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/Cumulative Bonus
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
Start here8
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.
5 more features here look much the same across the plans we cover - they rarely decide the choice.
Step 3Plan Comparison
What is Cumulative Bonus in health insurance?
Rewards you for staying healthy. Every year you do not make a claim, your cover amount increases - sometimes doubling over 5 years - at no extra cost. The longer you stay claim-free, the better your coverage gets.
Every plan, ranked11 · 3 strong · 4 standard · 4 limited
HDFC ERGOStrongOptima Secure · Optima-Secure+Grows 100% of Sum Insured every year (even after claims) with no cap of Sum Insured
Strong
Your cover grows every year whether or not you claim. Optima Suraksha and Optima Lite add 10% of Base Sum Insured a year and Optima Select 25%, both up to 100%. The Optima Secure family instead uses Plus Benefit at 50% a year up to 100%, and Optima Secure+ uses Infinite Benefit at 100% a year with no ceiling at all.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
How it's coveredIncluded in the base plan
What the insurer calls itInfinite Benefit
Bonus growthGrows 100% of Sum Insured every year (even after claims) with no cap of Sum Insured
Requires Renewal Without BreakYes
Eligible Claim TypesBase Coverage Only
Watch out
The bonus is credited only on renewal without a break, and only if the cover is shown in your Policy Schedule. Only one of these runs at a time. If you take Plus Benefit on a plan that had Cumulative Bonus, the accrued bonus carries over and the Cumulative Bonus stops. The same either-or rule applies between Plus Benefit and Infinite Benefit.
Niva BupaStrongReAssure 3.0 · ClassicUnused Sum Insured carries forward, up to 1000% of Sum Insured
Strong
Booster+ is this plan's bonus. Whatever part of your Base Sum Insured you do not use in a year carries forward to the next year, and it can build up to 10 times your Base Sum Insured. On a 10 Lakh cover with no claims, that is 1 Crore of Booster+ sitting on top of your 10 Lakh after ten years.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
How it's coveredIncluded in the base plan
What the insurer calls itBooster+
Bonus growthUnused Sum Insured carries forward, up to 1000% of Sum Insured
Requires Renewal Without BreakYes
Eligible Claim TypesBase Coverage Only
Watch out
The carry-forward is what you did not use, so a year with a large claim adds little. If you reduce your Base Sum Insured later, the accumulated Booster+ is cut in the same proportion - halving a 10 Lakh cover to 5 Lakh halves your Booster+ too.
Aditya BirlaStrongActiv One · MAXGrows 100% of Sum Insured every year (even after claims), up to 500% of Sum Insured
Strong
Super Credit adds a fixed share of your base cover to your sum insured at every renewal, and it is added even in a year you claimed. On MAX that is 100% of base per year, growing to 500% of base, with a ceiling of 3 crores. VIP has no Super Credit at all, and on NXT you have to buy it as an optional cover.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
How it's coveredIncluded in the base plan
What the insurer calls itSuper Credit
Bonus growthGrows 100% of Sum Insured every year (even after claims), up to 500% of Sum Insured
Absolute Cap Amount₹3 Cr
Requires Renewal Without BreakYes
Watch out
Super Credit is added only if you renew or pay the premium within the grace period. If you reduce your base sum insured at renewal, the accumulated Super Credit is cut in the same proportion.
Star HealthStandardStar ComprehensiveGrows 100% of Sum Insured per claim-free year, up to 100% of Sum Insured
Standard
Each claim-free year adds bonus to your cover: 100% of the Basic Sum Insured at ₹7,50,000 and above, 50% at ₹5,00,000. Either way the bonus stops at 100% of the Basic Sum Insured. A claim cuts the accrued bonus back at the same rate it was earned, and a year that uses up both the cover and the bonus resets it to zero.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
How it's coveredIncluded in the base plan
What the insurer calls itCumulative Bonus
Bonus growthGrows 100% of Sum Insured per claim-free year, up to 100% of Sum Insured
Requires Renewal Without BreakYes
Eligible Claim TypesBase Coverage Only
The catch
A claim can take back the bonus you built. If a year uses up your whole Basic Sum Insured and your whole accrued bonus, the bonus granted at renewal is zero and you start again from nothing.
HDFC ERGOStandardOptima RestoreGrows 50% of Sum Insured every year (even after claims), up to 100% of Sum Insured
Standard
Every year you renew without a break, the policy adds 50% of the Base Sum Insured as Multiplier Benefit, whether you claimed that year or not. It stops growing at 100% of the Basic Sum Insured, so a ₹10 Lakh cover reaches ₹20 Lakh in two years and stays there.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
How it's coveredIncluded in the base plan
What the insurer calls itMultiplier Benefit
Bonus growthGrows 50% of Sum Insured every year (even after claims), up to 100% of Sum Insured
Requires Renewal Without BreakYes
Eligible Claim TypesBase Coverage Only
Watch out
The accrued Multiplier Benefit carries forward only if there is no break in the policy. On a ₹10 Lakh cover that can mean losing up to ₹10 Lakh of extra cover, and you start again from the Basic Sum Insured.
