Page 15 - Insurance Times February 2021

up to Rs. 25,000 for premium paid to- driven by fear. As time went by, the pendency on digital technologies such
wards health insurance of their par- fear diminished. People bought covers as Chatbots, AI-based voice assistants,
ents. In case parents are senior citi- that were entry-level products and not and robust phone apps that provide
zens, the tax deduction that can be comprehensive health insurance essential information at the customers'
claimed is up to Rs. 50,000. products," said Bhabatosh Mishra, disposal.
director - claims, underwriting, and More than anything, the entire indus-
Growth in health insurance product, Max Bupa Health Insurance. try is heading towards a more user-
segment slows down as Strong winds of change set centric approach, and this is the ap-
fear of Covid-19 reduces to sweep health insurance proach that is likely to be the greatest
strength of the industry in the years to
The growth in the health insurance come, feel experts.
segment of non-life insurers appears to sector
be slowing as the fear of Covid subsides. Marked by innovation and digital push, In the last eight months, Covid had
considerably changed lives globally;
"The initial euphoria for health 2021 will witness major winds of and in India, this not only includes the
products during the Covid period is change in health cover, according to behaviour but also the business.
dying down now because that was industry experts. There has been an increase in the
knee-jerk reaction to buy insurance "The new trends seen last year will demand for health insurance by
immediately looking at the hospital continue with new types of coverage consumers as they have become more
cost for Covid," said Gurdeep Singh such as the launch of more single health-conscious. The increase in
Batra, head - retail underwriting, Bajaj disease products like 'Covid-19 Benefit demand has been fuelled to a
Allianz General Insurance. Policy' or single disease critical illness significant extent by the younger

Within health insurance, it was the etc," Rakesh Jain, ED and CEO, generation, say industry sources.
retail segment that recorded Reliance General Insurance, told. There has been a promising 30-40 per
impressive growth. In the April- Apart from health due to the increas- cent uptake in health insurance
November period of financial year ing number of catastrophic events, adoption across industry players.
2020-21 (FY21), general insurers parametric cat policies (which pay at
recorded a 20 per cent growth in retail the occurrence of a triggering event However, there is still significant
over the past year, and standalone rather than having to claim a specific untapped potential. Citing a recent
health insurers saw 44.25 per cent insured property loss) may also find survey, Bathwal says insurance
growth, with the industry growing application for future viral outbreaks. penetration in the country was 3.78 per
over 30 per cent. "The health insurance sector looks set cent in FY20, which is low compared to
However, the government health and for a full-scale makeover, which is a the global average of 7.23 per cent. Of
foreign medical portfolios have seen good sign, and one can be optimistic this, the non-life segment only amounts
massive contraction. As a result, the about the industry's growth in the next to 0.97 per cent.
health segment of the general few years due to these In this entire transformation, IRDAI
insurance industry has grown just 13 developments," he added. has also played a pivotal role in
per cent, with general insurers seeing The Covid-19 outbreak and the standardising the exclusion of health
eight per cent growth and standalone requirements it generated can make insurance policy to eradicate the
insurers 28 per cent growth. the pandemic a game-changer for the confusion among insured in different
"Despite Covid, we have not seen industry, going forward. "Post Covid- policies.
adequate growth in the health 19, I see excellent opportunities The basic standard health cover
insurance segment. This could possibly through service offerings such as e- product, Aarogya Sanjeevani, has
be because many people lost their pharmacy and telemedicine making made a mark in 2020. The standard
employment, hence, they may not way in 2021," said Mayank Bathwal, health cover policy has been offered by
have enough income sources to pay CEO, Aditya Birla Health Insurance. general and health insurers for a sum
insurance premiums," said MN Sarma, According to him, there will also be a between Rs. 1 and Rs. 5 lakh from April
secretary general, General Insurance paradigm shift in the functioning of the 2020. Going forward, Arogya
Council. health insurance industry in the days to Sanjeevani can provide a further boost
"There was a substantial growth in the come. When it comes to servicing to the health insurance portfolio.
segment at the onset of Covid, largely customers, one can expect more de-
The Insurance Times, February 2021