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/Pre-Existing Disease (PED) Waiting Period
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What is Pre-Existing Disease (PED) Waiting Period in health insurance?
If you already had a health condition (like diabetes, high blood pressure, or thyroid problems) before buying this policy, you must wait a set period before those conditions are covered. A shorter waiting period is strongly preferable - especially if you are managing a chronic condition today.
Also called: PED waiting period · pre-existing condition waiting period · waiting period for an existing illness
Every plan, ranked11 · 11 standard
Star HealthStandardSuper Star36 months
Standard
An illness you already have when you buy this policy is not paid for until 36 months of continuous cover are complete. At the first purchase you can pay extra to cut that wait to 24 or 12 months. A separate optional cover, Quick Shield, starts cover on the 31st day for five named conditions.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
Standard Waiting Period (Months)36 months
Coverage Condition After Waiting PeriodCovered if Declared at Policy Start
Portability / Migration Credit Reduces Waiting PeriodYes
Waiting period reductionReducible to 12 months, 24 months - opt-in Policy Start Only, available to Customer
Watch out
After 36 months a pre-existing condition is covered only if it is declared when you apply and accepted by the insurer.
HDFC ERGOStandardOptima Restore36 months
Standard
A condition you already have when the policy starts is not covered for the first 36 months of continuous cover. The clock runs from your first policy with this insurer, not from each renewal.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
Standard Waiting Period (Months)36 months
Coverage Condition After Waiting PeriodCovered if Declared at Policy Start
Portability / Migration Credit Reduces Waiting PeriodYes
Waiting period reductionNot reducible
Watch out
After 36 months, only a condition you declare when applying and the insurer accepts is paid. Nothing in either document sells an option to shorten this wait.
Star HealthStandardStar Comprehensive36 months
Standard
Anything a doctor diagnosed, advised or treated in the 36 months before your policy starts counts as pre-existing, and this policy pays nothing for it until you complete 36 months of continuous cover. You can buy that wait down to 12 months for extra premium, but only at your first purchase.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
Standard Waiting Period (Months)36 months
Coverage Condition After Waiting PeriodCovered if Declared at Policy Start
Portability / Migration Credit Reduces Waiting PeriodYes
Waiting period reductionReducible to 12 months - opt-in Policy Start Only, locked in once chosen, available to Customer
Watch out
The buy-back needs a pre-acceptance medical test at a Star-nominated centre, and it is closed at renewal and closed if you ported in from another insurer. Even after 36 months, a pre-existing condition is paid only if you declared it in your application and the Company accepted it.
Star HealthStandardFamily Health Optima36 months
Standard
This policy pays nothing for pre-existing condition, or for what it directly causes, until you complete 36 months of continuous cover. There is no rider that shortens the wait, and after 36 months the condition is paid only if you declared it when you applied.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
Standard Waiting Period (Months)36 months
Coverage Condition After Waiting PeriodCovered if Declared at Policy Start
Portability / Migration Credit Reduces Waiting PeriodYes
Waiting period reductionNot reducible
Watch out
The 36 months run from the date your first policy started, not from each renewal, so keep the cover running without a break. If you ported in from another insurer, the months you already served there are deducted from these 36.
ICICI LombardStandardElevate36 months
Standard
Anything a doctor diagnosed, advised on or treated in the 36 months before you bought, waits 36 months before it is paid for. You can pay to cut that wait to 24 or 12 months, but only at policy start. A separate optional cover, Jumpstart, brings six common conditions - including diabetes and high blood pressure - into cover from Day 31.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
Standard Waiting Period (Months)36 months
Coverage Condition After Waiting PeriodCovered if Declared at Policy Start
Portability / Migration Credit Reduces Waiting PeriodYes
Waiting period reductionReducible to 12 months, 24 months - opt-in Policy Start Only, locked in once chosen, available to Customer
Watch out
Both buy-downs have to be chosen when the policy starts; you cannot add them at a later renewal, and each must be kept for 3 continuous policy years. If you raise your Sum Insured later, the 36-month wait starts again on the increased amount. After 60 continuous months of cover, no claim can be contested except on grounds of established fraud.
