Policy bazaar report says premiums of health insurances almost doubled after the pandemic.
Bangalore: A report published by Policy Bazaar stated that premiums of health insurance almost doubled from last year. This increase happened even after the clarification given by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). The organization said that the premium raises should not go beyond five percent after the change in norms.
A survey which was conducted by Max Bupa Health Insurance in 11 major markets, out of which, one was Bangalore, reported that 71 percent of people consider health insurance as a necessity.
Jayanth Shetty, the Chief Life Insurance Advisor, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) said that in terms of health insurance, the awareness has grown because of the fear of unforeseen pandemic which pushed people to buy health insurance. The agents, who used to pursue insurers, are now calling them to know about the policies. Despite an increase in the premium rate, people will still buy health insurance. “LIC has already completed its mass target, still there are one and half months to complete the year and it is ahead of the target,” he added.
Shankar Agarwal, who recently bought health insurance for his family, said, “I had a surgery last year which was very expensive. After that I felt that I should buy a policy for my family.” Shankar says it is better to pay for premium rather than high medical bills.
According to market analyst Vishal Gehlot, a general family floater private health policy for which premium used to cost Rs. 20,000 last year will now cost nearly Rs. 66,000 which is a 200 percent hike. On the other hand, he said, “the policy market will become more customized for the insurers but this will hike the health care costs. So, the main focus should be to keep a check on private health care.”
