Page 12 - Insurance Times August 2021

Health Insurance

News

India Inc able to claim de- Both Star Health & Allied Insurance efits. The rise in premium is because
MD S Prakash and SBI General Insur- the second wave has made health in-
duction on financial sup- ance head (product development) surance less profitable.
port Subramanyam Brahmajosyula said that
they are seeing 40%-50% growth in Home care cover benefi-
India Inc will be able to claim deduc-
SME business compared to last year.
tion on financial support provided to cial for non-cov patients
employees and their families for medi- Companies that have adopted the full With the fear of third wave of Covid-
cal expenses or ex-gratia payments in work-from-home model get a relatively 19 looming large, insurance regulator
the event of death due to Covid-19. lower hike on premium as risk exposure IRDA has urged insurers to explore a
The government had exempted the is lower as well as the claims raised.
product for home treatment of non-
recipients from taxation of any finan- "On an average, we have recorded a Covid patients.
cial help received from their employ- 30% rise in the premium price of group
ers and or others to meet their Covid- health policies as compared to the pre- National Insurance Company (NIC), one
19 treatment expenditure in the finan- vious year. On requests, we provide of the leading PSU insurers, said ear-
cial year 2019-20 and onwards. add-on covers where tele-medical con- lier this week there has been a discus-
sultations and elderly care are covered, sion with IRDA for a product which
would cover home treatment in indi-
Group health insurance against an additional premium. This
also includes consultations for mental vidual policies for non-Covid patients,
cost rises including critical illness.
illnesses," said Future Generali India
Rising Covid claims are pushing up the Insurance chief operating officer The home treatment was allowed in
cost of group health insurance for Shreeraj Deshpande. September following opening of satel-
employers by 25%-40% in the wake of Insurtech company Vital's co-founder lite centres by hospitals and for Covid
the second wave of the pandemic. Jayan Mathews said, "Since the pan- patients at home. It is also allowed for
This, even as new demand for em- some corporate health insurance poli-
demic outbreak, employees expect an
ployee health cover is coming from inclusive and cost-effective group cies. The new product would be in per-
smaller employers like small and me- sonal health insurance domain. Indi-
health policy which covers post-Covid
dium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and effects - including counselling for men- vidual health policies constitute the
MNCs with less than 50 employees. tal health and wellness. There is an bulk of health insurance industry and
Small business owners are realising added pressure on employers to pro- IRDA now wants to expedite cover for
that the Employees' State Insurance vide inclusive wellness care for employ- non-Covid cases in these new normal
Corporation (ESIC) programme under ees who work from home." Vital co- times.
which they are covered is inadequate develops the insurance cover with Care But, sources said insurers are yet to
and are opting for commercial group Health Insurance and integrates with finalise the modalities of the product.
cover. healthcare platforms for wellness ben- "It is in the discussion stage. We are

12 The Insurance Times, August 2021