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/Air Ambulance
Find what matters most to you.
Pick a coverage concern and see its exact policy terms, compared side-by-side across top Indian health insurance plans.
36 features mapped
6 coverage topics
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The concerns that cost the most when a plan gets them wrong
Step 1Coverage Directory
Every category, decoded
All 6 coverage topics in one place - start with the worry on your mind, and open the features that decide it.
Step 2Feature Library
Big hospital bills
Every feature behind Big hospital bills, deciders first - pick one to see how the plans differ.
Now showing 5 features that look much the same across the plans we cover.
Step 3Plan Comparison
What is Air Ambulance in health insurance?
Covers emergency evacuation by helicopter or aircraft when a road ambulance is not fast enough or reachable - for example, after a serious accident in a remote area. These flights can cost Rs 1-10 lakh, so having this covered can be a lifesaver.
Every plan, ranked11 · 3 standard · 8 limited
ICICI LombardStandardElevateOptional - Covered up to full Sum Insured
Standard
Air ambulance is not part of the base cover. You buy Optional Cover and it then pays for an air ambulance to the nearest hospital with emergency facilities, up to your Sum Insured and over and above it. It works only inside India, only for a life-threatening emergency certified in writing by a doctor, and only when the in-patient claim for the same event is accepted.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
How it's coveredOptional add-on
Expense limitCovered up to full Sum Insured
Geography ScopeIndia Only
Payable Only if Hospitalisation Claim is Also AdmittedYes
Modification AllowedNo
Watch out
The India-only line is absolute, so an evacuation abroad is not covered under this benefit. The operator must be licensed by a government authority.
Aditya BirlaStandardActiv One · VIPUp to ₹5 Lakh per year
Standard
There is no air ambulance cover inside India on any plan. VIP and VIP+ carry an Emergency Air Ambulance of up to ₹5,00,000, but only inside Global Cover, which pays for an emergency that happens outside India. The other five plans have nothing.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
How it's coveredIncluded in the base plan
Expense limitUp to ₹5 Lakh per year
Geography ScopeWorldwide
Modification AllowedYes
Reduces Main Sum InsuredNo
Watch out
On VIP the global cover leaves out the USA and Canada unless you buy the geographical extension. On VIP+ the international cover is paid from your Base Sum Insured, so an air evacuation reduces what is left for treatment; on VIP it sits over and above the Base Sum Insured.
HDFC ERGOStandardOptima Secure · Optima-Secure-GlobalUp to ₹5 Lakh per year
Standard
Emergency evacuation by aeroplane or helicopter is covered up to ₹5 lakh a year on every plan except Optima Select, which does not offer it. The amount is separate from your sum insured, so a flight does not reduce the cover left for treatment. Cover is India-only except on the two Global plans.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
How it's coveredIncluded in the base plan
Expense limitUp to ₹5 Lakh per year
Geography ScopeWorldwide
Payable Only if Hospitalisation Claim is Also AdmittedYes
Modification AllowedNo
Watch out
The flight is paid only if the hospital claim for the same event is also admitted, and only when a doctor advises in writing that ground transport will not do. The return journey home is not covered.
Star HealthLimitedSuper StarUp to ₹5 Lakh per year
Limited
Air ambulance is reimbursed up to 5,00,000 rupees in a policy year, and only for the flight from the place where the illness or accident first happened to the nearest hospital. A hospitalisation claim has to be admitted alongside it, and the aircraft has to be licensed by the government.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
How it's coveredIncluded in the base plan
Expense limitUp to ₹5 Lakh per year
Geography ScopeIndia Only
Payable Only if Hospitalisation Claim is Also AdmittedYes
Modification AllowedNo
Watch out
The route is fixed: first place of occurrence to the nearest hospital. A flight from a small-town hospital to a big-city one for better treatment is not what this clause pays for. The benefit is reimbursement, so the cost is arranged first and claimed back afterwards.
Niva BupaLimitedReAssure 3.0 · EliteUp to ₹5 Lakh per claim
Limited
Elite and Black include air ambulance at Rs 5,00,000 per hospitalisation. Classic and Select do not include it at all, but can buy Air Ambulance+ for Rs 2,50,000. Either way it is paid only in an emergency, only through a registered air ambulance provider, and only if the hospitalisation claim is also paid.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
How it's coveredIncluded in the base plan
Expense limitUp to ₹5 Lakh per claim
Payable Only if Hospitalisation Claim is Also AdmittedYes
Modification AllowedNo
Reduces Main Sum InsuredYes
Watch out
If the hospitalisation claim is not admitted, the air ambulance bill is not paid either, and that bill can run past Rs 5,00,000.
