LIC Health Shield is a fixed-benefit health plan. In simple words, it pays you a fixed amount of cash when you or your family are in hospital or have surgery, whatever the actual bill is. However, it is not a mediclaim policy. So it works best as an extra layer on top of a regular health insurance policy.
Quick facts about LIC Health Shield Plan
| Item | Details |
| Plan name | LIC’s Health Shield |
| Plan no. / UIN | 907 / 512N369V01 |
| Plan type | Non-Par, Non-Linked, Health, Individual, Pure Risk |
| Launch date | 19 October 2026 |
| Bonus | No |
| Maturity / surrender value | None |
| Where to buy | LIC agents, brokers, corporate agents or online at licindia.in |
List of Topic Covered
Key features
- Premium is guaranteed for the full 15 years. It will not go up with age or medical inflation.
- Pays a fixed daily cash amount and fixed lump sums, regardless of the hospital bill.
- One policy can cover you, your spouse, your children and your parents.
- Cover goes up by 10% after every 3 claim-free years (No Claim Benefit).
- If the main policyholder dies, all future premiums for the family are waived and their cover continues.
- If anyone has a big surgery (Category 1 or 2), the whole family’s premium is waived for one year.
- Optional Term Assurance and Accident Benefit riders.
- Discount for a higher daily benefit, and 10% off if you buy online.
Eligibility of LIC Health Shield Plan
| Condition | Principal Insured (you) | Spouse / Parents | Children |
| Entry age | 18 to 65 years | 18 to 65 years | 90 days to 20 years |
| Cover till age (max) | 80 years | 80 years | 35 years |
| Policy term | 15 years | Remaining term (min 5 years) | Remaining term (min 5 years) |
| Premium paying term | 15 years | Same | Same |
| Daily benefit | ₹2,500 to ₹10,000 | Up to yours | Up to spouse’s |
The Initial Daily Benefit (IDB) is chosen in multiples of ₹500. The total IDB across all your Health Shield policies cannot be more than ₹10,000.
Two rules to note:
- If both parents are eligible, you must cover both or none. All eligible children must also be covered together.
- Family members left out at the start cannot be added later. Only a new spouse (after marriage) or a newborn or adopted child can be added later, within 12 months.
Benefits explained in this plan
Every benefit is a multiple of your Applicable Daily Benefit (ADB). The ADB starts equal to the daily benefit you choose and grows with the No Claim Benefit. The table below uses a ₹5,000 daily benefit.
| Benefit | When it pays | Amount (at ₹5,000 ADB) | Limits |
| Hospital Cash | Stay over 24 hours | ₹5,000 a day; ₹10,000 a day in ICU | 30 days in year 1, then 90 days a year; 900 days lifetime |
Major Surgical Benefit | Any of about 270 listed surgeries | 100%, 60%, 40% or 20% of ₹5 lakh, by surgery category | ₹5 lakh a year (restores once a year); ₹50 lakh lifetime |
Ambulance | With a major surgery | ₹1,000 | Each major surgery |
Day Care Procedure | Listed day-care procedures | ₹25,000 lump sum | 3 a year; 30 lifetime |
Other Surgical Benefit | Surgeries not in the lists, with a 24-hour stay | ₹12,500 a day, on top of Hospital Cash | 15 days in year 1, then 45 a year; 450 lifetime |
Medical Management | Dengue, malaria, pneumonia, pulmonary TB, viral hepatitis A | ₹12,500 lump sum | 2 a year; 20 lifetime |
| Extended Hospitalisation | A single stay over 30 days | ₹50,000 lump sum | Once a year; 10 lifetime |
| Health Check-up | After every 3 years | Actual cost, up to ₹2,500 | Every 3 years |
The Major Surgical Benefit sum assured is 100 times the ADB. Category 1 surgeries (such as heart bypass, CABG) pay 100%. Category 2 pays 60%, Category 3 pays 40% (most joint replacements and angioplasty) and Category 4 pays 20%.
At a network hospital, you can get 50% of the major surgery amount in advance, while still admitted (Quick Cash facility).
No Claim Benefit
If nobody in the policy makes a claim for 3 policy years in a row, every member’s ADB goes up by 10% of their starting daily benefit. There is no upper limit. For example, ₹5,000 becomes ₹5,500 after 3 claim-free years and ₹6,000 after 6.
Death benefit: Auto Health Cover
There is no cash death benefit. But if the original policyholder (Principal Insured) dies, all future premiums for the surviving family members are waived. Their cover continues until the policy ends, with the spouse or eldest adult becoming the new Principal Insured.
Worked example of LIC Health Shield Plan
Let’s understand this plan with the help of an example. Ramesh is 40. He covers himself and his wife Sunita (35) with a ₹5,000 daily benefit. LIC’s sample premiums (offline) are:
| Member | Age | Yearly premium |
| Ramesh (Principal Insured) | 40 | ₹9,446 |
| Sunita (Spouse) | 35 | ₹6,357 |
| Total | ₹15,803 a year, fixed for 15 years |
Case 1: Suppose Ramesh has a heart bypass (CABG) in year 5
He stays 8 days, 3 of them in ICU.
- Major Surgical Benefit: 100% of ₹5 lakh = ₹5,00,000
- Hospital Cash: 3 ICU days x ₹10,000 + 5 ward days x ₹5,000 = ₹55,000
- Ambulance: ₹1,000
- Total cash: ₹5,56,000, plus next year’s premium for both of them is waived.
Case 2: Sunita is admitted for dengue for 4 days.
- Hospital Cash: 4 x ₹5,000 = ₹20,000
- Medical Management Benefit: ₹12,500
- Total cash: ₹32,500
This money comes even if their mediclaim policy has already paid the hospital bill. They can use it for the bills that mediclaim doesn’t pay, lost income or travel.
