Max Bupa ties-up with GOQii, Swiss Re for wellness ecosystem

Private health insurer Max Bupa Health Insurance today announced a three way tie-up with fitness technology player GOQii and global reinsurer Swiss Re to provide health and wellness offerings.
Under the tie-up, Max Bupa will offer its consumers ready access to GOQii's personalised wellness engine, equipped with solutions like health coaching and health management tools, it said in a release issued here.
Swiss Re will provide technical assistance to Max Bupa in creating relevant products and expertise to create risk assessment models for future, it said.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) recently emphasised on driving the shift from 'illness to wellness' and to encourage insurance companies to create offerings that cater to preventive health care needs of customers.

"Over the last few years, we have seen a significant increase in uptake of health insurance among customers under the age of 35 years," Max Bupa Managing Director and CEO Ashish Mehrotra said.
"It is predicted that by 2019, two out of five internet users will use a health app. This gives us a huge opportunity to promote holistic wellness by leveraging personal health care devices that are capable of tracking and relaying medically useful information," he said.

Offering pre-emptive wellness solutions is an effective way to engage with young customers and encourage them to buy health insurance, he said.

"GOQii provides a platform that will help us penetrate deeper into this segment," Mehrotra said.
Swiss Re India Branch CEO Kalpana Sampat said the overall health insurance programme connected with technology will help to reduce claims cost and allow insurers to better price their products for consumers.
"We will provide technical support through our costing and risk management expertise. Our aim is to support insurers and tap into the opportunities that the digital health care ecosystem presents," she said.