A family member needs to be admitted to a hospital. At the insurance desk, the family is told that the hospital does not offer cashless treatment with their insurer. They may have to pay the bill first and then apply for reimbursement, subject to the policy terms.
We have explained what to do when a network hospital refuses cashless treatment. But checking hospital access before buying a policy can help avoid surprises later.
The IRDAI Annual Report for 2024–25 reported that about 58% of health insurance claims by number were settled through cashless mode. This makes it useful to check the hospitals available under a policy before paying the premium. We have also discussed how health insurance claims work in our article on whether health insurance really works.
Before choosing a policy, consider these steps:
- Identify two or three hospitals your family could reach easily, including during an emergency.
- Check whether those hospitals appear in the insurer’s network list for the specific policy.
- Contact each hospital’s insurance desk to confirm the current cashless arrangement.
- Check the exact hospital branch or address. A tie-up at one branch does not automatically confirm a tie-up at every branch.
Insurers publish their own all-India network figures, while their hospital lists may be difficult to compare city by city. HappyInsurance provides a city-level view of hospital listings across multiple insurers. The following figures cover Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai and Trichy.
How many cashless hospitals does each insurer list?
The table compares the all-India figures published by insurers with the city-level counts shown on HappyInsurance’s public pages. If you already have a policy, start with your insurer’s row and check the hospitals in the city where you live or expect to receive treatment. The HappyInsurance Chennai page, for example, allows users to filter hospital listings by insurer and locality.
| Insurer | Insurer-published all-India figure | Chennai | Coimbatore | Madurai | Trichy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aditya Birla Health | 16,500+ | 418 | 101 | 114 | 55 |
| Bajaj General | 18,400+ | 321 | 73 | 80 | 45 |
| Care Health | 11,400+ | 295 | 62 | 78 | 35 |
| Galaxy Health | 10,600 | 444 | 121 | 149 | 80 |
| HDFC ERGO | 16,000+ | 445 | 98 | 96 | 60 |
| ICICI Lombard | 14,000+ | 277 | 86 | 91 | 53 |
| ManipalCigna | 21,500+* | 437 | 112 | 116 | 64 |
| Niva Bupa | 10,000+ | 367 | 77 | 94 | 41 |
| SBI General | 18,000+ | 425 | 100 | 100 | 63 |
| Star Health | 16,000+ | 442 | 144 | 120 | 85 |
| Tata AIG | 15,000+ | 308 | 92 | 105 | 54 |
Insurers are listed alphabetically. A higher hospital count does not mean that an insurer or policy is better. All-India figures are reproduced from information published by the respective insurers. City-level figures are counts from HappyInsurance’s hospital listings and include nearby localities. *The ManipalCigna figure was counted by HappyInsurance from ManipalCigna’s network list. The figures may use different counting methods and should not be treated as a like-for-like comparison of network size.
Does a bigger all-India network mean more hospitals in your city?
Not necessarily. An insurer may publish a larger all-India network figure but have fewer hospitals listed in a particular city than another insurer.
For example, Bajaj General publishes an all-India figure of 18,400+ and has 321 hospitals listed in Chennai and 45 in Trichy in the HappyInsurance data. Galaxy Health publishes 10,600 and has 444 hospitals listed in Chennai and 80 in Trichy.
The all-India figures come from the insurers, while the city counts come from HappyInsurance’s listings. The figures are drawn from different sources and may follow different counting methods. For a family choosing a policy for treatment in one city, the hospitals available near home may be more immediately useful than the all-India total.
Does one insurer have the longest list in every city?
No. The insurer with the highest count changes by city:
- Chennai: HDFC ERGO has the highest count in this comparison, with 445 hospitals.
- Coimbatore: Star Health has the highest count, with 144 hospitals.
- Madurai: Galaxy Health has the highest count, with 149 hospitals.
- Trichy: Star Health has the highest count, with 85 hospitals.
If family members live in different cities, check the hospital network in each city where they may need treatment. A policy that has a suitable network in Chennai may have a different level of hospital access in Trichy.
How much of HappyInsurance’s listed hospital database does each insurer cover?
The next table compares each city’s hospital database on HappyInsurance with the number of hospitals listed for at least one insurer. It also shows the share represented by the longest and shortest insurer lists in the comparison.
| City | Hospitals in HappyInsurance’s city database | Listed with at least one insurer | Not listed with the insurers compared | Longest insurer list as a share of listed-with-at-least-one total | Shortest insurer list as a share of listed-with-at-least-one total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chennai | 1,051 | 763 | 288 | 58% | 36% |
| Coimbatore | 281 | 202 | 79 | 71% | 31% |
| Madurai | 248 | 199 | 49 | 75% | 39% |
| Trichy | 183 | 133 | 50 | 64% | 26% |
The percentages compare the longest and shortest insurer counts with the number of hospitals shown as listed with at least one insurer in HappyInsurance’s city database. They describe this database only; they do not measure the share of every hospital in the city.
In this dataset, not every hospital in the city database appears in the lists of the insurers included in the comparison. The difference ranges from 49 entries in Madurai to 288 in Chennai. A hospital not appearing in these insurer lists may not offer cashless treatment with the insurers compared. Contact the insurer and hospital to confirm the current position before admission.
Do similar hospital counts mean the insurers have the same hospitals?
No. Two insurers can have almost the same number of hospitals in a city but different hospitals in their networks.
In the Chennai data dated 29 October 2026, HDFC ERGO had 445 hospitals and Galaxy Health had 444. HappyInsurance’s comparison showed about 320 hospitals appearing on both lists. This means that a similar total does not necessarily mean the networks contain the same hospitals.
For this reason, checking the exact hospitals your family may use is more useful than comparing totals alone.
