PROTECT YOURSELF BETTER

HEALTH INSURANCE POLICIES ARE NOW CUSTOMISABLE TO FIT VARIED LIFESTYLES— FROM METRO MILLENNIALS TO SMALL-TOWN SENIORS. CHOOSE WISELY

- BY TEENA JAIN KAUSHAL

BUYING HEALTH INSURANCE today feels more like visiting a restaurant with a menu full of choices, where you can pick and choose add-ons to create a plan that suits your unique needs. It’s no longer a dull, rigid process. With rising lifestyle-related risks and medical inflation, it is important that health insurance seekers have the option to choose from what they want and control what they pay for.

Hence, insurance providers have moved away from the one-size-fits-all approach of the past. From unlimited sum insured to locking in your premium, new-age health insurance plans are transforming how Indians perceive and purchase medical coverage.

“Customers are no longer limited to predefined plans,” says Anand Roy, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Star Health & Allied Insurance Co Ltd, which has a 33% market share in retail health insurance and 91% of total health gross written premium (GWP) for retail businesses.

“With new-age products, buyers can build a policy that truly mirrors their health needs and lifestyle. The control now rests with the policyholder,” says Roy.

Amit Chhabra, Chief Busi-ness Officer—General Insurance at the online insurance provider PolicyBazaar, agrees. “One of the biggest trends in health insurance is customisation. These products are now highly modular. Every policy comes with a range of optional riders that allow customers to tailor their policy to their specific needs,” he says.

Here are some of the popular riders available with today’s health insurance policy:

COMBATTING MEDICAL INFLATION

One of the most popular features in modern health plans is the Loyalty or Cumulative Bonus, a built-in way to tackle rising healthcare costs. With this feature, your sum insured automatically increases year after year, even if you have made a claim.