Sample premiums (yearly, ₹5,000 daily benefit, offline)
| Age at entry | Male (Principal Insured) | Female (Principal Insured) |
| 20 | ₹6,555 | ₹5,556 |
| 30 | ₹7,195 | ₹6,883 |
| 40 | ₹9,446 | ₹9,509 |
| 50 | ₹14,895 | ₹13,209 |
| 60 | ₹22,350 | ₹17,341 |
A newborn child adds about ₹3,161 a year. Buying online cuts the premium by 10%. With a daily benefit of ₹4,000 or more, a further flat rebate applies (for example ₹700 off for the Principal Insured at ₹5,000).
Waiting periods of LIC Health Shield Plan
- General waiting period: 90 days from the start of cover for illness. There is no waiting period for accidents.
- Specific waiting period: 2 years for 23 listed conditions. These include cataract, hernia, piles, fistula, gall stones, kidney stones, slip disc, varicose veins, tonsils, sinus, benign uterine and prostate problems, knee or joint replacement (not from an accident), and chronic kidney failure.
- Pre-existing diseases (diagnosed or treated in the 36 months before cover) are not covered unless you disclose them and LIC accepts them.
Main exclusions
- Pregnancy, childbirth and C-section (ectopic pregnancy is covered)
- Pre- and post-hospitalisation expenses and OPD treatment
- Stays under 24 hours (except listed day-care procedures, dialysis and radiotherapy)
- Cosmetic surgery, dental treatment (unless from an accident), infertility, obesity treatment
- Treatment outside India
- AYUSH treatment, unless in a government or government-recognised hospital with a 24-hour stay
- Alcohol or drug abuse, self-injury, war, hazardous sports
Other policy conditions
| Conditions | Details |
| Premium payment | Yearly or half-yearly |
| Grace period | 30 days |
| Revival | Within 5 years of the first unpaid premium; waiting periods restart (45 or 90 days) |
| Surrender, loan, paid-up value | Not available |
| Free look | 30 days |
| Riders | Term Assurance and Accident Benefit, each up to the Major Surgical sum assured; total rider premium max 30% of base premium |
| Tax | Health insurance premiums usually qualify under Section 80D (old tax regime). Check with your tax advisor. |
LIC Health Shield vs other health plans in the market
Health Shield competes with two kinds of products: regular mediclaim (indemnity) plans and hospital daily cash plans. Life insurers like LIC are allowed to sell only fixed-benefit health plans, not bill-paying mediclaim, so it cannot replace one.
| Feature | LIC Health Shield | Regular mediclaim (Star Health, Niva Bupa, HDFC ERGO, Care, ICICI Lombard etc.) | Hospital daily cash plans / add-ons |
| What it pays | Fixed cash per day or per surgery | Actual hospital bill, up to the sum insured | Fixed cash per day |
Cashless at hospital | No (50% advance for big surgeries at network hospitals) | Yes | Usually no |
| Pre/post hospitalisation, room rent, medicines | Not covered | Covered | Not covered |
| Premium | Guaranteed for 15 years | Rises with age and with insurer price revisions | Usually renewed yearly at current rates |
Cover period | Fixed 15 years | Lifelong renewal | Yearly renewal |
Pays even if another policy paid the bill | Yes | Only one bill can be claimed | Yes |
Family on one policy | Self, spouse, children, parents | Usually floater for the family | Varies |
Premium waiver if main earner dies | Yes, for whole family | Rarely | Rarely |
LIC’s older fixed-benefit plans, Jeevan Arogya (₹1,000 to ₹4,000 daily) and Arogya Rakshak, have been withdrawn. Health Shield replaces that gap with a higher daily benefit range.
Pros and cons of LIC Health Shield Plan
| Pros | Cons |
| Premium fixed for 15 years | Cover ends after 15 years; buying again later means new waiting periods at an older age |
Cash paid regardless of bill, even on top of mediclaim | Fixed cash may fall short of a big hospital bill |
Whole family on one policy | No cashless claims, no pre/post hospitalisation, no maternity |
Premium waiver for family if main earner dies | Pre-existing diseases excluded unless accepted |
Big-surgery payouts with restoration and a 1-year premium waiver | Every member must stay over 24 hours for hospital cash |
No Claim Benefit adds 10% every 3 claim-free years | No refund, surrender value or maturity benefit |
LIC’s claim network and trust | Family members left out at the start can’t be added later |
Who should take this plan
- People who already have mediclaim (personal or from an employer) and want extra cash for costs it doesn’t pay: deductions, room rent caps, travel, an attendant’s stay.
- Self-employed people and small business owners, who lose income while in hospital.
- Single-earner families, because the family’s premiums are waived if the main earner dies.
- Families who use government or Ayushman Bharat hospitals, where the bill is small but other costs are real.
- People aged 30 to 50 who want a premium that won’t rise for 15 years.
Who should skip it
- Anyone without a health insurance policy should buy the regular health insurance first.
- Anyone looking for savings or a return. This plan pays nothing back if you don’t claim.
- People with ongoing illnesses that LIC may not accept.
Verdict
Health Shield is a good add-on, not a replacement for mediclaim. The guaranteed premium, family cover and premium waiver on the main earner’s death are real strengths. The 15-year limit and fixed payouts are its weak points. A sensible combination is a ₹10 lakh+ mediclaim plan plus Health Shield at a ₹3,000 to ₹5,000 daily benefit.
Disclaimer: This review is based on LIC’s sales brochure (UIN 512N369V01). It is for information only, not financial advice. Read the policy document before buying.