Health Insurance Sector Moves Towards Providing a Simplified User Experience

A lot of Indians drain their savings of entire lifetime to meet the skyrocketing healthcare expenses. As only 20% of them are insured with the right health insurance plan, a huge number of them remain exposed to medical inflation, which is currently at 15% and still on a rise. But as per the Swiss Re report, India’s health insurance protection gap was as high as 369 billion dollars in the year 2018. It calculated the incidences where people fail to get themselves treated for health issues as it would cause ‘stress’ on their pocket.

The current specific problem that the prospective customers of insurance are facing is that health insurance policies are so difficult to understand. Exclusions may be interpreted differently leading to dissatisfaction among insured and the insurers.

IRDAI (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India) has recently issued draft guidelines for a ‘standard health insurance product’ that will help the customers gain clarity on what basic cover a standard health insurance product offers. It will be simple to understand and will remain the same across all insurers. The first time buyers will find it less complicated if there is no difference in policies with add-ons, optional covers etc.

Also, the maximum limit for the number of diseases that can be covered and the ones that remain excluded from coverage are laid down. The guidelines will also make the billing system more transparent, as the insurers will disclose provider network tariffs and packages.

Last year, Max Bupa’s research in 6 cities reflected that young customers expect incentives for starting soon. IRDAI is considering their expectations by adopting ways for offering reasonable pricing and a cumulative bonus for continued renewal.

Guidelines from the regulatory body have broadened the areas of coverage moving towards including more coverage features, viz., mental illness, HIV, etc. New product models will lead to more offerings to the senior citizens, those with a history of cardiac ailments and diabetes.

Incentives offered to the customers will be calculated on the basis of how determined a customer is to keep himself/herself healthy. Activities such as exercising, running, walking, etc. will be measured by wearable devices or mobile applications, etc., and premiums will be customised to offer true value to the customer if he/she is meeting fitness goals.