As one of the most important covers required for securing your medical needs, health insurance is an important product that should figure in the must-have list of your financial plan.
Health insurance companies are trying to get their act together in offering more comprehensive covers while including more ailments suited to modern requirements.
The sum assured is also being raised substantially.
SBI General has launched the new Health Alpha medical cover that has a host of new customisable features and add-ons.
Going by the 2023-24 claim settlement ratios for health insurance companies, SBI General’s figure stands at 98.61 per cent, which is reasonably healthy.
Health Alpha offers features such as unlimited sum assured, endless sum assured, and multiple add-on options across various broad rider heads that can be used to bolster the base hospitalisation cover. From gender reassignment, gym & adventure sports injuries, assisted reproduction and modern treatments, the new product offers various innovative covers.
Wider coverage
SBI General’s Health Alpha medical insurance cover starts at ₹5 lakh and goes up to ₹3 crore.
The endless sum assured option covers the entire hospitalisation expenses, irrespective of the amount, even if it is higher than the sum assured in the base policy.
This feature is offered only once during the lifetime of the policy. This benefit is available only with sum insured of ₹10 lakh and above.
Opting for the unlimited sum assured option would mean having no ceiling on the claim amount for hospitalisation bills.
The additional covers offered by Health Alpha are quite interesting.
Many urban residents take their fitness seriously. They hit the gym and also indulge in sports regularly to remain healthy. However, there are possibilities of injuries or accidents during these activities. The special OPD (outpatient department) add-on includes coverage of consultation from orthopaedic sports specialist, diagnostic tests, prescription drugs and physical therapy. The OPD cover is available for those up to 55 years of age and is available for one listed injury per year. The listed injuries include fractures, rotator cuff injury, tennis elbow, muscle/groin pull, concussion, strains among others.
The restoration benefit ensures restoration of base sum insured for an unlimited number of times during the policy year to an extent of the claim amount immediately after the settlement of a claim for related or unrelated to the earlier illness/injury.
Restored sum insured will be available for subsequent claims. This benefit is given if unlimited sum insured has been opted for under the policy. In any given policy year, either the endless sum insured or restore benefit can be utilised.
There is an add-on for costs incurred while availing radio cab services (call taxi, aggregators) for taking a policyholder to the hospital during emergencies, especially when an ambulance is not available.
One interesting cover offered is for gender reassignment. Hormone therapy, surgical intervention, and so on, are covered under the rider. Then, there is an add-on, plan ahead. This cover gives continuity of benefits for waiting periods already served by the policyholder to the newly married spouse or newborn child, within 120 days of marriage/birth. Only newly married spouse (aged up to 35)/newborn child (maximum two children) can be added.
Another innovative feature is assisted reproduction treatment. This covers medical expenses incurred by the insured person towards reversing sterilisation, assisted reproduction services including artificial insemination and advanced reproductive technologies such as IVF, ZIFT, GIFT, ICSI, IUI. This is available only if insured person is aged 18 to 45.
There is also a global cover that allows treatment abroad for many ailments. These include surgery for cancer treatment, heart valve replacement, bone marrow transplant, lung transplant, by-pass surgery, liver transplant and so on. In-patient and OPD costs are allowed. There is a 24-month waiting period and the insured must be aged 65 or less.
All these riders are offered under broad heads with specific clauses and conditions.
These are classified under essential, special, maternity & childcare, OPD, global and personal accident covers among a few others.
Reasonable premiums
SBI General’s Health Alpha’s premium can be illustrated with an example. Let’s assume that the spouses are aged 35 and 30. They have a child who is 8 years old.
If all three decide to take independent covers for ₹10 lakh each, the total premium comes to ₹21,894 annually according to the benefit illustration.
In case they opt for ₹10 lakh each under a single policy, the premium is ₹20,884.
A floater policy of ₹10 lakh total sum assured costs ₹15,389 a year. It makes sense to cover all family members under one policy or take a floater with a large sum assured.
Health Alpha allows premium payment for five years at a time, which helps lock into rates for the long term and avoids premium escalations.
ICICI Lombard’s Elevate, which was rolled out last year, is one of the best in terms of a large number of covers on offer and high sum assured, including the unlimited option.
This would be our first choice for policyholders.
However, SBI General’s Health Alpha can also be considered as a second policy, for its extensive coverage and reasonable premiums, for example, by one of the spouses.
Published on November 8, 2025