Care HealthStandardCare Advantage36 months
Standard
An illness you already had when the policy started is not paid for until 36 months of continuous cover are complete. Optional Cover 5 cuts that wait to 24 months for extra premium. After the wait, cover applies only to a condition you declared when you applied and the insurer accepted.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
Standard Waiting Period (Months)36 months
Coverage Condition After Waiting PeriodCovered if Declared at Policy Start
Portability / Migration Credit Reduces Waiting PeriodYes
Waiting period reductionReducible to 24 months - opt-in Policy Start or Renewal, available to Customer
Watch out
A condition you did not declare when you applied is not covered even after 36 months, because cover after the wait applies only to what was declared and accepted. Leaving a known illness off the form can cost you the whole claim.
Aditya BirlaStandardActiv One · VYTL36 months
Standard
Anything you were diagnosed with, or advised treatment for, in the 36 months before the policy starts waits 3 years before it is covered. You can buy that wait down to 2 years or 1 year, but only when you take your first policy with this insurer. Unbroken cover ported from another insurer counts towards the wait.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
Standard Waiting Period (Months)36 months
Coverage Condition After Waiting PeriodCovered if Declared at Policy Start
Portability / Migration Credit Reduces Waiting PeriodYes
Waiting period reductionReducible to 12 months, 24 months - opt-in Policy Start Only, available to Customer
Watch out
Cover after the 3 years applies only to a condition you declared at the time of application and the insurer accepted. A condition you did not declare can stay excluded even after the wait, so a claim for it can be turned down.
Care HealthStandardCare Supreme36 months
Standard
Any illness you already had when you bought the policy is not paid for until 36 months of continuous cover are complete. You can pay extra to cut that wait to 12 or 24 months. A separate optional benefit, Instant Cover, reduces the PED wait altogether for Diabetes, Hypertension, Hyperlipidemia and Asthma to day 31. You can buy one of these two, not both.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
Standard Waiting Period (Months)36 months
Coverage Condition After Waiting PeriodCovered if Declared at Policy Start
Portability / Migration Credit Reduces Waiting PeriodYes
Waiting period reductionReducible to 12 months, 24 months - opt-in Policy Start or Renewal, available to Customer
Watch out
A pre-existing disease must be declared when you apply and accepted by the insurer - after 36 months, cover applies only to what was declared.
Star HealthStandardStar Health Assure36 months
Standard
Conditions you already had before buying are not paid for the first 36 months of continuous cover. On a 3-year policy term the wait is 30 months. After the wait, a pre-existing condition is paid only if you declared it in the proposal and the Company accepted it. Raising your sum insured later starts the wait again on the increase.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
Standard Waiting Period (Months)36 months
Coverage Condition After Waiting PeriodCovered if Declared at Policy Start
Portability / Migration Credit Reduces Waiting PeriodYes
Waiting period reductionNot reducible
Watch out
A pre-existing condition you did not declare is not paid even after the 36 months are over.
HDFC ERGOStandardOptima Secure · Optima-Select36 months
Standard
Conditions you already had are not covered for the first 36 months of continuous cover. The wait can be cut to 24 or 12 months on any plan, but that option is sold at channel level only and only at inception - an individual buyer cannot ask for it.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
Standard Waiting Period (Months)36 months
Coverage Condition After Waiting PeriodCovered if Declared at Policy Start
Portability / Migration Credit Reduces Waiting PeriodYes
Waiting period reductionReducible to 12 months, 24 months - opt-in Policy Start Only, locked in once chosen, available to Channel
Watch out
After 36 months a pre-existing condition is covered only if you declared it when you applied and the insurer accepted it.
Niva BupaStandardReAssure 3.0 · Classic36 months
Standard
A condition you already had is covered only after 36 months of continuous cover, and only if you declared it when you applied and Niva Bupa accepted it. You can buy the wait down to 24 or 12 months, but only when you buy the policy.
Coverage detailstap any row to understand it
Standard Waiting Period (Months)36 months
Coverage Condition After Waiting PeriodCovered if Declared at Policy Start
Portability / Migration Credit Reduces Waiting PeriodYes
Waiting period reductionReducible to 12 months, 24 months - opt-in Policy Start Only, locked in once chosen, available to Customer
Watch out
Serving 36 months is not enough on its own. A condition you did not declare at application is not covered even after the wait ends. A specific condition can also carry a personal waiting period of up to 48 months, set when your policy is issued.
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