You claimed ₹8L and exhausted your SI. Bad luck strikes again that year. Can you claim again?
If your policy has restoration: YES. If not: you're paying the second bill yourself.
Meet Vikram. 38, Mumbai, IT professional. Has a ₹10L policy. January 2026: cardiac surgery, ₹7L — his ₹10L SI is exhausted.
June 2026: cancer diagnosis. Treatment needed: ₹12L.
Without restoration: ₹0 coverage left. Out-of-pocket: ₹12L.
With restoration: SI restored to ₹10L, claimable again. Out-of-pocket: ₹2L. Much better.
What Restoration Is
Restoration means your sum insured gets replenished after you exhaust it — typically once per policy year.
Cost: usually free (built into the premium) or ₹500-1,000 extra per year.
Limitations
- Typically only once per year
- Not always automatic — check your policy
- Some policies restore only for unrelated diseases
- Some have a waiting period before restoration activates
Compare Insurers
ICICI: unlimited restoration. Can restore multiple times per year, no limit. The best on this feature.
HDFC: twice per year. Better than most.
Apollo: limited, premium-based. Restoration is available but costs extra — check whether it's worth it for you.
Vikram's policy had restoration. It saved him ₹10L. Without it, he'd be bankrupt.
Generic advice ends here. Restoration is a single clause that decides whether a second bad diagnosis ruins you — check whether YOUR policy has it, and on what terms.