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/Global Cover
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
Cancer & serious illness
Every feature behind Cancer & serious illness, deciders first - pick one to see how the plans differ.
2 more features here look much the same across the plans we cover - they rarely decide the choice.
Step 3Plan Comparison
What is Global Cover in health insurance?
Extends your health insurance to cover emergency or planned treatment outside India. Valuable if you travel internationally, live abroad for part of the year, or want the option to seek specialised treatment at hospitals in other countries. If you are hospitalised abroad, some plans also pay for one family member to travel and stay with you.
Also called: international treatment cover · treatment outside India · worldwide cover
Every plan, ranked11 · 2 strong · 2 standard · 1 limited · 6 not covered
HDFC ERGOStrongOptima Secure · Optima-Secure-Global-PlusWorldwide
Strong
Treatment outside India is covered only on the two Global plans, and each covers a different thing. Optima Secure Global pays emergency treatment only; Optima Secure Global Plus pays both planned and emergency treatment.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
How it's coveredIncluded in the base plan
Treatment LocationWorldwide
Maximum Liability Cap (Per Policy Year)Base Sum Insured + Bonus
Diagnosis LocationWorldwide
Per Claim Deductible (INR)₹10,000
Watch out
On Optima Secure Global, cancer treatment and orthopaedic treatment other than fractures, dislocations and injuries are excluded outside India, so an overseas cancer claim is paid nothing. Only Optima Secure Global Plus pays for surgery you travelled abroad to have. A ₹10,000 deductible applies to every overseas claim
Aditya BirlaStrongActiv One · VIP+Worldwide
Strong
Treatment outside India is excluded on most variants. Only VIP and VIP+ carry it. VIP gets worldwide emergency cover excluding USA and Canada, paid from a separate International Sum Insured of INR 30 lakh or INR 1 crore that is over and above your Base Sum Insured. VIP+ gets worldwide emergency cover plus planned treatment abroad for any illness, but that is paid from your Base Sum Insured.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
How it's coveredIncluded in the base plan
Treatment LocationWorldwide
Maximum Liability Cap (Per Policy Year)Base Sum Insured
Max days covered per overseas trip15 days
Diagnosis LocationWorldwide
Watch out
Each trip is capped: 15 days per trip if your Base Sum Insured is INR 50 lakh or INR 75 lakh, and 45 days per trip at INR 1 crore and above. On VIP, planned treatment abroad is limited to 27 listed major illnesses and only from INR 1 crore cover upward, and you can buy an optional extension to add USA and Canada. The overseas OPD benefit does not apply on VIP+.
Niva BupaStandardReAssure 3.0 · ClassicOptional - Worldwide
Standard
The base policy pays only for treatment taken in India. Treatment abroad is available only if you buy an optional benefit: Borderless covers emergency and planned treatment anywhere in the world, Borderless for Specific Illness covers planned treatment for nine listed illnesses, and International Cover pays for emergencies during a trip of up to 45 days. Borderless is not sold on Classic.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
How it's coveredOptional add-on
Treatment LocationWorldwide
Maximum Liability Cap (Per Policy Year)Fixed Amount
Diagnosis LocationWorldwide
Room cost limit (overseas)Up to Single Private Room
Watch out
Borderless carries its own money cap - INR 10 Lac on most plans, and INR 5 Cr only on Black with Unlimited Sum Insured - so it is not your full Sum Insured travelling with you. It also covers the room only up to a standard private room. Borderless and Borderless for Specific Illness cannot be bought together.
ICICI LombardStandardElevateOptional - Worldwide
Standard
Treatment outside India is excluded unless you buy Optional Cover 9 - Worldwide Cover. It carries its own Sum Insured of up to ₹3 crore over and above your base cover, and pays both emergency and planned hospitalisation. Only three base benefits travel with you - in-patient treatment, AYUSH hospitalisation and day care - and claims abroad are cashless through network providers only.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
How it's coveredOptional add-on
Treatment LocationWorldwide
Maximum Liability Cap (Per Policy Year)Fixed Amount
Max days covered per overseas trip45 days
Per Claim Deductible (INR)₹0
Watch out
Pre-hospitalisation and post-hospitalisation expenses are not on the list of covers that travel, so the tests before and the follow-up after an overseas admission are paid by you. Cover runs for 45 consecutive days from the date you travel and 90 days in total in a policy year, and planned treatment needs approval at least 7 days before you fly.
HDFC ERGOLimitedOptima RestoreOptional add-on
Limited
The base policy pays nothing for treatment taken outside India. An express exclusion and the Geography clause both limit cover to treatment in India, paid in Indian Rupees inside India. Overseas care is available only if you also buy the separate Critical Advantage rider, and that rider covers planned treatment abroad for eight listed major illnesses, not emergencies.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
How it's coveredOptional add-on
Hospitalisation TypePlanned
Watch out
The rider's own prospectus and policy wording carry its sum insured, its list of eight illnesses and its conditions. None of that is in this policy, so read the rider document before you count on it.
Star HealthNot coveredSuper StarNot in this plan, and not sold as an add-on
Not covered
This policy does not pay for treatment taken outside India. Every investigation and every treatment claimed has to be taken in India, so a hospital bill from Dubai, London or Singapore is not covered at all. Even the NRI Advantage optional cover, which is written for Non Resident Indians, pays only for treatment taken in India.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
How it's coveredNot covered
Star HealthNot coveredStar ComprehensiveNot in this plan, and not sold as an add-on
Not covered
Treatment taken outside India is not covered. The policy requires all treatment to be taken in India, and no add-on changes that.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
How it's coveredNot covered
Star HealthNot coveredFamily Health OptimaNot in this plan, and not sold as an add-on
Not covered
This policy does not cover treatment outside India. A specific condition requires every investigation and treatment to be taken in India, so a hospital bill from Dubai, Singapore or London is not payable, even in an emergency while you are travelling.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
How it's coveredNot covered
Care HealthNot coveredCare AdvantageNot in this plan, and not sold as an add-on
Not covered
Care Advantage does not cover treatment outside India, inbuilt or optional. Even the optional Air Ambulance Cover is limited to services availed in India.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
How it's coveredNot covered
Watch out
"Entirely within India" also rules out treatment that starts here and continues abroad.
Care HealthNot coveredCare SupremeNot in this plan, and not sold as an add-on
Not covered
Care Supreme does not cover treatment taken outside India. The policy pays only for medical treatment taken entirely within India, and all payments are made in Indian Rupees within India. Even the optional Unlimited Care benefit applies in India only. If you are hospitalised abroad, you pay the whole bill from your own pocket.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
How it's coveredNot covered
Star HealthNot coveredStar Health AssureNot in this plan, and not sold as an add-on
Not covered
This policy does not cover treatment taken outside India. Condition 22 requires every investigation and treatment to be taken in India, so a hospital bill from Dubai, Singapore or the United States is not payable at all.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
How it's coveredNot covered
Step 4Shortlist
Your decision so far
Tap a plan to pick it, then read it in full or compare any two.
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 Global CoverSuper 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.