🚀 Fincover® App is Now Live!
Join 10 Million+ users on web – now available on mobile!
Last updated on: September 22, 2025
The Star Comprehensive Plan and the Star Comprehensive Plan with PED Buyback Rider are both robust health insurance options from Star Health Insurance, but they differ in their approach to covering pre-existing diseases (PEDs). The standard Star Comprehensive Plan offers comprehensive coverage, including hospitalisation, maternity, and other benefits, with a default waiting period of 36 months for pre-existing diseases. In contrast, the PED Buyback Rider allows policyholders to reduce the waiting period for PED coverage, sometimes to as little as one year, by paying an additional premium. This rider is especially beneficial for individuals with existing health conditions who want faster access to full coverage. Choosing between these options depends on your health profile and willingness to pay a slightly higher premium for expedited PED benefits, making the rider-enhanced option ideal for those prioritizing immediate comprehensive protection.
Author
Read Bio
Reviewed by
Read Bio
Any person purchasing health insurance in India in 2025 is likely to be aware of Star Health. The two of its most popular products, the Star Comprehensive Plan and the Star Comprehensive Plan with PED Buyback Rider, leave a lot of consumers puzzled. They are both complete health covers with additional benefits that cover pre-existing diseases (PEDs) on the PED Buyback Rider. Knowing what these differences are can enable you to make an informed decision and be confident in your decision concerning the health cover of your family.
This critical comparison of both these plans includes the main aspects of these plans, comparison of main facts, premiums, waiting period, exclusions, advantages, disadvantages, claims, and suitability. At the conclusion, you will be able to understand which plan is more suitable to you and what is happening to the health insurance formula in 2025 with PED Buyback Rider.
Star comprehensive health insurance plan is a flagship policy of a health cover in individuals and family cover. It caters to hospitalisation payments, pre and post hospitalisation, domiciliary care, alternative treatment, maternity, new-borns, out-patient payments, and others.
In the year 2025, Indians desire a full-time financial protection even more because of the medical inflation and lifestyle risks. The Star Comprehensive plan will help fill such a need of a cashless, holistic coverage.
The PED Buyback Rider is a plan enhancement to Star Comprehensive Plan. PED is an acronym of Pre-existing Disease. The health plans typically require four years until they will cover any PEDs. This may lead to suffering among diabetics, hypertensive, heart disease, and thyroid.
When PED Buyback Rider is used, the waiting time is drastically shortened- it could be as little as one year. It translates to 12 months on which you can claim pre existing health problems.
Did you know?
Star Health became one of the first in India to have the buyback rider option to pre-existing conditions-making them available to lakhs of policyholders on a faster basis.
Yes, in case you have any prior-existing health conditions at the time of buying the policy. It assists in initiating coverage of such conditions way earlier and eliminates financial pressure caused by medical expenses by a substantial margin.
The difference in waiting period of the PEDs besides a few peripheral advantages in operations, is the additional expense to the rider. The Star Comprehensive Plan basic plan includes it all though the claim to pre-existing conditions is not provided until you purchase the PED Buyback Rider.
| Characteristic | Star Comprehensive | With PED Buyback Rider |
|---|---|---|
| Covers Hospitalisation | Yes | Yes |
| Maternity cover & new-born | Yes (after waiting) | Yes (after waiting) |
| PED waiting period | 3 or 4 years | 1 year |
| OPD benefit | Yes (as per limit) | Yes (as per limit) |
| AYUSH & modern care | Yes | Yes |
| Annual premium (at 5 lakh SI)** | Rs 11,000 -27,000 | Rs 13,500 -30,500 |
| Lifetime renewal | Yes | Yes |
Indicative, age, area, amount insured, health.
Professional Advice:
The base Plan is affordable to the majority of the healthy policyholders. However, diabetics, BP, and similar will save much more when they include Buyback Rider even with a hypothetical 20 percent increase in premiums.
Both plans include:
Did You Know?
Over 68 percent of claims in the Tier 1 cities in 2025 involved in the private hospital are associated with diabetes, hypertension, or a complication due to pre-existing conditions.
