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/Maternity Cover
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Step 1Coverage Directory
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Planning a baby
Every feature behind Planning a baby, deciders first - pick one to see how the plans differ.
Step 3Plan Comparison
What is Maternity Cover in health insurance?
Pays for the costs of having a baby - including normal delivery, C-section, pre-natal check-ups, and post-natal care - up to a fixed limit. Almost all plans have a waiting period (usually 9 months to 3 years) before this benefit kicks in.
Also called: maternity benefit · pregnancy cover · delivery cover (normal and C-section)
Every plan, ranked11 · 5 standard · 2 limited · 4 not covered
Star HealthStandardStar Health Assure24 months
Standard
Delivery is covered up to 10% of your sum insured, and pre-natal and post-natal expenses sit inside that same 10%. You wait 24 months from the first policy, and both you and your spouse must have been covered for those 24 months. Only 2 deliveries are payable in a lifetime; later deliveries carry no fresh waiting period.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
How it's coveredIncluded in the base plan
Maternity expense limit10% of Sum Insured
Pre-natal Expenses IncludedYes
Post-natal Expenses IncludedYes
Waiting period24 months
Watch out
Pre-hospitalisation and post-hospitalisation expenses are not paid under this section, so tests before admission and follow-ups after discharge are paid by you. The 10% cap covers normal delivery and C-section together - on a ₹10,00,000 sum insured that is ₹1,00,000 for the whole delivery.
Aditya BirlaStandardActiv One · VIPIncluded in the base plan
Standard
Childbirth is excluded on most plans. Only the two international plans, VIP and VIP+, cover it, and only from ₹50 lakh sum insured upward: ₹1 lakh a year at ₹50-75 lakh cover, ₹2 lakh at ₹1 crore and above. A hospital delivery in a metro costs more than that, so you pay the rest from your own pocket.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
How it's coveredIncluded in the base plan
Maternity expense limitUp to ₹1 Lakh per year
Pre-natal Expenses IncludedNo
Post-natal Expenses IncludedNo
Delivery Types CoveredNormal + C-Section
Watch out
Neither document states a waiting period for this benefit, so check what your Policy Schedule says before you count on it. At ₹1 crore and above the maternity cover works worldwide but leaves out the USA and Canada unless you buy the geographic extension.
ICICI LombardStandardElevateOptional - 24 months
Standard
Maternity is not in the base cover. You buy it one of two ways, and only one at a time: Optional Cover 5 pays 10% of your Sum Insured up to ₹1 Lakh, on a family floater policy only, or the Elevate HER Nurture add-on gives a separate maternity Sum Insured of ₹75,000 to ₹2,00,000. Both carry a 24-month waiting period.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
How it's coveredOptional add-on
Maternity expense limit10% of Sum Insured, up to ₹1 Lakh
Pre-natal Expenses IncludedYes
Post-natal Expenses IncludedYes
Waiting period24 months
Watch out
Optional Cover 5 pays at most ₹1 Lakh for a delivery, and you can buy it only on a family floater policy at a renewal. You cannot hold it together with the Elevate HER Women Care add-on, so taking one rules out the other.
Star HealthStandardSuper StarOptional - 24 months
Standard
Childbirth is not in the base plan. You buy it as the Maternity Expenses optional cover, and it pays a flat amount per delivery instead of a share of your Sum Insured: Rs.50,000 or Rs.1,00,000 with a 24-month waiting period, or Rs.30,000 with a 12-month one. Caesarean is included. Four deliveries are payable in a lifetime.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
How it's coveredOptional add-on
Maternity expense limitUp to ₹1 Lakh per claim
Pre-natal Expenses IncludedYes
Post-natal Expenses IncludedYes
Waiting period24 months
Watch out
Pre-natal and post-natal expenses sit inside that same per-delivery amount, so the scans, the consultations and the hospital bill all draw on one limit. The policy's separate pre-hospitalisation and post-hospitalisation benefit does not apply to this cover.
