Is it fine to have a health insurance policy from one company and top-up policy from a different insurance company?

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

I had purchased Star Assure insurance policy, with a coverage of Rs 20 lakh, from Star Health. I ported to HDFC Ergo Optima Secure policy in August 2024 with a base cover of Rs 15 lakh. The reduction in the amount was because of a feature in Optima Secure that increases the coverage after a year. I had also taken a Super Surplus (top up) policy of Rs 1 crore from Star Health in May 2024 with a defined limit of Rs 20 lakh. Do I need a deductible of Rs 15 lakh in the Super Surplus (top up) given the change in base cover of the primary policy? Is it fine to have a top-up policy from a different insurance company?

Sarbvir Singh Joint Group CEO, PB Fintech: The question highlights two crucial aspects of managing health insurance effectively—aligning top-up coverage with the base policy, and the practicality of having base and top-up policies from different insurers.

Since your base cover under the primary policy has been reduced from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 15 lakh, the deductible in your Super Surplus top-up policy ideally needs to align with the current base cover. However, in your case, the HDFC Ergo feature provides a coverage of Rs 15 lakh (+ Rs 15 lakh) right from Day 1. In most cases, top-up policies typically kick in only after the threshold (or deductible) from the primary policy is exhausted.

So, if the defined limit does not match one’s base policy limit, this could create a gap in coverage. It’s advisable to request the insurer to adjust the deductible to ensure seamless integration between the primary and top-up policies. While it’s fine to have base and top-up policies from different insurers, there are certain advantages to consolidating them with a single provider.