A recent survey conducted by BigDecision.com reveals that most Indians are unprepared for medical emergencies. The study reveals 95% of middle-class Indians do not have enough health insurance to cover some of the most common procedures and ailments in the country. “Consumers above 45 who are at higher risk of health problems and closer to retirement, are least prepared for emergencies as they are under-insured by an average of 69%,” says the survey.
The survey covered 10,000 respondents across eight cities. The respondents are aged from 25 to 45+ and in the income bracket ranging from Rs.6 to 36 lakh annually.
“We analysed 7, 00,000 insurance claims over four years to understand incurred treatments costs, inflationary trends, claims and reimbursements for various groups of ailments within large Indian cities across different hospital types,” says Gaurav Roy, co-founder and COO of BigDecisions.
The report shows that while healthcare cost in India is seeing double digit inflation, the premium rate is falling. “Over the last four years, premiums of most insurers have increased only once - in 2014 - over the previous year, reflecting a CAGR of 2.79% (for sum insured of Rs.2,00,000 and Rs.3,00,000) and 3.29% (for sum insured Rs.5,00,000 and Rs.10,00,00),” finds the study.
While treatment costs have been going up steadily, people’s health insurance covers seem more and more insufficient at current levels. One of the primary reasons is that many Indians who have full-time jobs believe that the insurance coverage provided by their employer is enough and doesn’t need an addition.
“An increased appreciation of rapidly rising healthcare treatment costs does not seem to have translated into Indian consumers being better prepared. With rising incomes and standards of living, most middle-income and affluent Indians expect ever improving healthcare facilities. We believe having such expectations, while being this poorly prepared financially to fund our future healthcare needs, is nothing short of catastrophic,” says Manish Shah, co-founder and CEO of BigDecisions.