Niva Bupa Reassure 2.0 Comprehensive Review

Niva Bupa Reassure 2.0 is one health insurance plan which covers all the base health insurance benefits well. It also comes with some innovative features which are first in the industry such as lock the clock, booster+ and reassure forever. You can also have an add-on benefit, disease management rider, which allows you to get instant cover on your pre-existing illness without having to serve any waiting period. At the same time it comes at a reasonable pricing making it one of the hottest picks. 

But is this as good a health insurance plan as it looks on paper? Let’s check out.

Standout Features of Niva Bupa Reassure 2.0

Niva Bupa Reassure 2.0 comes in 3 variants namely Bronze+, Platinum+ and Titanium+. Most of the features are common variants in all variants but some benefits are not available in lower variant Bronze+.

Let’s look at some of the features which make Niva Bupa Reassure 2.0 standout in the crowd.

1. Lock the Clock: Health insurance premiums rise with age. But not anymore. With Niva Bupa’s Lock the Clock feature, you pay premiums according to your age at entry till the time you make your first claim under the policy. If you bought the policy at 35 and did not make any claim for the next 10 years, you pay the renewal premium applicable for a 35 year old even at the age of 45. Isn’t that amazing? Lock the Clock feature is only available in Platinum+ and Titanium+ variants. It is not available in Bronze+ variant.
2. Reassure Forever: Reassure Forever works like an unlimited restoration benefit. First claim paid under your policy triggers this benefit. If you exhaust your health cover in any policy year, your cover is restored to the base sum insured for each claim made in future in that year.
3. Booster+: Don’t lose what you do not use. This is the mantra behind this benefit. Your unused health cover is carried forward to the next policy year. So your unutilised health cover keeps accumulating. This accumulation happens upto a maximum of 3X, 5X and 10X under Bronze+, Platinum+ and Titanium+ variants respectively.  If you take a base cover of Rs. 10 Lakh under Titanium+ variant and do not make any claim under the policy for next 10 years, your unutilised cover grows to Rs. 1 Cr. So your total health cover becomes Rs. 1.10 Cr at the end of 10 years  including the base cover of Rs. 10 Lakh. This is an amazing feature which ensures you will have enough coverage to take care of medical inflation for a few years.

Main Benefits of Niva Bupa Reassure 2.0

All variants of Niva Bupa Reassure 2.0 cover the base benefits well. 

1. Inpatient Hospitalisation: There are no restrictions on room rent or type in case of inpatient hospitalisation. You can choose and pick any room you like. And there are no disease wise sub limits either. This means that you can claim full amount upto sum insured irrespective of the type of ailment you are suffering from.
2. Hospitalisation for 2 Hours: You get the full coverage even if you are hospitalised for just 2 hours. So the plan covers the full cost of all your daycare treatments where you are hospitalised for less than 24 hours. This can include procedures like dialysis, chemotherapy or any minor surgery.
3. Pre and post hospitalisation expenses: Pre and post hospitalisation expenses are covered upto 60 and 180 days respectively. This ensures that your cost of followup consultations, diagnostic tests and medications before and after hospitalisation are well covered to provide you comprehensive coverage.
4. Home Care or Domiciliary Hospitalisation: This plan provides full coverage upto sum insured even if you are forced to hospitalise at home.
5. Alternative and Modern Treatments: AYUSH treatment is fully covered upto sum insured on hospitalisation basis. Even modern treatments are covered upto sum insured. However, some robotics surgeries are only covered upto Rs. 1 Lakh for every claim.
6. Free Annual Health Checkups: Free annual health check ups are available from day 1 for every insured person; Rs. 500 for every Rs. 1 Lakh base cover upto maximum of Rs. 5000 per individual and Rs. 10000 per policy.
7. Wellness Benefits: You can also earn some discounts on renewal premiums if you follow an active and healthy lifestyle.

