Health Insurance Collections Jump Over a Fifth in a Year

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

From specialised packages to lifelong cashless cover, more and more Indians are buying health insurance products.

In 2015-16, health insurance companies collected Rs 24,448 crore in premium according to figures compiled by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) — 21.7 per cent higher than the year before. This is the highest year-on-year growth in premium in the last five years, and the first time that the growth rate has gone upward during this period (see graph).

Low penetration of health insurance has always been a concern in India given that the government sectors struggles with a huge patient load and the private sector is largely unregulated and often exorbitantly priced. In 2015-16, the number of Indians covered by health insurance was 35.90 crore (out of an estimated population of 125 crore) according to IRDAI statistics, up 24 per cent from the previous year’s 28.80 crore.

Source: The Indian Express (link opens in a new window)

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Health Care