Insurers are rolling out preventive healthcare schemes to retain customers and bring down claims in the long run. Choose a plan that is useful for your individual situation and profile.

 

Yoga sessions, gym membership, health check-ups and diet coun selling. These are not offerings of the newest health club in town, but additional features attached to your health insurance policy.

Wellness or preventive care schemes, which were earlier the preserve of corporate health insurance customers, are now being offered to individual policyholders as part of premium variants. While the idea is to attract customers, insurers feel that such programmes can, over the long term, help control claims. So should you opt for them?

What is proposed

The number of individuals afflicted with lifestyle diseases has grown manifold over the years (see chart). At the same time, the level of awareness about health and fitness too has increased. This trend has provided insurers a fertile ground for offering free wellness programmes as a tool for attracting and retaining customers, as well as managing claims outgo. Hospitalisation claims related to complications arising out of hypertension, diabetes and obesity is expected to reduce by 20-25% over the next few years. Patel expects a corresponding increase in customer retention too.

Discounts of `1,500-2,000 on gym membership, health-check-ups, which would otherwise cost `800 to `3,000, vaccinations, online chats with doctors and second opinions constitute the common wellness offerings. Then there are diet counselling sessions, smoking cessation programmes, vaccinations and first-aid training. Depending on the product, insurer and scheme, the annual premium for a `5 lakh cover can vary from `6,000 to 9,000 for a 30-year-old.

Apart from consultation with medical experts, our company has empanelled various healthcare service providers to offer special discounts on products and services to be used within a given timeframe.

Cigna TTK's Health Coach programme assigns a mentor to policyholders suffering from chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension. They are also provided with a meal and lifestyle activity plan based on their health goals. According to the company, the cost of similar schemes in the market is around `24,000 for six months.

Assess the utility value

Irrespective of how enticing such wellness schemes appear at the first glance, make it a point to dig deeper to ascertain their suitability for your profile. Make sure that you are paying for the value they bring to the table rather than fancy frills. Spa therapy, eye care or dental care would fall in the frills category. However, routine medical examinations, gym and yoga therapy, disease-specific screenings and weight management programmes can be genuinely useful

Similarly, if your monthly outgo related to over-the-counter medicines is substantial, a product offering discounts on pharmacy bills will be helpful. An annual medical check-up has tremendous value for anyone above 35. A free lifestyle coaching programme is also a very compelling proposition to consider. Generalised advice on fitness received through portals and newsletters, however, will not add much value.

Finally, once you have chosen the product, make sure that you keep track of the deadlines, if any. It is imperative to avail of the wellness services within a defined time period. Customers must also understand that discounts or offers are not transferable to others