The Chennai-based Star Health and Allied Insurance Co, the country's first stand-alone health insurance company, plans to expand its product basket by launching at least five new products in the next 3-4 months. The new products will cover areas such as diabetes-related ailments, trauma care, students' overseas travel and dental care. The company also plans a mediclaim product for the low-income group. | |
| The company, which launched its operations in May 2006 with a capital base of Rs 105 crore, has garnered a premium income of Rs 14 crore and expects to collect over Rs 50 crore in four months. |
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| At present it offers overseas mediclaim policies, group and individual mediclaim policies and personal accident cover and a major chunk of its revenues comes from personal accident care cover. |
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| Star Health has recently entered into an agreement with the Andhra Pradesh government to cover 1.09 crore people in the below poverty line in the state and has received a premium of Rs 10 crore. |
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| It has also submitted its rates for another scheme of the Andhra Pradesh government to provide health cover for families in six categories. |
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| V Jagannathan, chairman and managing director, Star Health, said the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irda) had extended a special case for Star Health by allowing agents to act as life and non-life agents and also as an agent of Star Health. |
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| "This will help a standalone health insurance company like us to penetrate well," he said. |
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| He said Star Health was hoping to garner more business from the corporate segment as the company was expected to have a better playing field with the proposed detariffing by January 2007. |
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| The company is also proposing to collect 20 per cent extra premium in some of the locations where the hospitals and treatment charges are very high. |
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| As Irda has asked for statistics, the company is in the process of preparing a detailed study on the same. |
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| Jagannathan said the company's model was working well and it had increased the number of offices to 84 and employs about 800 people. It also offers a facility of round-the-clock free consultation with doctors with a 24-hour call centre. |
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| It has about 17 doctors on its board and has tied-up with 47 doctors for reference purposes. |
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| Of the 800 employees, about 650 are marketing executives and they are expected to appoint over 7000 agents in the next 3-4 months. |
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