Demand for OPD insurance covers surge in third Covid wave

Chennai: Health insurers see rising demand for Out Patient Department (OPD) covers on the back of lower rate of hospitalization and higher doctor consultation, diagnostic investigations and checkups during the third Covid wave.

ICICI Lombard has recorded a 30% month-on-month rise in sales volume of its OPD rider policy, which was launched last year. Sanjay Datta, who heads the underwriting and claims division of the privately-owned general insurance company said, “Some illness does not require hospitalisation and can be diagnosed and treated in an Out-Patient Department (OPD) and these expenses can be significant, especially post the pandemic outbreak. There is a strong demand for these products among customers in metro cities,” Datta said.

OPD cover is offered as a rider, which is an additional coverage that can be opted by insured on payment of extra premium over and above their base policy. This rider is available both on new purchase of policy as well as renewal of existing policy. Insurers say the demand for OPD is for both Covid and non-Covid illnesses.

Nikhil Kamdar, appointed actuary, Digit insurance, said demand in OPD covers spiked by 120% in December 2021 compared to November 2021. “We also saw a rise in the number of non-hospitalization claims in health insurance and in January this year, such claims accounted for 23% of the total health claims compared to just 4% during the same period last year,” he said. Between December 2021 and January 2022, Digit saw a rise of 420% in the number of non-hospitalization claims. "We also saw an uptake in utilization of the wellness benefit feature offered in our App which includes online tele-consultations,” Kamdar said.

Bajaj Allianz General Insurance which launched its OPD cover in December, 2021, said it has recorded sales beyond its set target. Gurdeep Singh Batra, its head of retail underwriting said with a one-month waiting period, the claims have already started coming in the month of February. “One can opt for this cover unlimited times during the policy period,” Batra said.

Similarly, Mumbai-based Kenko Health, a D2C health management organization that provides financial coverage for out-patient treatments and mental health, has seen 25% of its retail customers and 10% of corporate customers buying the OPD cover. These figures were nil till September 2021, and the product was launched in October, 2020. Its co-founder Aniruddha Sen said: “There is a month-on-month increase in demand and enquiries from corporate clients who want to coverage for dental health, medicine expenses, teleconsultation, doctor consultation, diagnostic investigations and checkups.” Sen also added retail customers are keen to purchase standalone IPD and OPD covers,

The spokesperson at Acko General Insurance said many MNCs, new-age startups are looking for the best benefit programs for their employees. On the retail front, demand is driven by those who had significant OPD expenses in the past year. For Acko, the sum assured for OPD cover stands between Rs 5,000 to Rs 30,000.