Page 20 - Insurance Times September 2020

cover of Rs. 50 lakh to healthcare pro- lation. These policies are not huge rev- that Aditya Birla Health Insurance Co.
viders, including community health enue churners for insurers, but they Ltd, Star Health and Allied Insurance
workers, who may have to be in direct will help companies in reaching out to Co. Ltd, Max Bupa Health Insurance
contact and care of Covid-19 patients customers so they can cross-sell regu- Co. Ltd and ManipalCigna Health Insur-
and therefore at risk of being infected. lar health policies once the covid-19- ance Co. Ltd posted significant growth
It also includes accidental loss of life on specific policies lapse," said Naval Goel, in premium.
account of contracting Covid-19. Even founder and CEO of PolicyX, an online
"Health insurance is a living benefit
those working for private hospitals and insurance aggregator. product and there is a shift happening
those hired temporarily by various lo-
In his inaugural address at the confer- in the mindset of consumers. In the
cal urban bodies as well as State and ence, Khuntia also said that the regu- hierarchy of needs, health claimed pri-
Union Territories are eligible for the lator is working with the industry on mary position. People have started
scheme.
developing a standard term insurance proactively looking to increase their
policy. Until now, the regulator had coverage, and renewal has improved
6 million covered under mandated two standard policies- with increasing upsell trend. Covid-19
covid policies Arogya Sanjeevani and Corona Kavach specific products are also picking up
policy. momentum, and overall outlook
Insurers in the country have covered seems very positive," Prasun Sikdar,
around 60 lakh lives under the two Corona Rakshak too is a standard prod- managing director and CEO,
covid-19-specific policies, Corona uct but insurers are not mandated to ManipalCigna Health Insurance, said.
Kavach and Corona Rakshak, Subhash offer this. Standard policies have the
Chandra Khuntia, chairman of the In- same features and structure but the Amit Chhabra, head, health insurance,
surance Regulatory and Development pricing is left to the insurers' discretion. Policybazaar, said covid-specific health
Authority of India (Irdai) said. "Currently, even in term plans, insur- covers like Corona Kavach and Corona
Rakshak contributed significantly as
He was addressing the 22nd Insurance ers are adding a lot of features, so in most insurers sold fair volumes of these
and Pensions Summit organized by the many cases, it is not a plain vanilla products.
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). product anymore. The various riders
can make it complex for policyholders "We started getting early indicators of
Corona Kavach is a standard indemnity
to understand the product which is why health insurance-related queries at the
policy offered by all general and health I think there is a case for the life insur- start of the covid-19. Consumers have
insurance companies, while Corona
ance industry to come up with a stan- started considering health insurance
Rakshak is a fixed-benefit policy, which
dard term insurance policy," said Goel. more than before and that has given
pays 100% of the sum assured on posi- a jump to the health business," said
tive diagnosis for covid-19.
Health insurers see slow Animesh Das, head, product strategy,
Since their inception, insurers have Acko General Insurance.
sold around 28 lakh Corona Kavach growth in Aug as collec-
Experts said the claim size for covid-19
policies with a total sum insured of Rs. tions drop covers is declining and the choice of
1.02 lakh crore and 32 lakh Rakshak
Standalone health insurance compa- home treatment in less severe cases
policies with a total sum assured of Rs.
nies recorded 25.85% growth in pre- may have slowed down demand in
1.1 lakh crore.
mium between March and August, August. Insurers sold over 1.5 million
While Kavach has a cap of Rs. 5 lakh showed Insurance Regulatory and De- Kavach policies, but growth is expected
on the sum insured, Rakshak has a cap velopment Authority of India data, as to gradually fall, as a section of the
of Rs. 2.5 lakh. Both these policies the pandemic led more people to take population who could afford health in-
were launched on 10 July 2020. health cover. Premium collection, how- surance, may have already purchased

"Kavach and Rakshak are both small- ever, dropped 7.05% from Rs. 1,573.96 a covid-specific or comprehensive
ticket policies because they are short- crore in July to Rs. 1,462.92 crore in health policy.
duration products. Premiums too in August. General insurers, however, reported
most cases are under Rs. 1,000, so I am Experts said the pandemic has forced just 0.02% growth between March and
of the view that 60 lakh is not a very consumers to realise the importance of August. "Share of motor cover in most
big number given the country's popu- health insurance. Irdai data showed general insurers' portfolio is quite high.

The Insurance Times, September 2020 17