Bhaskar Nerurkar, Head - Health Administration Team, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance

We are a country with 78.4% population below age 45 and when the pandemic forced everyone indoors people scampered to search every possible source on social media and the net for fitness exercises. It also brought in a lot of focus and awareness amongst the populace on staying healthy and fit as improved immunity was translated as lesser susceptibility towards infection. For ordinary Indians vaccination stopped at the age of 5 and the pandemic emphasized the importance of vaccination to stay away from critical infections. The table below exhibits that vaccination impacted mortality and also morbidity in.

The Covid-19 vaccination data is given below:

Demographic dividends are often cited as India’s advantage vis-à-vis other economies of our size. The critical factor to reap these dividends is the healthy population. A country with more than 70 million diabetics as of 2019 which is estimated to grow by 2030 to 100 million needs immediate attention to arrest Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) mostly resulting from sedentary lifestyle. A worrying factor is for the Indian population these NCDs set in at 45 which is way below to developed economies' benchmark of 55.

So Fitness and Preventive care culminating in Wellness is the mantra for the population to contribute to the growth of the economy. How does it affect health insurance?

Health insurance in India is gaining ground through government schemes and the awareness is spreading like never before. Still, the market penetration is very low and social security schemes are available for a very limited populace. Higher Pocket Expenses (OOPE) towards healthcare indicate a higher opportunity for further growth of health insurance shortly. The government has helped with health insurance schemes targeted at socially and economically weaker sections of society. The per capita expenditure on healthcare has also risen from $56 in 2013 to $69 in 2019. This has enhanced customer awareness and will further boost the health insurance business shortly.

Post-pandemic most health insurers are facing rising health claims costs challenging sustainability and profitability. A cursory glance at claims data suggests that 27.1% of claims on count and 33.1% on amount basis are settled for ICD codes linked to NCDs and can be controlled through proper implementation of wellness schemes. If insurers can avoid even 10% of these claims through proper wellness schemes, that could result in improving profitability by 3 to 4%.

Another major concern for health insurance is persistence. Of the customer who does not claim any service throughout the year, almost 85% are needed to be engaged to ensure they renew their health insurance. The wellness program gives an avenue for insurers to be in touch with their customers throughout the year with various initiatives and in the long run track and guide their health for better outcomes.