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Tuesday 3 November 2015

95% of middle-class Indians do not have enough health insurance

Around 95% of middle-class Indians do not have enough health insurance to cover some of the most common procedures and ailments in the country, according to a report.

Surprisingly, consumers above 45 who are at higher risk of health problems and closer to retirement, are least prepared for emergencies as they are under-insured by an average of 69%, reveals the report.

The study is based on data obtained from 10,000 consumers across eight major cities, aged 25 to 45+ and in the income bracket ranging from Rs 6 to 36 lakh annually.

The report further points pout that it is getting more expensive to treat some of the most commonly occurring diseases in India. Amid an inflationary environment in India for at least a decade, prices four years ago were not exactly low. The fact that they have again risen, by double digits in some cities, is noteworthy.


It is clear that there is room for Indian prices to increase further. We believe that current inflationary trends are likely to continue for the foreseeable future. While it is no surprise that typical treatment costs in the US are sometimes more than 10x what they are in India, that they are more than twice as expensive in countries closer to home such as Malaysia and Thailand, means Indians could soon be paying more.

According to the report, over the last 4 years, premiums of most insurers have increased only once, in 2014, over the previous year, reflecting a CAGR of 2.79% (for sum insured of Rs 2,00,000 and Rs 3,00,000) and 3.29% (for sum insured Rs 5,00,000 and Rs 10,00,00).

Data show some 95% of our users are not adequately insured, with 62% of 10,000 BigDecisions users having less than 50% of required health cover. Consumers above 45 (with higher needs, typically higher incomes and fewer years to retirement) are a high-risk group – they are the least prepared for health emergencies as they are under-insured by an average of 69%. 

Source: indiainfoline.com

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