Care HealthStandardCare SupremeGrows 50% of Sum Insured every year (even after claims), up to 100% of Sum Insured
Standard
Your Sum Insured grows 50% every completed policy year and keeps growing up to 100% of the Sum Insured. An optional Cumulative Bonus Super adds a further 100% a year on top, up to 500% of the base Sum Insured.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
How it's coveredIncluded in the base plan
What the insurer calls itCumulative Bonus
Bonus growthGrows 50% of Sum Insured every year (even after claims), up to 100% of Sum Insured
Requires Renewal Without BreakYes
Eligible Claim TypesHospitalization, Road Ambulance
Watch out
The bonus is tied to renewing on time. If the policy is not renewed by the end date or by the end of the grace period, the whole accrued bonus is forfeited.
Star HealthStandardSuper StarGrows 50% of Sum Insured per claim-free year, up to 100% of Sum Insured
Standard
Every claim-free year adds 50% of your Sum Insured as bonus, up to a ceiling of 100%. A claim does not wipe the bonus out: only the part you actually spend is taken off at renewal and the rest carries forward. A paid cover, Super Star Bonus, adds a further 100% every year whether you claim or not, with no ceiling.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
How it's coveredIncluded in the base plan
What the insurer calls itCumulative Bonus
Bonus growthGrows 50% of Sum Insured per claim-free year, up to 100% of Sum Insured
Requires Renewal Without BreakYes
Eligible Claim TypesBase Coverage Only
Watch out
If you buy Super Star Bonus and later drop it at renewal, the whole bonus built up under it goes to zero.
ICICI LombardLimitedElevateGrows 20% of Sum Insured every year (even after claims), up to 100% of Sum Insured
Limited
Called the Loyalty Bonus. 20% of your Sum Insured is added on for the next year at every renewal, whether or not you claimed, up to a ceiling of 100%. You can spend it only after the Sum Insured itself is used up, and it does not apply on the unlimited Sum Insured option.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
How it's coveredIncluded in the base plan
What the insurer calls itLoyalty Bonus
Bonus growthGrows 20% of Sum Insured every year (even after claims), up to 100% of Sum Insured
Requires Renewal Without BreakYes
Eligible Claim TypesBase Coverage Only
Watch out
Two optional covers lift the yearly bonus to 100% of Sum Insured with no ceiling - Power Booster and Power Booster Plus - but you can hold only one of them at a time. None of the accrued bonus is available for Worldwide Cover, Bariatric Surgery Cover or Claim Protector claims.
Star HealthLimitedFamily Health OptimaGrows 10% of Sum Insured every year (even after claims), up to 100% of Sum Insured
Limited
Your cover grows by 10% of the expiring Sum Insured at every renewal, up to a maximum of 100%. The bonus is added even in a year you claimed. At that rate it takes ten unbroken renewals to double the cover, and if a claim uses part of the bonus, only the balance carries forward.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
How it's coveredIncluded in the base plan
What the insurer calls itLoyalty Bonus
Bonus growthGrows 10% of Sum Insured every year (even after claims), up to 100% of Sum Insured
Requires Renewal Without BreakYes
Eligible Claim TypesBase Coverage Only
Watch out
The bonus is added only if you renew on time or within the grace period - a break in cover loses what you have built up. This is a family floater, so the bonus sits in one pot for everyone named in the policy.
Star HealthLimitedStar Health AssureGrows 25% of Sum Insured per claim-free year, up to 100% of Sum Insured
Limited
Every claim-free year adds 25% of your Sum Insured as bonus, up to a maximum of 100%. On ₹10,00,000 cover, four claim-free years take you to ₹20,00,000. A claim does not always cost you the bonus - it is cut only to the extent you actually use it.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
How it's coveredIncluded in the base plan
What the insurer calls itCumulative Bonus
Bonus growthGrows 25% of Sum Insured per claim-free year, up to 100% of Sum Insured
Requires Renewal Without BreakYes
Eligible Claim TypesBase Coverage Only
Watch out
The bonus is calculated on the expiring Sum Insured, so if you reduce your Sum Insured at renewal the bonus cannot exceed the reduced amount. Partial use of your Sum Insured leaves the bonus untouched.
Care HealthLimitedCare AdvantageGrows 10% of Sum Insured per claim-free year, up to 50% of Sum Insured
Limited
Every claim-free year adds 10% of your Sum Insured as No Claims Bonus, up to 50%. Make a claim and the accrued bonus drops by 10% of Sum Insured at the next renewal. An optional No Claims Bonus Super adds 50% a year on top of that, up to 100% of Sum Insured, and you lose it if you stop paying for that option.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
How it's coveredIncluded in the base plan
What the insurer calls itNo Claims Bonus
Bonus growthGrows 10% of Sum Insured per claim-free year, up to 50% of Sum Insured
Requires Renewal Without BreakYes
Eligible Claim TypesBase Coverage Only
Watch out
If you do not renew on or before the end of the policy period, or the end of the grace period, the entire accrued No Claims Bonus is forfeited. On a ₹25,00,000 cover that is up to ₹12,50,000 of extra cover gone.
Step 4Shortlist
Your decision so far
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Nothing kept yet
Tap the bookmark on any plan in the comparison above and it lands here. Then pick one to read it in full, or two to compare.
Or read one we prepared for Cumulative BonusSuper 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.