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Reviewed by Finzony Finance TeamLast updated:
Niva Bupa Health Recharge is an indemnity plan that pays only after your claims in a policy year cross a deductible you choose, which keeps the premium low for a large cover. It comes in two forms. E-saver offers a sum insured of ₹2 lakh to ₹5 lakh with a small deductible of ₹10,000, ₹25,000 or ₹50,000. Super Top-up offers a sum insured of ₹2 lakh to ₹95 lakh with a deductible from ₹1 lakh to ₹10 lakh. It can be bought by an individual or as a family floater of up to 6 people, adults can join from 18 to 65 years and children from 91 days to 25 years, and the policy renews for life. Once the deductible is used up, Health Recharge pays hospital bills up to the sum insured, including ICU, operation theatre, medicines and implants, with 60 days of pre-hospitalisation and 90 days of post-hospitalisation expenses. It also covers day care, domiciliary hospitalisation, AYUSH treatment, a living organ donor, mental disorder treatment, HIV/AIDS related infections, artificial life maintenance and 12 modern treatments. Loyalty Additions raise the sum insured by 5% of the base sum insured at each renewal, up to 50%, when the base cover is up to ₹25 lakh. Personal Accident and Critical Illness covers are optional. Several limits matter. Room rent is capped at 1% of the base sum insured per day on the smaller covers, the road ambulance pays only up to ₹1,500, and some modern treatments and mental disorders carry sub-limits. Pre-existing diseases wait 36 months, 15 groups of conditions wait 24 months, and maternity and OPD are not covered. Premium is not loaded for health status, but a plan like this works best on top of a base policy, because you pay the deductible yourself.
Super top-up cover of ₹2L to ₹95L that pays once your yearly deductible (₹1L to ₹10L) is used up, with 60 days pre and 90 days post-hospitalisation cover.
Finzony sees Health Recharge as a cost-efficiency tool, not a stand-alone health plan. The idea is simple. You keep a base policy or employer cover, pick a deductible equal to that cover, and buy a large sum insured above it for a small premium. The Super Top-up form is the one that does this, and cover of ₹40 lakh and above is offered only with a ₹5 lakh or ₹10 lakh deductible. If you have no base cover, the first ₹1 lakh to ₹10 lakh of every year's claims is your own money, so the deductible must match what you can afford. The deductible is an annual aggregate, so several small claims in the same year add up towards it, and claims are first cut for room rent and then for the deductible. Niva Bupa also asks you to send documents for claims that fall within the deductible once the deductible is crossed, so keep every bill. Do not expect the base-plan extras here. The road ambulance pays only up to ₹1,500, room rent is limited to 1% of the base sum insured per day on ₹2 lakh to ₹4 lakh covers, and several modern treatments and mental disorders have sub-limits. Pre-existing diseases wait 36 months. The positives are real. There is no premium loading for health status, no loading for your own claims at renewal, and the optional Personal Accident and Critical Illness covers sit outside the deductible. If you want a base plan to pair this with, compare Health Companion and ReAssure 3.0 first.
Niva Bupa Health Insurance
Key Insights
Founded
2008
Niva Bupa Health Insurance was established 18 years ago and has built strong credibility over time, backed by its long-standing presence in the market.
Claims Experience
91.6% CSR, calculated as a 3-year average
Niva Bupa Health Insurance settles 91.6% of all claims it receives.
Network Hospitals
10,000+
Niva Bupa Health Insurance has a network of 10,000+ hospitals, ensuring wide accessibility and convenience for policyholders.
You must choose a deductible when you buy the policy. Niva Bupa pays only once the admissible claims in a policy year exceed the deductible. E-saver offers deductibles of ₹10,000, ₹25,000 and ₹50,000, and Super Top-up offers ₹1 lakh to ₹10 lakh in steps of ₹1 lakh.
Room rent pro-rating is applied first and then the deductible. The deductible does not apply to e-Consultation, Personal Accident and Critical Illness. Send documents even for claims within the deductible once the deductible is crossed.
Pays reasonable and customary charges for room rent, nursing (excluding private nursing), doctor fees, physiotherapy, investigations and diagnostics directly related to the admission, medicines, IV fluids, blood transfusion, consumables, operation theatre charges, internally implanted prosthetics and ICU, up to the sum insured.
Room rent is up to 1% of the base sum insured per day on ₹2 lakh to ₹4 lakh covers and a single private room up to the sum insured on ₹5 lakh and above. Check your policy schedule. If you take a higher room, Niva Bupa pays a pro-rated share of the associated expenses.
Pays consultations, medicines, diagnostic tests and physiotherapy for 60 days before admission and 90 days after discharge, up to the sum insured, for the same condition.
