Covid-19 related health claims plummet to less than 1% as other ailments surge

New Delhi: The number of Covid-19 health claims have plummeted in the first five months of the current fiscal as the number of hospitalisation cases due to virus has dropped significantly. Instead, there has now been a surge of hospital admissions for surgeries that had been put on hold earlier due to the pandemic, shows data analysed by insurance marketplace policybazaar.com.

"For Covid-19 , the share of claims has dropped by over 90 per cent for the period between April to August 2022 as compared to 11 per cent in 2020. Across all types of hospitalisations, there is a surge seen in claims for infections, genitourinary, minor surgeries and other common ailments during this period," said Amit Chhabra, Business Head - Health Insurance, Policybazaar.com.

The average claim size of Covid-19 is Rs 80,000 against average non-COVID-19 claims of Rs 77,500 in this period (Minimum claim amount is Rs. 1000, excluding health check-ups & OPD claims).

It appears that the average claim size for COVID-19 related claims is higher. "This could be because most individuals needing hospitalisation were older with a potential risk of co-morbidities that generally increase complications and requires a longer stay in the hospital. Thus, leading to a higher claim amount," said Chhabra.

Below are the charts for fthe top seven ailments contributing to the highest portion of health claims in the above-specified period.

A policybazaar survey also revealed a growing level of propensity to buy insurance in tier-2 and 3 cities of India post the pandemic. At 89%, the highest number of respondents willing to renew their health cover belong to tier-2 cities, as compared to 77% from tier-1. Similar trends were observed in term insurance, where 59% of respondents who want to increase their coverage belong to tier-3 cities, as compared to 26% from tier-1 cities.

Policybazaar surveyed 5,000 consumers to closely understand the behavioral shift in insurance buying trends.

Out of the respondents who had contracted Covid, 25% were hospitalized, and 18% of them ended up spending over Rs 15 lakh and 22% were not adequately covered by their existing policy.

Moreover, 13% of those who got Covid did not have health insurance in place.

The study also found that 62 per cent of the total respondents had an active policy and didn’t depend just on, say, corporate cover.

At least 50 per cent of these policies were bought after Covid’s first wave and 41 per cent after the Delta wave. In addition, 80 per cent of these policies were family floater plans, revealing a higher inclination towards ensuring sufficient coverage for the entire family.

"Owing to the pandemic, there is increased awareness of health insurance products and their financial benefits. However, a base product in health insurance usually does not cover all your healthcare needs. One must carefully examine their family’s medical needs. Depending on the medical history, age, and income of the insured, different levels of coverage may be required. You may also need to buy top-up or add-on plans as per different age groups and existing health conditions," said Chhabra.

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