More than 50 crore citizens have health cover: GICL

Mumbai: The health insurance sector recorded a premium of close to Rs one lakh crore in FY2024, reflecting a robust compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20 per cent. According to data provided by the General Insurance Council (an association of non-life insurers), more than 50 crore citizens are now covered under health insurance. The industry has settled claims close to worth Rs 75,000 crore for more than 2.5 crore claims in 2022-23 and this figure is expected to rise significantly in 2023-24 as efforts to streamline processes continue by the non-life insurers.

Currently, more than 60 per cent of claims are settled on a cashless basis, with this only expected to go up over time, especially with the industry initiative of ‘Cashless Everywhere’ said a statement from the General Insurance Council (GICL). The innovative Cashless Everywhere initiative allows policyholders to avail cashless treatment at over 40,000 hospitals across various insurance networks.

According to GICL, it is spearheading various initiatives to make health insurance more accessible and user-friendly, with initiatives like--customized products for senior citizens, simplification of policy wordings, expansion of cashless access, collaboration with hospitals and other stakeholders, partnership with the National Health Authority (NHA) to develop a digital healthcare ecosystem, including the National Health Claims Exchange (NHCX) to standardize data and ease information exchange using ABHA ID. Through the exchange, the endeavor is to get all the ecosystem players on one platform to ensure customer claims are handled at a very fast pace, with a high level of transparency.

Efforts are also underway to increase market penetration in underserved regions, with a specific focus on reducing the protection gap and enhancing insurance access through rural and social targets to insurers. The industry is also focused on identifying and removing roadblocks to ensure speedy claim settlements.