Deductible
✓ Last verified 14 Sep 2026
The short version
A deductible is a fixed amount you pay out of pocket before the insurance coverage kicks in on a claim - distinct from co-pay, which is a percentage applied to the whole claim rather than a flat threshold amount.
If a policy has a ₹10,000 deductible, you pay the first ₹10,000 of any claim yourself, and the insurer covers eligible costs above that threshold. This differs from co-pay (see our co-payment glossary entry), which takes a percentage of the entire claim regardless of size - a deductible's impact is proportionally larger on small claims and smaller on large ones, the opposite pattern from a percentage-based co-pay.
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