Health Insurance

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Health insurance can be considered as an instrument to gauge the health of the economy. Healthy people in a country contribute significantly to the economic development of the country. Health insurance guarantees the social development of a country. The insurance companies dealing in life and home or other property shall be in a position to provide security to the health of the masses.

In most of the developing nations and in some developed countries, the support provided by the government is not sufficient to meet the health care of the individuals and hence commercialization will pave the way for the better development of health care.

There is an urgent need in the designing of new products, structural facilities and sustainability in the health insurance.

The health insurance company is willing to provide health benefits provided the consumers, in turn, the beneficiaries are properly educated about the implications. This calls for sufficient information and data for the development of a good health product, proper pricing and health management tailor made for the target consumers. The necessity for health insurance has assumed more importance given the break up of joint family system in some of the rapidly growing Asian economies like India.

The elderly people are left to fend for themselves in the absence of emotional and financial support from their off springs. With the emergence of new diseases and medical treatment becoming costlier, medical or health insurance is the way to go for most of the people, whether they are apparently healthy or not.

The health insurance should be designed in such a way that the product will be in a position to protect a family savings in case of unexpected medical charges. The insured is more interested in higher achievement than being paid back in the form of premium. The insurers should arm themselves and invest the premium money in such a manner so as to earn enough money to meet the expenses of insurance and insurance claims.

In some countries, additional incentives are provided to the takers of health insurance in the form of tax rebate or tax exemption. If the insured is provided with the choice to choose the hospital where he / she can get treatment, it serves as an additional benefit. New health insurance products

for non patient services will offer more scope for growth. Needless to say, the premium should be competitive and fair for the policy holders to get the maximum benefit.

Creating health awareness among the consumers is an essential ingredient that kick starts medical insurance. It gives an idea about the prevalence of various diseases, cost (mostly exorbitant!) involved in treating them and the treatment options available. When people came to know about quality of health care and allied services available at their disposal, it is a matter of time that they voluntarily come forward and embrace it. It would be better if employers come forward to take care of the health of the employees similar to that being practiced like group insurance or group superannuation. Whenever the organization takes the initiative to look after the health of the employees, it improves the image of the company before the eyes of the public.

What are the parameters that make the health / medical insurance attractive?

1. Cost effectiveness

The objective of the insurer is to charge a premium to provide a better service. A lower and affordable premium naturally attracts a large number of beneficiaries. Whenever the cost of treatment goes up, people are bound to look for insurance products that specifically cater to their needs, even if the premium is little bit more.

2. Incentive

In some of the developing countries, people have to be coaxed to insure their health. In this case, incentives in the form of tax exemption or tax rebate will compel people to go in for health cover. The incentives act as bait which will help not only to save on tax but also provide the much needed health cover.

3. Design of the insurance product

The product design and the rate of premium are the two key factors that entice the consumers. Hence it is the duty of the insurer to design a product so as to cover not only the casual risks but also overhead expenses and other business risks. The success of any health insurance company lies in its ability to attract different category of the customers by designing products tailor made for different tastes of the customers.

4. Customer care

The last but not the least a customer desires is the customer care and track

record of the insurance company in settling claims. The insurer shall not only concentrate on the low premium but also instill confidence in the minds of the customers that the company is financially stable and efficient in operational performance.

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