Star HealthLimitedFamily Health Optima10% of Sum Insured
Limited
Air ambulance is covered up to 10% of your Sum Insured for the whole policy period - ₹50,000 at ₹5 lakh, ₹2,50,000 at ₹25 lakh. It pays only for a life-threatening emergency where ground transport cannot get you there in time, and only inside India.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
How it's coveredIncluded in the base plan
Expense limit10% of Sum Insured
Geography ScopeIndia Only
Modification AllowedNo
Reduces Main Sum InsuredYes
Watch out
A doctor must prescribe the flight, the treatment you need must be unavailable where you are, and the operator must be licensed. The payout comes out of your Sum Insured, so it reduces what is left for the hospital bill.
Care HealthLimitedCare AdvantageOptional - Up to ₹5 Lakh per year
Limited
Air ambulance is not in the base cover. It is Optional Cover 2, and it works only inside India. If you buy it, up to ₹5 lakh sits over and above your Sum Insured, so an air evacuation claim does not reduce your base cover. Your treating doctor must certify in writing that your condition warrants the flight.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
How it's coveredOptional add-on
Expense limitUp to ₹5 Lakh per year
Geography ScopeIndia Only
Payable Only if Hospitalisation Claim is Also AdmittedYes
Modification AllowedNo
Watch out
The benefit is cashless first: the cost has to be certified and authorised by the insurer in advance. Reimbursement is allowed only where you have a life threatening medical condition and you arranged the flight at your own expense. Payment also depends on the hospitalisation claim being admitted.
HDFC ERGOLimitedOptima RestoreUp to ₹2.5 Lakh per claim
Limited
Air ambulance is not covered at ₹3 Lakh and ₹5 Lakh Sum Insured. From ₹10 Lakh upwards, an emergency airplane or helicopter transfer is paid at actual expenses or ₹2.5 Lakh per hospitalisation, whichever is lower, up to your Basic Sum Insured for the year. It pays inside India only.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
How it's coveredIncluded in the base plan
Expense limitUp to ₹2.5 Lakh per claim
Geography ScopeIndia Only
Payable Only if Hospitalisation Claim is Also AdmittedYes
Modification AllowedNo
The catch
Getting home is not covered: return transport to your house by air ambulance is excluded, so only the trip to hospital counts. At ₹3 Lakh and ₹5 Lakh Sum Insured there is no air ambulance cover at all.
Star HealthLimitedStar ComprehensiveUp to ₹2.5 Lakh per claim
Limited
Air ambulance is built into the policy and paid back to you up to ₹2,50,000 for each hospitalisation, and no more than ₹5,00,000 in a policy period. It pays for one flight only - from the place where the illness or accident first happened to the nearest hospital - and only when the hospitalisation claim itself is admitted.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
How it's coveredIncluded in the base plan
Expense limitUp to ₹2.5 Lakh per claim
Geography ScopeIndia Only
Payable Only if Hospitalisation Claim is Also AdmittedYes
Modification AllowedNo
Watch out
This is a reimbursement, so you pay the air-ambulance operator first and claim the money back. The operator must hold a government licence to run as an air ambulance.
Star HealthLimitedStar Health Assure10% of Sum Insured
Limited
Air ambulance is built into the plan and paid up to 10% of the Sum Insured each policy year. On a Rs.10 lakh cover that is Rs.1,00,000, on a Rs.1 crore cover Rs.10,00,000. It is paid only for travel and treatment inside India, and only by reimbursement.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
How it's coveredIncluded in the base plan
Expense limit10% of Sum Insured
Geography ScopeIndia Only
Payable Only if Hospitalisation Claim is Also AdmittedYes
Modification AllowedNo
The catch
Payment is by reimbursement, so you arrange and pay for the flight yourself first. An air evacuation can cost Rs.5,00,000 or more, and at a Rs.10 lakh Sum Insured only Rs.1,00,000 of that comes back to you.
Care HealthLimitedCare SupremeOptional - Up to ₹5 Lakh per year
Limited
Air ambulance is not part of the base plan. You can buy it as an optional benefit that pays up to Rs 5 lakh per year for air evacuation inside India. The treating doctor must certify in writing that your condition needed it, and the amount paid reduces your Sum Insured for that year.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
How it's coveredOptional add-on
Expense limitUp to ₹5 Lakh per year
Geography ScopeIndia Only
Payable Only if Hospitalisation Claim is Also AdmittedYes
Modification AllowedNo
Watch out
The benefit works through cashless only, unless your condition is life threatening and you arrange the flight yourself, in which case the insurer reimburses it. Cover stops at the Indian border, so an evacuation from abroad is not paid.
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Or read one we prepared for Air AmbulanceSuper Star vs Optima RestoreSuper Star vs Star ComprehensiveOptima Restore vs Star Comprehensive
Every feature, A to Z
Each one has its own page - what it means, and how every plan handles it.