Page 20 - LIFE INSURANCE TODAY Novemver 2017

Aditya Birla Health Insurance

targeting young Indians

through its digital strategy

L ess than one-fourth of India’s Apollo Munich Health

population is covered by pub-
Insurance Co. Ltd, Star
lic or private health insurance,
creating a crying need for Health and Allied Insur-
ance Co. Ltd, Max Bupa
health cover. Moreover, since India Health Insurance Co.
also has a sizeable number of Ltd, and ICICI Lombard
millennials who do not have health General Insurance Co.
cover, insurance firms have increas- Ltd.
ingly begun using digital tools for easy
accessibility and integrating health ABHI, according to
data with hospitals. Bathwal, is primarily
targeting more than
Aditya Birla Health Insurance CEO Mayank Bathwal
“There is a huge need for health insur- half of India’s popula-
ance but relatively very low penetra- tion that is below 35 years of age with factor in health insurance, Bathwal
tion in India,” acknowledged Mayank its digital push. The company, which pointed out that most people in India
Bathwal, CEO of Aditya Birla Health now has around 60 branches and a “unfortunately continue to talk the
Insurance Co. Ltd (ABHI), in an inter- presence in 34 cities, is relying on language of insurance rather than
view in Mumbai. One of the reasons tools such as mobile apps, cloud com- health”. He, however, believes that
for this low penetration, according to puting, wearable devices and data in- with digital tools, the situation could
him, is the way a typical health insur- tegration with other entities in the change for the better. ABHI, for in-
ance product is sold, which mainly healthcare ecosystem—in addition to stance, has launched an Activ Health
gives the coverage benefit for hospi- products that give insurance cover app. It counts the number of days a
talization claims. “Healthcare expendi- “beyond hospitalization”—to carve customer has been physically active in
ture is much more than just hospital- out a niche for itself. a month, takes note of their healthy
ization, including medical check-ups habits and “rewards them based on
and doctor’s fee, so more than half “We want to make sure that health this behaviour”. According to Bathwal,
the population of the country does insurance expands to cover many the app does so in several ways—
not believe in health insurance,” more segments and becomes relevant through integration with wearable
Bathwal added. for many more customers than it is devices such as Fitbit as well as with
today,” Bathwal said. other health apps like Apple Health,
ABHI is one of the newest entrants in the company’s partnership with
a sector which includes firms such as Identifying digital as a differentiating around 1,300 gyms and even health

Asking a working writer what he thinks about critics is like asking a lamppost how it feels about dogs.

20 November 2017 Life Insurance Today

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