The trend is especially pronounced among younger women, with 64% of such policies being issued to women aged 26–35 years. This points to a growing tendency among women to plan for maternity and other women-specific healthcare needs earlier in life.
Claims data offers further insight into what is driving this demand. Among IPD claims filed under women-specific categories, pregnancy and childbirth account for the largest share at 43.7%, followed by breast cancer at 31.1% and reproductive health at 22.4%. Breast disorders and benign breast tumours make up smaller shares, at 2.5% and 0.3% respectively.
Insurers have responded with a widening range of products built around these needs. There are currently four maternity-focused health plans available on the platform, while ElevateHer, launched around three weeks ago, is focused exclusively on women’s healthcare. Tata AIG, meanwhile, offers women-focused riders as an add-on to its existing policies.
Among the standalone maternity plans, ABHI’s ActivOne Maternity offers a fixed maternity benefit of ₹50,000, with the shortest waiting period of three months, though it is available strictly for a three-year tenure and reimbursement is limited to maternity expenses. A three-year plan is priced at a total premium of ₹72,536.
Star Health’s Woman Care plan offers a maternity cover ranging between ₹25,000 and ₹1 lakh depending on the sum insured, with waiting periods of one to two years. The plan also covers newborn babies from Day 1, with limits of ₹2.5 lakh or ₹3.75 lakh depending on the sum insured, and IVF treatment after three years for the first child. A one-year plan is priced at ₹14,501.
Care Health’s Ultimate Joy – Bronze plan ties maternity cover to 1–5% of the base sum insured and offers optional riders for surrogacy, adoption and IVF, with a one-year waiting period. Its one-year premium stands at ₹14,303.IndusInd/Niva’s Health Gain 3.0 is not a standalone maternity plan but offers a Mother and Child Care rider covering normal and caesarean deliveries, prenatal and postnatal treatment, and newborn care, with selectable waiting periods of 0, 1 or 2 years. The rider premium is ₹15,675 for ₹2 lakh coverage and ₹7,838 for ₹1 lakh coverage, while the base one-year plan premium is ₹21,419.
Across these plans, features such as restoration of cover, cumulative bonus and cashless facility vary significantly, with most offering zero co-payment on maternity claims. Pre-existing illness waiting periods range between two and three years across insurers, while pre- and post-hospitalisation cover periods also differ by plan.