These are paid on a reimbursement basis only, after Niva Bupa accepts your inpatient, day care, domiciliary or AYUSH claim. They also reduce your sum insured for the policy year.
Pays day care procedures that are advised in writing as medically necessary, up to the sum insured, with pre- and post-hospitalisation expenses.
OPD treatment and diagnostic services are not paid under this benefit.
Pays treatment taken at home, up to the sum insured, from the first day, once it continues for at least 3 consecutive days.
Reimbursement only. Your doctor must confirm in writing that you could not be moved to a hospital, or you must show that no hospital bed was available.
Pays a lump sum for accidental death and disability anywhere in the world, with a sum insured of ₹1 lakh, ₹2 lakh, or ₹5 lakh to ₹50 lakh in steps of ₹5 lakh. Accidental death pays the full sum insured. Permanent total disability pays 125% for loss of use of two limbs, sight of both eyes, one limb and one eye, or loss of independent living (3 of 6 daily activities). Permanent partial disability pays a set share, such as 100% for both hands or both feet and 50% for one hand, one foot or sight in one eye.
Available to the primary insured, or the primary insured and spouse. Disability must last at least 6 months unless it is irreversible, and be certified by a government Medical Board. The sum insured is a lifetime limit, and cover ends once it is used up or a death or total disability claim is paid.
Pays a lump sum of ₹1 lakh to ₹10 lakh on first diagnosis of any of 20 listed illnesses, including cancer of specified severity, first heart attack, open chest CABG, kidney failure on regular dialysis, stroke with permanent symptoms and major organ or bone marrow transplant. The deductible does not apply.
A 30-day wait applies to any illness except accidents, and it does not apply if you have more than 12 months of continuous cover. Cancer is covered after the 30-day wait, and accidents are covered from day 1. Pre-existing diseases wait 36 months. The 15 listed groups of conditions and procedures wait 24 months. Conditions listed against an insured person under a Personal Waiting Period wait 24 months from the first policy and are covered from the third policy year. A proposal that Niva Bupa accepts as sub-standard risk is accepted with waits of 24 months. Waits are reduced to the extent of prior cover if you port or migrate without a break, and start again for any increase in sum insured and for a newly added member. The grace period is 30 days. The optional Critical Illness cover has its own 90-day and 36-month waits.
Initial waiting period
Expenses for any illness in the first 30 days of the policy are excluded, except for accidents. This does not apply if you have more than 12 months of continuous cover.
Cancer
Cancer is not held to the 24-month specified disease wait. It is covered after the initial 30-day wait.
Specified diseases and procedures
The 15 listed groups, such as cataract, hernia, joint and spine disorders, kidney disease, stones and benign tumours, wait 24 months of continuous cover, except accidents.
Conditions or treatments that the policy clearly says it will not cover.
These listed conditions and procedures are excluded for the first 24 months of continuous cover, even if they begin after the policy starts and even if you declared them. The wait does not apply to accidents, and cancer is covered after the 30-day wait. If one of them is also a pre-existing disease, the longer wait applies.
Insurer
Niva Bupa Health Insurance plans and claim process
Health Recharge is a deductible-based health insurance plan from Niva Bupa. It pays hospital bills up to the sum insured only after your claims in a policy year cross the deductible you choose, which keeps the premium low for a large cover. It comes as E-saver (₹2 lakh to ₹5 lakh) and Super Top-up (₹2 lakh to ₹95 lakh).
You choose an annual aggregate deductible when you buy the policy. Niva Bupa starts paying only once your admissible claims in a policy year exceed it. For example, if your claims in a year total ₹12 lakh and your deductible is ₹5 lakh, you or your base policy bear the first ₹5 lakh and Health Recharge pays the remaining ₹7 lakh, within the sum insured and policy limits.
E-saver has a sum insured of ₹2 lakh to ₹5 lakh and a small deductible of ₹10,000, ₹25,000 or ₹50,000. Super Top-up has a sum insured of ₹2 lakh to ₹95 lakh and a deductible of ₹1 lakh to ₹10 lakh. Super Top-up is meant to sit on top of a base policy or employer cover.
Disclaimer: Premium amounts are indicative and may vary based on age, health, and plan selected. Claim settlement ratios are from IRDAI Annual Reports. Finzony is not an insurance broker or agent. Verify all details on the official Niva Bupa Health Insurance website before purchasing.
Contact Details
1860 500 8888
Headquarters: C-98, First Floor, Lajpat Nagar, Part 1, New Delhi – 110024, India.
