Wealthy Indians shop for overseas health covers

Two Indian companies offer covers ranging from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 6 crore

Quality conscious high net worth individuals are looking for generous health insurance covers that would cover treatments in destinations such as Singapore and the US.

Their interest in such products offered by foreign and local insurance players was sparked in the wake of high-end stent-makers pulling out of the Indian markets, after price caps were imposed by the authorities.

"People with money who do not want to take a chance with something they have to live with for several years are looking to get these procedures done in places like Singapore and the US," said a senior executive with one of the corporate hospitals. "A procedure that could have been done in Rs 5 lakh here might now cost double or triple. So, they are looking for health insurance products that would cover these."

For example, after the cap, the prices of Abbott's Absorb, which cost Rs 1.9 lakh each earlier, were slashed to Rs 29,600. But the manufacturers are not ready to supply at these prices. Last week alone, several stent-makers, including Abbott and Medtronics, have submitted applications to withdraw their premium stents. Though the government is trying to take measures to mitigate the impact, the uncertainty is forcing the needy to look for alternatives.

Insurance brokers said enquiries have gone up, though purchases are still trickling in. "These policies are primarily for high net worth individuals. We are receiving a lot of enquiries about these policies after the government imposed a cap on the prices of stents. It is a fantastic product, but the category will take time to mature," said Rahul Mohata, chief operating officer, Ideal Insurance Brokers.

V Ramakrishna, managing director, India Insure, said it would be a select and niche demand from a small segment of the market. "It is for people like film stars, politicians and big businessmen. There would be a lot of incidental expenses. For example, you might want to take dependents. These might not be covered by the policy. So, you need to have support services," Ramakrishna added.

In highly regulated overseas markets, he said, even buying insurance could be expensive.

At present, there are not too many products in the Indian market. Max Bupa provides policies to cover foreign treatments and procedures with a sum insured of Rs 1 crore and above. Religare Health offers slightly higher sum insured of Rs 1 crore and above, going up to Rs 6 crore. They have plans with sum insured of Rs 1 crore, Rs 2 crore, Rs 3 crore and Rs 6 crore.

"These policies also offer the facility to top-up the standard policies with additional cover on payment of extra premium," said the hospital executive.

Religare's policy covers almost everything, whereas Max Bupa's policy covers overseas treatment for nine ailments including Cancer, heart attack, coronary artery bypass, major organ transplant, and brain surgery.

In the age group of around 40, for a sum insured of Rs 1 crore, the premium will be in the range of Rs 60,000-65,000. If a 40-year-old takes a Rs 15 lakh plan from Max Bupa, the premium will be Rs 20,000-25,000.

Brokers said the premium would be different if one gets a cover for treatment in the US. That is because the cost of treatment is very high in the US. "So the premium becomes higher if you include the option to get treatment done in the USA. On the other hand, if you exclude US, the premium is lower. If you buy a Rs 1 crore policy from Religare and take it without including treatment in the US, the premium is Rs 60,000-65,000. On the other hand, if you include the US, the premium goes up to Rs 80,000," added Mohata.