Health insurance premiums can rise 10%-15% due to high medical inflation, says Star Health MD and CEO

The health industry is hopeful that the GST Council will consider reducing the tax on health insurance policies from 18 percent to 12 percent.

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Health insurance premiums could rise by 10-15 percent in the days to come, Star Health Insurance MD & CEO Anand Roy has said.

The standalone private insurer is evaluating probable hikes in two of its products, after having raised premiums under its Youngstar plan by 10 percent in July.

“Almost all companies have increased health insurance premiums…ours is in line with the industry. We have 35 products, but not all of these have seen premium hikes. We are evaluating a couple of products, but have not finalised any hikes yet. Price increase is not our growth strategy, affordability of health insurance policies is paramount,” Roy said

He attributed the price revisions largely to the estimated medical inflation of 14-15 percent in India rather than the insurance regulator IRDAI’s master circular on health insurance that has sought to increase some coverage benefits and dilute restrictive clauses. “We welcome the master circular as it is pro-customer. It provides greater clarity to customers on coverage and waiting periods. IRDAI is moving towards reducing friction in the health insurance space. But, it does come with a bit of price impact for customers,” he said.

The company also offers differential pricing to policyholders based on their location. For example, those living in Tier-II cities are charged lower premiums compared to what their counterparts in metro cities like Mumbai or Delhi have to pay. “We have collected sufficient data over the last 18 years. We know the cost of treatment in different cities. In fact, not only cities, we also know what the treatment cost structures across pincodes within the city of Mumbai are, for instance. So, we are able to price customers more granularly,” he said.

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The industry is hopeful that the GST Council will consider reducing the tax on health insurance policies from 18 percent to 12 percent, Roy said, while speaking on the sidelines of the company’s media conference to announce the launch of its Special Care Gold, a health insurance plan targeted at visually-impaired individuals.

“We have simplified the underwriting process for such individuals to access such products easily, unlike other policies where the medical underwriting is more stringent. Here, it is simpler and onboarding straightforward. Our focus has also been on making this product more affordable. There is no discount, but there is no additional loading. Our data also shows that such individuals are not at any higher (health) risk, and they take care of themselves much better. This, however, does not mean that people living with disabilities cannot buy regular products,” Roy said.