Sanil Basutkar, Co-founder, HealthySure, lists the benefits of availing a group health insurance policy.
What is Group Health Insurance?
Group Health Insurance is a health insurance policy that covers a group of people. This policy provides the same level of insurance cover to all members of a group irrespective of their age, gender, job, etc.
The people in a group can be related in any manner. However, this policy is usually bought by employers to financially secure their employees in case of a medical emergency or hospitalisations.
In organisations, it is generally the HR or the finance departments that take the decisions on implementing a group health insurance plan.
An insurance broker generally advices on the best health insurance plan taking into consideration the requirements and the needs of the organisation. Brokers help the organisations in getting the best quotes from a selection of insurance companies and negotiate on the organisation's behalf.
What are the benefits of Group Health Insurance?
1. Customised Plans
Organisations can customise their group health insurance plans as per their needs. Features can be added or removed based on the organisations budget and use cases.
For example, corporate buffers can be added to the insurance policy, which lets the corporate access healthcare even if their sum insured is exhausted and the employer can give the employee additional coverage.
2. Day 1 Coverage
All pre-existing diseases and exclusions which are subject to waiting period clauses under retail health policies are covered from Day 1 under group health insurance.
Even maternity benefits are covered. This is the biggest advantage group health insurance has over individual health insurance policies.
3. Easy claim process
Employee claims are settled in a speedy and hassle-free manner as there are no debates around pre-existing diseases and waiting periods.
Everything is covered from Day 1. Group health insurance thus enjoys a superior claim settlement ratio and there are rarely any claim rejections observed.
4. Pre-medical screening is not required
Retail insurance policies sometimes require the insured to undergo pre-medical screening. Sometimes these insurance applications are even rejected.
This is not the case with group health insurance as all members are covered by default.
5. Lower Premiums
Group health insurance can be up to 50 per cent cheaper on a per member cost compared to a regular retail health policy.
6. Value Added Services
Group Health Insurance also comes with additional value-added benefits such as doctors on call, fitness tracking. These benefits help in providing a holistic healthcare experience.
7. Improves Employer Credibility
Having Group Health Insurance in the organisation increases the credibility of the organisation as an employer and acts as a lever to attract and retain talent. Having a comprehensive health benefit plan creates a secure environment for employees.
Employees get a lot of advantages on group health insurance over a retail health insurance policy. Employers generally perceive a group health benefits as the primary benefit to offer to their employees over others.
If your organisation is not currently providing group health insurance, you may recommend your HR management to look for platforms that offer tailor made group health insurance plans for organisations.
Along with group health insurance other healthcare benefits such as doctor consultations, fitness memberships, mental wellbeing can be subscribed.
HealthySure is an Employee Welfare Insurtech Platform.
