ICICI Lombard enhances its group health insurance offering
ICICI Lombard’s new strategic partnership with health insurance startup Plum should bring an all-round more streamlined approach to group health insurance operations in India
New tech-led health insurance offerings available through the partnership will enhance the client journey when purchasing and using group health insurance:
- Real-time pricing will reduce the time taken to receive price estimates for companies looking for group insurance quotes
- Quick onboarding of individual members will be available as soon as a group policy is purchased, including displaying individual’s insurance benefits in plain English to avoid confusion over what is covered
- The above will also lead to improved policy management
- An online claims submission tool will enhance the relationship between the insurer and the customers
Improving the penetration of health insurance in India
A press release from the companies note that the penetration of health insurance across India is ‘abysmally low’, with 0.29 per cent of GDP being spent on the health sector.
As such, it’s unsurprising that India witnesses one of the highest out-of-pocket expenditures. However, a recent report from MAPFRE highlighted that India is among the top three countries in the world with the highest insurance potential – in that it has a large insurance protection gap and ample capacity to close it.
New offerings, alike that of ICICI Lombard and Plum, are throwing the country a means to greatly improve its insurance standing. Perhaps others (including international providers) will follow suit in the international private medical insurance market in particular.