Zerodha's Nithin Kamath: 'Most Indians are 1 serious health incident away from financial ruin'

Zerodha co-founder and CEO Nithin Kamath had earlier insisted people invest adequately in health insurance even before beginning their personal finance journeys.

Zerodha co-founder and CEO Nithin Kamath on Thursday reiterated the need for Indians to have adequate health insurance for themselves and their families. Highlighting that it is the most important financial investment one can make, the billionaire pointed out that having insurance alone isn't enough because insurance companies use multiple reasons to either not pay the entire sum or reject the claims entirely.

"Having adequate health insurance for yourself and your family is the most important financial investment you can make. Most Indians are just one serious health incident away from financial ruin," Kamath wrote on X. "But having insurance alone isn't enough. Just because you have insurance doesn't mean all your claims will be processed. Insurance companies use numerous reasons to either not pay fully or flat-out reject the claims. It's important to know the common reasons why claims get rejected and what you can do about it."

He also shared a link detailing the common reasons why insurance claims get rejected and what one can do about it.

Having adequate health insurance for yourself and your family is the most important financial investment you can make. Most Indians are just one serious health incident away from financial ruin.

But having insurance alone isn't enough. Just because you have insurance doesn't…

— Nithin Kamath (@Nithin0dha) November 1, 2023

This isn't the first time that Nithin Kamath urged people to take health insurance seriously. "In 2014, the last year for which data is available, the average cost of inpatient care per hospitalisation was Rs 26,475 in urban areas and Rs 16,676 in rural. Over 6.3 crore Indians are faced with poverty every year due to health costs alone, according to government estimates," the Zerodha CEO shared in April. "Healthcare costs will continue to rise, and the only way to deal with the impact is by creating awareness about the need for health insurance for all Indian households."

He also shared data from a "very depressing article" by India Spend, according to which Indian households bear most of the burden of financing healthcare as insurance schemes fall short. It also cited data from the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy stating that about 8-9 percent of all Indian households were pushed below the poverty line due to hospitalisation costs.

Read more: Indigo celebrates Zerodha co-founder Nithin Kamath's birthday 35,000 feet in the air