The surge in COVID-19 infections late last year due to the Omicron variant has caused an almost two-fold increase in health insurance demand in India, an insurer study found.
Demand for retail health insurance rose by 98% between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31 compared to the same period the previous year, according to Digit Insurance. Big cities, such as Bengaluru and New Delhi, saw the largest surges in demand, with increases of more than 100%. Smaller cities also had strong growth in demand, although lower at around 90%.
Corporate group health insurance uptake also grew, with the number of lives covered (employees and their dependents) growing by 174%, from 152,000 in 2020 to over 415,000 in 2021.
“This indicates that more corporates bought health covers to ensure the well-being of their employees,” the study said.
However, the study also found that the average sum insured for health cover decreased by 17% across Digit Insurance’s health products. According to the insurer, while more people are buying insurance, they are taking out products with a lower sum insured.
