People have become more conscious about their health and fitness, especially after the pandemic. Many health insurers also provide benefits to policyholders for staying fit. Preventive care can play a large role in staying fit for a longer time. Tapan Singhel, managing director and chief executive officer of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, in an interview with Nidhi Sinha, Editor, Outlook Money, discusses the idea of preventive care, its benefits, and more. Here are the edited excerpts of the interview.
As there is a lot of emphasis on preventive care these days, in India, what are insurers offering in preventive care, and what are the benefits related to them?
The first point is, if you take care of yourself, you’ll stay healthier and happier. The second point, from the insurance company’s perspective, is that the claims would be lower, which would translate into lower premiums for the customer over a long period. The insurance industry collects money from many to pay to a few. So, if it pays more to a few, the money collected becomes more. If it pays less, the money collected gets a bit less.
Many people get confused thinking that with preventive healthcare, the insurance industry would be trying to save money. I want to clarify that the answer is no. It translates to more affordable premiums and more coverage. Preventive healthcare is good for the customer and for the industry, and that is how we look at it.
So the industry is focused on making it a part of the larger ecosystem of providing insurance. First, it is to bring awareness, and second, to ensure good habits from the customers’ perspective.
The industry started (this) by giving discounts at the gym. It started looking like that if you are going to the gym regularly, you get discounts on the premium. As the product got innovated, there came the fitness bands. So if you walk these many steps over time, you get discounts on your premium as you progress.
Now, if you look at the products, they have in-built (preventive care features). If you get regular checkups done, it gets reimbursed. You have OPD covers with free checkups being a part of it. Similarly, doctor consultation on the telephone is now built into the product itself so that you are able to figure out at a very early stage if something is going wrong, and it does not get delayed.
So an entire (healthcare) ecosystem is getting created, and insurance is a part of it. Wellness and health-related activities are being integrated.
Do you think these kinds of measures have made people more conscious about their health and fitness?
We have not done a study on it, but people are aware about preventive checkups. The awareness is more, compared to when I was young. I think at that point in time, none of us were worried about what we were eating outside. Today, people can tell what food is good and what is not. So, the awareness level has definitely changed. The kids are much ahead.
If the ecosystem creation makes people want to be a part of it, it will have an impact. If you look at the average life expectancy, it has moved up. People are living longer now. They are taking care of themselves. So, somewhere there has to be an ecosystem that provides them access to all that they can do.
So, a good level of awareness and the creation of an ecosystem is the right match. I think that is what we are heading to, and it will have an impact moving forward. But if you ask me for data, I can’t give you the data points of correlation.
The age limit for senior citizens has been increased by the regulator for buying health insurance. How does preventive care work among senior citizens, because they might have certain diseases already?
There are two or three things that are more important for senior citizens. The first is getting them to the hospital in any emergency. Earlier, there used to be many joint families, and people were close to each other. Now there are a lot of nuclear families, and many senior citizens are staying alone in towns in which they may not even have any relatives living close by. In such cases, if something goes wrong, how do you get them to the hospital within time and get them treated? As we are aware, the golden hour plays a big role in terms of the quality of your life.
So, we have created a chain of ambulance networks, emergency SOS buttons, sudden fall detection on wearables, and then calling them up and getting them picked up. For us, the bigger concern regarding senior citizens was how to get them to the best hospital and doctor in time, if things go wrong. That was our first obsession.
After that, the bigger obsession than preventive health issues is loneliness. It is a big cause of illness among senior citizens. So, we are trying to see how we can create an ecosystem and solve the loneliness issue.
Then comes a regular health check-up, and I have seen that senior citizens are mostly conscious about it. They would do this, but the other two are where the gap is. So, we are trying to build an ecosystem and solve their issues. Right now, if you are able to do that for senior citizens, I think it is a much better place (for them) to be in.
Many younger people feel that they don't need a policy at all. Will the benefits you mentioned encourage them to take this seriously?
The only message I have for them is if they don't want a policy for themselves, would they want their money to be utilised for somebody else's benefit or recovery? That’s what insurance does. At times, the money may not be used for you because you are doing well. However, your money is getting utilised to help somebody who is facing difficulties. It is being used for a good cause.
But let us say something goes wrong with you, then everybody else's money comes to your rescue and brings you out of the difficulty. That’s how I look at insurance, and I am over-insured. It’s (insurance) not just about me, it’s about the society that I live in, and it contributes to that. If I require it sometime, I will get that benefit, so I have mental peace. At the same time, if I am healthy, it is being utilised for somebody else who requires it.
Transcribed by Versha Jain