The aforementioned ratios have been averaged over three years (FY24-FY26)
You must survive 30 days after diagnosis. It is payable once in your lifetime and is not renewed for that person after a claim. A 90-day wait and a 36-month wait for pre-existing diseases apply. Available to the primary insured, or the primary insured and spouse, and acceptance is assessed separately.
Limits the room you are eligible for to a single private room, which lowers the premium.
Available only for a deductible above ₹50,000, and not applicable on the larger sum insured options where a single private room already applies.
After 5 policy years, and while the eldest member is not older than 50, you can once in a lifetime move to an equivalent indemnity policy from Niva Bupa without a deductible, for the same sum insured, without medical underwriting.
Your current policy lapses when you use this option. It is offered at renewal only.
Pre-existing diseases
Declared and accepted pre-existing diseases are covered after 36 months of continuous cover. If a listed disease is also pre-existing, the longer wait applies. The wait is reduced if you port or migrate with prior cover and no break.
Personal waiting period
Conditions listed against an insured person in the policy schedule wait 24 months from the start of the first policy, and are covered from the third policy year if cover is continuous. Niva Bupa also applies waits of 24 months when it accepts a proposal as sub-standard risk.
Critical Illness cover (optional)
Illnesses that occur within 90 days of the first policy are not paid, and pre-existing conditions that directly cause a listed illness wait 36 months.
Higher sum insured or a new member
If you raise your sum insured, the waits start again only for the added amount. A member added later serves the pre-existing disease wait, exclusions and waits afresh.
No, but it works best with one. Without a base policy or employer cover, you pay the deductible, from ₹10,000 up to ₹10 lakh, out of your own pocket every year before Health Recharge pays. Choose a deductible that matches the cover you already have.
Yes. On ₹2 lakh to ₹4 lakh covers, room rent is limited to 1% of the base sum insured per day. On ₹5 lakh and above a single private room is covered up to the sum insured. Check your policy schedule for your exact limit. If you take a higher room, Niva Bupa pays a pro-rated share of the associated expenses.
Pre-hospitalisation expenses are paid for up to 60 days before admission and post-hospitalisation expenses for up to 90 days after discharge, on a reimbursement basis, for the same condition and up to the sum insured.
If you renew without a break, Niva Bupa adds 5% of the base sum insured at each renewal, up to 50%. It is available only for base sum insured up to ₹25 lakh, and sub-limits do not increase with it.
Any illness waits 30 days, except accidents. Cancer is covered after the 30 days. Fifteen groups of listed conditions wait 24 months, and pre-existing diseases wait 36 months. The waits are reduced to the extent of prior continuous cover if you port or migrate.
Yes, after 36 months of continuous cover, if you declared them and Niva Bupa accepted them. If a proposal is accepted as sub-standard risk, Niva Bupa applies waits of 24 months instead of loading the premium.
No. Maternity, OPD, dental treatment and treatment outside India are not covered, and claims are paid in India in rupees only.
You can add a Personal Accident cover of ₹1 lakh to ₹50 lakh, a Critical Illness cover of ₹1 lakh to ₹10 lakh covering 20 illnesses, and a room rent modification that limits you to a single private room for a lower premium. Personal Accident and Critical Illness are not subject to the deductible.
Adults from 18 to 65 years can buy it, and dependent children can be covered from 91 days to 25 years. You can buy an individual policy or a family floater of up to 6 people, of whom up to 4 can be children. The policy renews for life.
Niva Bupa's prospectus illustration for a ₹25 lakh sum insured with a ₹5 lakh deductible shows ₹1,267 a year at age 18, ₹1,641 at 39, ₹2,561 at 45, ₹5,320 at 55, ₹7,247 at 63 and 65, and ₹8,133 at 70. A family floater of four people aged 18, 21, 39 and 45 is ₹5,141. Premium depends on your sum insured, deductible and age, and a 12% online discount can apply, so get a quote.
For cashless treatment, use a network hospital and get pre-authorisation at least 72 hours before planned treatment, or within 48 hours of an emergency admission. For reimbursement, inform Niva Bupa within 48 hours of admission or before discharge, then send the original discharge summary, final bill with receipts, pharmacy bills, lab reports with prescriptions, your KYC and a cancelled cheque. Niva Bupa must settle or reject within 15 days. Call 1860-500-8888.
Yes. Niva Bupa advises you to submit all claim documents, including those for claims within the deductible, once the deductible is exhausted, so keep every bill and discharge summary from the policy year.
Yes. Renewal cannot be refused because you claimed, and there is no loading for your own claims. Pay within the 30-day grace period to keep continuity. After 60 continuous months, no claim can be contested except for proven fraud.