Top up policies are nothing but medical reimbursement but only with high deductibles. Top up cover plans are cheaper than the usual full fledged health plans. Renuka Kanvinde, Senior Manager – Health Administration Services of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company says, “The premiums on such policies are lower than buying another standard hospitalization policy by nearly 40 percent”, as quoted by ET.

In two situations, buying a top up health plan completely makes sense; one is when you want to increase the quantum of your cover if it is of small amount of say 1 lakh, and another is when your employer decided the quantum of your health cover according to your seniority, which means your cover will be low if you are a junior.

In context of increasing the quantum by you i.e. the policyholder, Antony Jacob, CEO of Apollo Munich Health Insurance says, “The sum assured would have been adequate back then. But now an individual should look at a sum assured of 3-5 lakh, especially in the metro cities on the back of rising healthcare expenses. Back then, policyholders did not have too many options. But now an individual has the choice to opt for a top-up and bridge the shortfall”.