Page 16 - Insurance Times August New 2023

ments, and procedures due to infla- ticket size has also gone up and the Health insurance in India is relatively
tion. Medical inflation in India is number and frequency of claims have very under-penetrated for various rea-
around 15 per cent against CPI infla- increased," said Raghavendra Rao, sons ranging from lack of awareness to
tion of 6 per cent, which has increased Chief Distribution Officer, Future affordability issues. Big corporates in-
the costs of claims significantly for in- Generali India Insurance, adding that cluding Star Health and leading banks
surance companies," said Parthanil treatment costs have also multiplied such as HDFC Bank, ICICI all offer
Ghosh, President, Retail Business, significantly due to new technology and health insurance packages, while the
HDFC ERGO General. specialised treatments. central and some state governments
too have health insurance scheme for
"Additionally, private health insurance
PhonePe launches health
is predominantly availed by citizens citizens of the world's most populous
from top tier cities, where the increase insurance platform that country.
in treatment costs is much higher. This "One of the biggest barriers in buying
allows monthly premium
typically results in higher insurance Health Insurance has been
premiums," he added. payments
affordability and we have solved the
PhonePe Insurance Broking Services on
Pressure on medicare pricing started same by creating India’s first Health
Tuesday announced the launch of
during Covid because of a huge outgo Insurance marketplace focused on
health insurance plans that will for the
of claims. While insurers expected this monthly payments," said Hemant
first time in India offer monthly sub-
to subside after the pandemic, costs Gala, Vice President Financial Services
have remained elevated, given the scriptions, a move that can reduce the at PhonePe said. "We believe this will
burden of one-time payments for the
improved hospitalisation demand, de- drive deep penetration with users be-
citizens amid price pressures.
ferred planned procedures, and rise in ing able to pay in monthly subscrip-
hospitalisation expenses due to ad- The health insurance plans, in partner- tions with a much lower financial bur-
vancements in medical technology and ship with leading insurers, are introduc- den.’’
procedures. ing UPI monthly mode of payment, the
PhonePe has sold more than 5.6 mil-
company said in a statement.
"During Covid, medical inflation shot up lion policies to date. PhonePe Insur-
tremendously. But even after Covid The health insurance plans, which ance platform has also sold policies
subsided, we have not seen healthcare come with coverage up to one crore across 98% of India’s PIN codes and has
costs coming down. There was an in- rupees, allow users to choose any hos- served more than 200 Mn vehicle in-
flection point in 20192020, when there pital room without any cap. surance quotes.
was a massive increase in average
claim sizes, and this has not come
Centre-state scheme offers Rs 5L/family health cover
down," said Bhabatosh Mishra, Direc-
to all in Maharashtra
tor Products, Underwriting and Claims,
Niva Bupa Health Insurance. Extending universal access to government health insurance in Maharashtra,
Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya announced an upgraded, "co-
He added that health insurance, unlike
branded" scheme providing a cover of Rs 5 lakh to every family for 12 crore
life or fire insurance, is a high (claims)
people -- the state's population as per the 2011 Census.
frequency business, even though aver-
age claim sizes tend to be lower com- Mandaviya said this has been done by combining the Centre-run Ayushman
pared to other lines of business. Bharat Yojana and the state-run Jyotiba Phule Arogya Yojana. "It's a co-brand-

While most insurers chose not to hike ing exercise that will benefit more people," he said.
premiums substantially during the pe-
Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadvanis, who held discussions with Mandaviya
riod due to the public health crisis and
before both addressed a press conference here, said the Centre has cleared Rs
regulatory prudence, the impact is now
3,000 crore for developing health infrastructure in Maharashtra under the
being felt due to sustained pressure on
Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission. One of the measures would be to set up one
insurers' profitability.
50-bedded critical care unit (CCUs) in each district.
"Awareness is going up so people are
Regarding the insurance scheme, Mandaviya said while the state scheme,
going to more and better hospitals,
which began in 2012 offering families a cover of Rs 1.5 lakh, included 996 medical
resulting in higher costs such as room
procedures and operations, the co-branding exercise would cover 1,900.
rent, doctor charges. Because of this
The Insurance Times August 2023 13