Why a ₹1-crore health cover matters—and how to buy it

What to watch out for while upgrading your health insurance policy amid rising medical cost

- Vedant Vichare

In 2016, Hyderabad-based Ankur Pathak's mother-in-law was diagnosed with Stage-III ovarian cancer, barely a month or two after undergoing angioplasty. The back-to-back medical emergencies left the family with limited funds to manage the treatment costs.

Though she had a reimbursement-based government health cover, the procedural delay and out-of-pocket expenses proved overwhelming. She passed away within three months, unable to continue chemotherapy.

The experience made Pathak realize the importance of having a strong insurance cover with adequate immediate support, regardless of employer-provided plans. He opted for ₹50 lakh base coverage, which would increase to ₹1 crore with no-claim bonuses.

More Indians are opting for ₹1-crore health covers as medical costs rise. Online insurance platform Policybazaar saw the number of such policies surge to 9,739 in 2024 from 4,427 policies in 2023. "In 2025, we've already sold 7,521 such policies by May," said Siddharth Singhal, health insurance head at Policybazaar, noting an 85% growth expectation for the year.

Why ₹1 crore?

Insurance advisors say ₹1 crore may feel excessive today, but five to 10 years down the line, it could be just about right. Medical inflation is pushing costs up fast. Data from the surgery-care company Hexa Health showed that the average severe illness claim in India doubles every 10 years.

For example, cancer treatment costs that hovered around ₹2-3 lakh in 2015 now average ₹4-6 lakh, and could touch ₹9 lakh by 2035. Meanwhile, a heart bypass that cost ₹3 lakh a decade ago may cost over ₹6 lakh by 2035.

While average treatment costs for severe illnesses provide a baseline, actual expenses often run significantly higher, especially in private hospitals and metro cities, where charges can be 2-3X the national average.

Additionally, illnesses rarely occur in isolation; follow-up treatments, diagnostics, and medications add recurring costs over time.