What else do the city listings show?
| City | Hospitals with 24-hour emergency recorded | Hospitals with maternity care recorded | Hospitals appearing on a government scheme list | Added to insurers’ lists in October 2026 | Removed from insurers’ lists in October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chennai | 106 | 175 | 222 | 18 | 0 |
| Coimbatore | 24 | 60 | 94 | 3 | 0 |
| Madurai | 28 | 45 | 88 | 6 | 0 |
| Trichy | 19 | 23 | 66 | 1 | 0 |
These are counts of records on HappyInsurance’s city pages. Emergency and maternity services are shown as recorded in its database; a missing entry does not prove that a hospital does not provide that service. Government-scheme figures reflect the scheme lists included in the database. Added and removed figures refer to changes recorded in October 2026.
Emergency care: Around one in ten hospital records in each city’s database has 24-hour emergency care recorded. If emergency access is important, contact the hospital to confirm its current emergency services and the insurer’s cashless arrangement.
Maternity: The database records maternity care at 175 hospitals in Chennai and 23 in Trichy. If you are planning a delivery, check the policy’s maternity cover, applicable waiting period, exclusions and limits. Also confirm the hospital’s current cashless arrangement.
Government schemes: Some hospitals in the database also appear on government health scheme lists. For example, 222 Chennai hospital records appear on a government scheme list. If you have a government scheme card as well as a private health insurance policy, check the hospital against the relevant scheme and insurer lists separately. Scheme empanelment does not automatically mean that a private insurer offers cashless treatment there.
Locality: Hospital access can vary within a city. HappyInsurance’s Chennai page lists 49 hospitals in Anna Nagar and four in Besant Nagar. It also lists 19 Vasan Eye Care addresses and six Apollo Hospitals addresses. These are location-level entries in the database. Check the exact branch rather than assuming that every branch of a hospital chain has the same insurer tie-ups.
What information does HappyInsurance provide?
HappyInsurance offers a city-level hospital search that brings together listings across multiple insurers. Its public pages allow users to:
- View the insurers shown against a hospital listing.
- Search for hospitals by city and locality.
- Identify hospitals that do not appear to have a tie-up with the insurers included in the database.
- Check the update date displayed for an insurer’s hospital list.
The platform provides hospital-network information; it does not establish which health insurance policy is best for a particular family. A suitable policy also depends on coverage, waiting periods, exclusions, co-payments, room-rent limits, premium affordability and other policy conditions.
What should you verify before relying on a hospital list?
A hospital appearing in a network list does not guarantee cashless approval for every admission. The insurer or its third-party administrator (TPA) assesses each cashless request based on the policy terms, medical details and applicable procedures. Hospital networks can also change.
Before a planned admission, contact both the insurer and the hospital’s insurance desk to confirm the current cashless arrangement. Ask whether the exact branch is covered and whether any policy-specific conditions apply.
HappyInsurance is an insurance broker and earns brokerage from insurers when policies are purchased through it. It offers assistance with understanding and purchasing health insurance policies. The broker says it can follow up on claims with the insurer or TPA for customers who purchase through it. The assistance available may differ for people who purchased their policy elsewhere. Ask the broker to explain the scope of its service before relying on it.
Even when treatment is approved on a cashless basis, the policyholder may have to pay co-payments, non-payable items, expenses above room-rent limits and other costs not covered by the policy.
Frequently asked questions
1. How can we check whether a hospital offers cashless treatment with our insurer?
Check the insurer’s current hospital network list and contact the hospital’s insurance desk. Share the relevant policy details and ask whether the exact branch currently offers cashless treatment under that policy. Confirm again before a planned admission because network arrangements can change.
2. What can we do if our hospital is not on the insurer’s network list?
Ask the insurer whether the Cashless Everywhere facility may apply. Under the industry guidance, the insurer should be informed at least 48 hours before a planned admission or within 48 hours of an emergency admission. The hospital must agree to the arrangement, and the insurer or TPA must approve the request. Approval is not automatic. If cashless treatment is not approved, you may have to pay first and seek reimbursement under the policy terms.
3. Does cashless treatment mean we do not have to pay anything?
No. Cashless treatment does not mean every expense is covered. You may still have to pay co-payments, non-medical items, expenses above policy limits and other amounts that the policy does not cover.
4. Can we use a health insurance policy bought in Trichy at a hospital in Chennai?
Many health insurance policies in India provide coverage across the country, subject to the policy terms. However, some plans may have zone-based pricing or co-payment conditions for treatment in certain locations. Check the policy wording and confirm the hospital’s cashless arrangement before a planned admission.
5. Should we choose the insurer with the largest hospital network?
Not on that factor alone. Check whether the hospitals your family is likely to use are available under the policy. Then compare the policy’s coverage, waiting periods, exclusions, co-payments, room-rent limits, renewal conditions and premium.
A large hospital-network number may look impressive, but the hospitals your family can actually reach and use are what matter. Check the exact hospital, branch and policy conditions before making a decision.
Data and methodology note: All-India network figures were captured in October 2026 from information published by the respective insurers. City-level figures are from HappyInsurance’s public pages as viewed on 5 November 2026; the insurer lists were last checked on 26 October 2026. City figures include nearby localities. The ManipalCigna all-India figure was counted by HappyInsurance from ManipalCigna’s network list. The city-level totals and overlap figures are based on HappyInsurance’s database and matching of its hospital records. Insurers may use different definitions and counting methods, and the data may not represent every hospital in a city. Hospital listings and tie-ups can change. Readers should verify the current status with the insurer and hospital before admission.
Source: HappyInsurance is a brand of Policy Checker Insurance Brokers Pvt Ltd · IRDAI Direct Broker (Life & General) · Licence No. 1105.
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