Indians lack trust in health insurance plans

By siliconindia   |   Wednesday, 16 December 2009, 20:30 IST
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New Delhi: The penetration of health insurance has not kept pace with the growing health related issues in India and the reason for this has turned out to be the lack of consumers' trust in health insurance products. According to a survey, most of the consumers believe that the claim process of health insurance plans is long because of the hidden clauses in the policies. The survey by Max Bupa Health Insurance and research firm TNS reveals that majority of participants believed that making a claim is more difficult than it should be, with many of them experiencing 'intricacies' while making a claim. They feel that the period for claim processing should be between two weeks and one month and also there should be an online option to file claims, reports Financial Chronicle. The survey also showed that many took insurance cover only after a medical emergency or after seeing a relative, who faced an unexpected illness and needed urgent medical care. Word-of-mouth proved to be an important factor that influenced the respondents to go for health insurance. The survey, which was conducted in Mumbai, Meerut and Chennai, found that health insurance was considered as a safeguard against risk of emergency medical expenses among the participants.