Health Insurance Companies

Health Insurance penetration levels were very low in the 1990’s and the early 2000’s. The only available health insurance was the Mediclaim which was offered by the nationalized general insurance companies. Over the last few years, there have been a multitude of insurance companies offering health insurance products. Also, the awareness levels of people regarding the need for a health insurance product has gone up. This is also a direct correlation of the fact that medical costs today have increased tremendously and good healthcare can be tremendously expensive.

Another reason why general insurance companies have been aggressively focusing on health is that coupled with the low penetration levels, the claims ratios on health insurance seem to be lower than they are on motor insurance. Motor insurance, while providing volumes to the insurance companies , have very high levels of underwriting claims. Whereas health insurance, if the medical underwriting has been done well, can prove be a profitable product in the long run.

Another encouraging development in this area has been the entry of specialized health insurance companies such as Apollo, Star, MAX Bupa etc. In the developed countries, the trend has been seen where the companies offering health insurance are specialized companies.

The following are the various health insurance companies in the country: Bajaj Allianz, ICICI Lombard, Iffco Tokio, National Insurance, New India Assurance, Oriental Insurance, United India Insurance, Reliance General Insurance, Bharti Axa general Insurance, Apollo, Star, Royal Sundaram, Tata AIG, Cholamandalam, HDFC Ergo, Future Generali, SBI Insurance and Max Bupa

All of these companies are recognized by Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (IRDA). To meet customer requirements, new plans and schemes are being launched every month.