Health claims rising among youngsters in NCR: Survey

Frequency of health claims is on the rise among the younger age-groups -- six-18 years and 19-25 years, reveals a survey conducted over the last three years by an insurance company.

According to the survey, fever and common infections saw high incidence rates in the national capital region (NCR), rising from 19.5 percent in 2011-2012 to 26.3 percent in 2013-2014 (April-September).

Except Noida, where the trend shows a decline in claims among younger age-groups, areas like Delhi, Faridabad and Gurgaon have recorded a steady rise in health-related ailments.

The private sector ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company derived the findings from the analysis of its own claims data for the NCR region.

"We believe that it is imperative for us to identify health-related trends given the large repository of health-related claims data available to us," said Sanjay Datta, chief, underwriting and claims, ICICI Lombard General Insurance.

"Our analysis for the NCR region highlights the rising incidence of ailments in the younger age-group, as this segment faces the maximum pressure to compete in the fast changing and competitive landscape of today," he said.

The survey further states that in terms of gender, more males registered claims pertaining to treatments in Delhi (48.7 percent in 2011-12 to 49.5 percent in 2013-14, April-September), Gurgaon (51.2 percent to 53.4 percent) and Ghaziabad (50.1 percent to 51.2 percent).

Incidences of kidney failure in Delhi increased from 4.9 percent to 11.4 percent, while cases of stones in the urinary system increased from 5.8 percent to 6.6 percent.

However, ailments like cataract, and heart stroke witnessed a decline in claims by 2-4 percent as compared to 2011-12 across all the five cities.

"In case of heart stroke, Delhi witnessed a decline in cases from eight percent to six percent between 2011-12 and 2013-14 (April-September)," the survey states.

"Gurgaon saw a reduction in heart stroke claims from 6.3 percent to 4.6 percent, while Faridabad witnessed a decline from 5.1 percent to 4.3 percent," it further stated.