn’t cost as much as a basic plan with a higher sum insured. A super top-up health insurance family floater plan can cover your whole family under a single policy. It keeps your finances shielded from hospitalisation expenses to a greater extent. You can focus on recovery instead of worrying about raising money for treatment costs.Read about Comparative Analysis: Niva Bupa ReAssure, ICICI Health Shield and HDFC Ergo my: Health Suraksha Gold here.