Anybody with a pre-existing disease may opt either upon new policy or renewal. It can be taken by patients of diabetes, hypertension, asthma, thyroid, or other chronic issues. There should be an entry/renewal when the rider is declared.
Cons
Cons
Mr Rajeev, 43 years, has Type 2 Diabetes diagnosed in 2022, and Star Comprehensive Plan is selected in 2025. In case he chooses the base plan only, he will wait 4 years to incur medical costs on his diabetes. He covers his hospital bills having diabetes within the first 12 months by taking the Buyback Rider. The reality is the extra rider premium cost is 21 percent in his profile but the peace of mind is priceless.
Professional Analysis:
There is no difference in claim procedure of both plans. The PED waiting calculation is the only thing that is different and therefore make sure that at the point of proposing, your PED is stated honestly to be settled easily.
The age-banding-increasing medical costs or regulator review can cause a premium to rise with time. Age also contributes to increasing the amount of the premiums to be paid to the riders, although the general structure of the premium remains predictable according to the norms at Star Health.
| Factor | Star Comprehensive Plan | Star Comprehensive + PED Buyback Rider |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-existing diseases Cover | After 3-4 years | After 1 year |
| Base Premium (30 year old, 5 lakh SI) | Rs 13,000 or so | Rs 15,700 or so |
| Minimum amount of sum insured | 5 lakh to 1 crore | 5 lakh to 1 crore |
| Cashless hospitals | 14000+ | 14000+ |
| Maternity cover | After waiting period | After waiting period |
| Renewal age | Lifetime | Lifetime |
| PED statements | Binding in case of choice of a rider | Binding at entry |
| PED Health checkup required | No (in case of No PED) | Yes (in case of PED) |
| Rider cost hike | NA | 15-25 percent of base premium |
Select Go for Star Comprehensive Base Plan where:
Purchase Go for Star Comprehensive with PED Buyback when:
Did you know?
Over 38 percent of Star Comprehensive customers in 2025 are opting to use Buyback Rider because of increased lifestyle-related diseases in the urban Indian environment.
Ms Anita, a 52 years old woman living in Mumbai, bought the Star Comprehensive with PED Buyback in 2023 because of her asthma and was admitted to hospital due to a severe attack last year. It was a cashless claim that was cleared in under 5 days her claim- according to her the buyback feature was paid off in a single hospital visit.
With no pre-existing diseases, the Star Comprehensive Plan is cost-effective on its own and comprehensive. To get your chronic illness taken care of sooner, pay a little more in the form of the PED Buyback Rider to buy the 1 year waiting -worth it to most Indian families in 2025.
Is PED Buyback Rider to be taken in 2025?
No, PED Buyback Rider is optional- you can buy it whenever you require it according to the condition of health.
Does the rider include all kinds of pre- existing diseases?
It encompasses the diseases that are announced and approved on a proposal stage. This normally implies chronic lifestyle illness.
Is it possible to drop the Buyback Rider next year?
Yes, when you drop the rider upon renewal, PED cover waiting will restart in accordance with base policy timelines.
Does the Star Comprehensive Plan work enough with the majority of Indians?
Yes the plan is one of the most exhaustive plans in the segment and works very well in healthy individuals and families.
What is the calculation of PED waiting period with the rider?
Upon policy inception or the addition of a rider, the already proposed conditions drop to one year PED cover waiting.
How could we improve this article?
Written by Prem Anand, a content writer with over 10+ years of experience in the Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance sectors.
Prem Anand is a seasoned content writer with over 10+ years of experience in the Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance sectors. He has a strong command of industry-specific language and compliance regulations. He specializes in writing insightful blog posts, detailed articles, and content that educates and engages the Indian audience.
The content is prepared by thoroughly researching multiple trustworthy sources such as official websites, financial portals, customer reviews, policy documents and IRDAI guidelines. The goal is to bring accurate and reader-friendly insights.
This content is created to help readers make informed decisions. It aims to simplify complex insurance and finance topics so that you can understand your options clearly and take the right steps with confidence. Every article is written keeping transparency, clarity, and trust in mind.
Based on Google's Helpful Content System, this article emphasizes user value, transparency, and accuracy. It incorporates principles of E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness).
Loved by 1M+ users (web). Start your financial journey today!
