In the last decade, the demand of health insurance has risen exponentially in India on account of high medical and retail inflation. Health insurance as a line of business have gone very popular and become the second biggest contributor of non-life insurance annual gross written premium after motor insurance in India.
This indicates the growing awareness and changing perception for health insurance among people and also with the COVID 19 pandemic attacking the entire planet and affecting millions of people, more people are likely to opt for health insurance as purchasing the same will be not considered as an option but a necessity by a majority of people. But as of now we can easily say that there is a huge gap in the people covered under health insurance which is clearly evident with the low insurance penetration and density numbers for our country.
Gauging the necessity of health insurance in these changing and turbulent times of the pandemic and majority of people without any insurance protection IRDAI the regulator has mandated all insurers to offer a standard health insurance product named as Arogya Sanjeevani policy from the month of April 2020.
This will be a standard health insurance product where the coverage and policy will be same for all insurers and no riders or other variations is expected to be there. The premium is also kept affordable and the product is loaded with all the important features which a health insurance policy should possess. In this article we will discuss the basic structure of this policy along with who should consider purchasing the same and where to go and purchase it.
Basic structure of Arogya Sanjeevani Policy: The policy offers a sum insured on 3 to 5 lakh in multiple of 1 lakh and can be purchased as a family floater or individual option. For every claim free year the policy will attract a 5% bonus sum insured up to a maximum of 50%.
This is equal to a cumulative bonus feature of any other health insurance product. Other coverage which will be the part of this policy are Inpatient hospitalization expenses, AYUSH treatment, room rent up to 2% of sum insured maximum 5k per day, ICU charges up to 5% of sum insured maximum 10k per day, Ambulance services up to 2k per hospitalization, plastic surgery and dental treatments, cataract surgery up to 25% of sum insured or 40k, new age treatments like balloon sinuplasty and stem cell therapy is covered up to 50% of sum insured.
There is some waiting periods applicable which may vary from 24 to 48 months as per specific disease. A co-payment of 5% is applicable for each and every claim. The premium of the product is also kept affordable and for an individual policy of a person in age group 31-35 years a premium of 2.8k is payable for a sum insured of 300k and a premium of 3.25k is payable for a sum insured of 500k.
This is a very balanced product with all the necessary features and not so expensive at the same time so that it can be sold to masses and people have no difficulty and less confusion in purchasing the same.
Who should consider buying the Arogya Sanjeevani Policy?
Anyone between the age of 18 to 65 years can opt for this policy and thereafter the policy is life-long renewable. This policy is introduced in such a time when health insurance is no longer a push product and in the wake of the pandemic people are themselves striving to buy a health policy.
Thus anyone who has not bought a health insurance product till now for the protection of himself as well his family members must go and opt for the same. The sum insured under the product is up to 500k which many don’t consider sufficient is today’s high health care costs. But in case of 5 claim free years and as per the cumulative bonus accumulated the sum insured will be 750k, if any further coverage is required people can easily opt out for a top up or super top up policy to get desired level of sum insured.
This arrangement will definitely save some cost of the consumer and will granted desired protection at the same time. In the family floater option available under this policy one can also cover their parents so it is a great option for single people who can get their parents covered in the same policy. For married people also the option for covering parents or parents in laws is there along with spouse and dependent children.
This policy can be easily purchased through any insurer of your choice and that too from the comfort of your home in online mode. In online mode there is a digital proposal form which needs to filled by the buyer, there may also be a call arranged by the insurer where it may take some necessary health details, some medical tests if recommended by the insurance company is paid by the insurer in both cases it accepts or decline the proposal.
This product is a must buy for people who are first time insurance buyers especially with not a great budget. People should also consider gifting this health insurance policy to their near and dear ones and provide a lifetime gift which is nothing but a protection umbrella.