| NE BUSINESS BUREAU
AHMEDABAD, NOV 9 The COVID-19 pandemic has brought health insurance to the fore and made people realize that having adequate health insurance cover is an essential part of financial planning, experts said at a webinar on Saturday.  Health insurance, COVID-19 treatment costs, super top-up health insurance, and trends in corporate health insurance were the focus areas of the virtual session hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Gujarat. Hitesh Birani, Executive Vice-President at HDFC Ergo General Insurance, said that prior to COVID-19 health insurance was seen as a discretionary expenditure. “Health insurance was seen as a push product by most people. Now, it has become a pull product as there is greater awareness about the need to have health insurance,” he said. Birani advised that customers should opt for super top-up covers offered by insurance companies as they allow policyholders to significantly enhance their existing health cover at a highly affordable premium. Prabhat Vijh, Director and Principal Officer at Ahmedabad-based iAND Insurance Broker, said that medical inflation is rising at a much higher pace than general inflation, and having a health insurance policy is a must. “A single hospitalization can wipe off the entire life savings of a family. Moreover, life expectancy is going up. Lifestyle diseases are becoming widespread. I believe that health insurance should be the fourth most important thing after roti, kapda, and makaan (food, clothing, and shelter),” Vijh said. Quoting health ministry figures, Vijh also said that insurance companies have received health insurance claims of Rs 8,000 crore, of which claims worth Rs. 3,500 crore have been settled as of November 3. In his introductory remarks, CII Gujarat Vice-Chairman Vinod Agrawal said that healthcare spending in India is just 4.2% of the GDP, which is the lowest among BRICS nations. “Health and life insurance are very important parts of financial planning. The COVID-19 pandemic has boosted awareness about insurance. Still, the per capita spending on health insurance in India is only Rs 342. Around 90-92 crore people are covered by PMJAY, ESIC, and other government schemes, and by insurance companies, while 40 crore people are under-covered or not covered at all. There is an urgent need for sustainable healthcare insurance,” Agrawal said. In his comments, Ramesh Balasubramanian, Director at Apollo CBCC Cancer Care, said that the pandemic has resulted in a whole shift towards health insurance. “It has made everyone realize that having health insurance is essential. A high cover is required as in many cases, existing insurance cover is not adequate to meet costs,” he said. Dr Charan Kumar, AGM at Family Health Plan Insurance TPA Limited, said the insurance industry responded very positively and quickly to the pandemic and launched policies providing Covid-19 cover. The experts also addressed various queries posed by the participants. |