Star HealthStandardStar Comprehensive24 months - applies to subsequent deliveries too
Standard
Delivery is paid as a flat amount per delivery, not a share of your Sum Insured - ₹15,000 to ₹50,000 for a normal delivery and ₹20,000 to ₹1,00,000 for a caesarean, rising with the cover you buy. Pre-natal and post-natal expenses come out of that same amount. You wait 24 months, and only 2 deliveries are ever paid.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
How it's coveredIncluded in the base plan
Maternity expense limitUp to ₹30,000 per claim
Pre-natal Expenses IncludedYes
Post-natal Expenses IncludedYes
Waiting period24 months - applies to subsequent deliveries too
The catch
Both you and your spouse must have been covered under this policy for a continuous 24 months before a delivery is paid. After a delivery claim the 24-month wait starts again before the next delivery is paid. Pre-hospitalisation and post-hospitalisation expenses and the hospital cash benefit are not paid for this section.
HDFC ERGOLimitedOptima RestoreOptional - 24 months
Limited
The base plan does not pay for childbirth: maternity is a permanent exclusion. The only cover is the optional Parenthood add-on, which pays maternity expenses after a 2-year waiting period. Ectopic pregnancy is paid under the base plan even without the add-on.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
How it's coveredOptional add-on
Waiting Period for First Delivery (months)24 months
Delivery Types CoveredNormal + C-Section
Ectopic pregnancyCovered
Lawful Medical Termination of Pregnancy CoveredYes
Watch out
The 2-year wait runs before the add-on pays anything, so it only helps if you buy it well before you plan a family. Neither document gives the maternity limit, or says whether scans before delivery and check-ups after it are paid, so read the Parenthood wording first.
HDFC ERGOLimitedOptima SecureOptional - 24 months
Limited
Maternity is available only if you buy the separate Parenthood add-on, and a claim is payable only after 2 years from the date you take it. One part survives without the add-on: ectopic pregnancy is carved out of the exclusion and is paid as an ordinary hospitalisation claim.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
How it's coveredOptional add-on
Waiting Period for First Delivery (months)24 months
Delivery Types CoveredNormal + C-Section
Ectopic pregnancyCovered
Add-on NameParenthood
Watch out
If you plan a baby within the next two years, this product will not pay for the delivery even with the Parenthood add-on. A normal delivery in a metro private hospital costs roughly ₹75,000 to ₹1,50,000, and you pay all of it from your own pocket during those 2 years.
Star HealthNot coveredFamily Health OptimaNot in this plan, and not sold as an add-on
Not covered
This plan does not pay for childbirth. Only two things stay covered: an ectopic pregnancy, and a miscarriage caused by an accident. There is no maternity add-on inside this product.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
How it's coveredNot covered
Watch out
You pay the whole delivery bill yourself, normal or caesarean, and there is no add-on inside this product that buys the cover back.
Care HealthNot coveredCare AdvantageNot in this plan, and not sold as an add-on
Not covered
Care Advantage does not pay for having a baby. Expenses traceable to childbirth, including complicated deliveries and caesarean sections, are a permanent exclusion, and so are a miscarriage that no accident caused and lawful medical termination of pregnancy. Only ectopic pregnancy is excepted, and it is paid as an ordinary hospitalisation claim. There is no maternity add-on to buy.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
How it's coveredNot covered
Watch out
Annexure I's day care list also carries 'Normal Vaginal Delivery and Variants', which reads like cover, but the maternity exclusion is what applies to the claim.
Care HealthNot coveredCare SupremeNot in this plan, and not sold as an add-on
Not covered
Care Supreme does not pay for childbirth. Delivery costs, normal or caesarean, miscarriage that is not caused by an accident, and lawful termination of pregnancy are all permanently excluded, and there is no optional benefit to buy this cover back. Only ectopic pregnancy is written back in and paid as a normal hospitalisation claim.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
How it's coveredNot covered
Watch out
Ectopic pregnancy is the one carve-back inside the maternity exclusion, so that admission is payable. If you are planning a baby, this plan will not fund the delivery at any sum insured.
Niva BupaNot coveredReAssure 3.0 · ClassicNot in this plan, and not sold as an add-on
Not covered
ReAssure 3.0 does not pay for childbirth. Delivery costs, normal or caesarean, are excluded on every plan, and there is no maternity add-on you can buy. Ectopic pregnancy is the one exception the exclusion leaves in, so it is paid as an ordinary hospitalisation claim. Miscarriage is paid only when it follows an accident.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
How it's coveredNot covered
Watch out
If you plan to have a child, this policy will not fund the delivery. The WellConsult+ OPD add-on also does not pay for maternity specialist consultations, so pre-natal visits stay out of pocket there too.
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