Add On Benefits

1. Disease Management Rider: This is the best add on benefit available in this plan. With this add on, you get coverage on your pre-existing diseases from day 1. If you are suffering from hypertension or diabetes, it makes sense to have this add on.
2. Safeguard+: This is another good add on which NIva Bupa offers. This add on offers 3 layers of benefits. With this add on, your insurer will increase your base sum insured every year in line with the inflation. Second, your bonus amount in the policy will not reduce if you make a claim of less than Rs. 1 Lakh in a policy year. Third, your cost of consumable items used during the treatment such as syringes, gloves, PPE Kits, nebulizers etc get covered under your policy. This should be a must have add on for everyone option for Niva Bupa Reassure 2.0.
3. Hospital Cash: With this add on, your insurer will give you daily cash benefits of Rs. 1000, Rs. 2000 or Rs. 4000 depending on your base sum insured for each day you stay in the hospital. This cash benefit is given to you over and above your claim amount. You can utilise it on other daily expenses which come with hospitalisation such as food, toiletries, conveyance for attendant etc.
4. Personal Accident Cover: Enhance your coverage with this personal accident add on. This add on provides a coverage equal to 5X your base sum insured in case of death due to an accident. The cover is capped at Rs. 1 Crore.
5. Annual Aggregate Deductible: Now you can choose an annual aggregate deductible of Rs. 20000, Rs. 30000, Rs. 50000 or Rs. 100000. This reduces your annual premium commitment considerably and makes your policy affordable. But choose this option with caution as you will have to pay the aggregate deductible amount you choose from your pocket before your policy benefits kick in during any policy year. 

Policy Conditions

You can choose from a wide range of sums insured from Rs. 5 Lakh to Rs. 1 Cr in Niva Bupa Reassure 2.0.

Age at entry for an adult ranges from 18 to 65 years. Minimum age for your child to get health cover is 15 days and goes all the way to 18 years. 

You can get the cover on an individual, multi individual and family floater basis. A maximum of 6 family members can be added in a policy. 

Tenure options of 1, 2 and 3 years are available, You can choose the tenure option as per your convenience.

For more specific plan information, download the brochure: 

Drawbacks of Niva Bupa Reassure 2.0

The waiting period on pre existing diseases is 36 months in Platinum+ and Titanium+ variants which is pretty long. And the waiting period under Bronze+ variant is even higher and is 48 months. However you have the option to reduce this waiting period by paying an extra premium. 

About Niva Bupa Health Insurance

Niva Bupa Health Insurance Company Limited is a stand alone health insurance company which was earlier known as Max Bupa Health Insurance Company Limited. It was founded in 2008 as a joint venture between Max India and Bupa Singapore Holdings Pte Limited, a UK based healthcare services provider. In 2019, the entire 51% stake of Max India was acquired by Fettle Tone LLP, an affiliate of private equity firm True North and hence the name Niva Bupa.

Post this, in the year 2020, Niva Bupa saw a massive change in the top management with new people acquiring key positions in the company. 

Claim Settlement of Niva Bupa Health Insurance

Niva Bupa Health Insurance works with a network of 10000+ hospitals across the country to provide you cashless claim facility.

Niva Bupa’s last 3 years’ average claim settlement ratio is 91% which looks good. However if we look at the claim settlement ratio by amount, its average CSR for the last 3 years’ comes down to 70% which could be a cause of concern for many. This implies that the insurer might be settling a considerable number of claims partially. 

The company’s last 3 years’ average incurred claim ratio is 58%. This is great as the insurer is able to manage its claim payouts well to maintain the financial stability of the company. Its last 3 years average combined ratio is also decent and comes to around 101%.

However, one huge problem with Niva Bupa Health Insurance is its volume of claim complaints. Its last 3 years’ average volume of claim related complaints is 42.62. This is one of the highest in the industry and implies that the insurance company is highly inefficient in dealing with its claim related queries. This could be a major cause of concern for any prospective buyer.

Should You Buy Niva Bupa Reassure 2.0?

Niva Bupa Reassure 2.0 is a good health insurance plan with some amazing features. Platinum+ and Titanium+ variants offer Lock the Clock feature which is one of a kind. Reassure Forever offers unlimited restoration benefits in all variants. And your unutilised health cover gets carried forward to the next policy years in all variants. All variants cover the base benefits such as inpatient hospitalisation, daycare treatments, pre and post hospitalisation expenses without any limits or restrictions. And all these features come at a decent pricing which make this plan a good choice. 

You have various add ons such as to choose from to customise your cover as per your needs. You can also get coverage on pre-existing illnesses such as hypertension and diabetes from day 1. This is a good add on for those already suffering from any of these illnesses.

However, cost of consumable items are not covered under the base product and come with an extra cost. Also, the waiting period on pre-existing illnesses is quite long in all variants. However, you get the option to reduce this waiting period at an extra cost. 

The insurer’s claim settlement ratio looks ok but the company faces challenges with its high volume of claim complaints. Its volume of claim complaints is one of the highest in the industry which means more of its customers face issues at the time of claim. 

If you are looking for a feature rich health insurance plan at decent pricing and can ignore the high volume of claim complaints, Niva Bupa Reassure 2.0 is a good plan for you. You also have the option to choose the variant and options according to your needs and affordability. 

However, if you are concerned about the company’s claim settlement issues, you need to wait and give it some time. The insurer might just improve its processes in the time to come.