Page 34 - The Insurance Times May 2021

the poor and vulnerable, the gap has somewhat been A different roadmap for growth
bridged but the Private Insurance Schemes have reported
Remaining relevant through the digital transformation
covering only 18% of the urban population and a little
trends in insurance and demanding customers is a major
over14% of the rural population. While the demand for challenge for the sector. The pandemic has changed the
health insurance is expected to increase considerably, income and investment landscapes dramatically over the
underwriting thresholds may also go up and thus the
past nine months, forcing investors to rejig their financial
negative movement may not be offset. With the constant
portfolio for long-term security. Investors' preference for
increase in the number of cases and the prolonged duration insurance, savings and the size of emergency funds have
of the crisis, the IRDAI has mandated all general and health gone up, while building a corpus for wedding expenses has
insurers to start offering Corona Kavach - an indemnity based come down the priority list. The Covid-19 pandemic has
health plan and Corona Rakshak - a fixed benefit health turned the spotlight on the health insurance market in India.
insurance - policies to their customers. Out of pocket expenditure on health in India is as high as
64%, whereas, in developed countries, this figure is less than
These policies are meant for covering hospital and medical 20%. At present, health insurance is as low as 0.29% of GDP.
expenses of COVID 19 patients. Traditionally, the insurance
industry has been employee-centric. With the advent of Ayushman Bharat has provided health insurance to
digital disruption of the industry, there will be an impact on households below the poverty line. But, the middle class
its vast employee bases in the foreseeable future. However, remains largely uncovered. Design of simple and need-based
despite the switch to digital mode, a vast majority of the products, using simple wording to describe terms and
business requires one-on-one communication or face-to-face conditions, and quick claim settlement are the key areas for
interactions. As a result, companies need to ensure that the insurers to concentrate on. To cater to the current
their agents have access not only to safety equipment in the requirement, IRDAI came out with two standard corona
office but also required data and applications to safely work products, Corona Kavach and Corona Rakshak. Along with
from home. other corona specific products, the insurers have been able
to cover more than 120 lakh lives against Covid-19 till the
A large majority of Indians have no end of October 2020. IRDAI has also mandated a simple,
inclusive standard comprehensive health insurance product
health Insurance coverage called "Arogya Sanjeevani" to be sold by all general and
Health Insurance coverage (% Individuals) health insurers. This is helping customers to opt for

Rural Urban appropriate health insurance without getting confused on
varying terms and conditions. Insurers are also encouraging
85.9 insurers to offer stand-alone products against vector-borne
Without Coverage
80.9 diseases like dengue, chikungunya, malaria and encephalitis.

With government 12.9
New world, new customers, new
Sponsored insurance 8.9
solutions
With government / 0.6 Customer needs and expectations are changing, and they
PSU employer 3.3 will continue to do so, possibly at an even more rapid pace.
Those that view this as an opportunity to combine insurance
With Private employer 0.3 and technology by providing new and innovative products,
suport 2.9 services and delivery channels will be the winners in what
will be a different market in years to come. Customers are
With insurance purchased 0.2 the disruptive force in the insurance industry. It will be
from private companies 3.8 crucial for insurers to leverage digital capabilities to deliver
a superior customer experience. Insurers must establish
0.1
Others online direct-to-customer channels to facilitate insurance
0.2 purchase, policy administration and claims.

Note: Data for the period July to June 2018 Further, empowering agents, brokers and bancassurance

34 The Insurance Times, May 2021