In a world that is constantly witnessing rapid developments in technology, several industries have started to utilise this growth to make the lives of their customers more convenient. One industry that is witnessing more customer-centric development due to technological advancements is health insurance. And under health insurance, group medical insurance has witnessed a massive boost in convenience and simplicity following advancements in technology.
But what is a group medical insurance policy, what are some challenges associated with group medical insurance for employees, and what is the role of technology in improving group medical insurance? Keep reading to find out all you need to know.
What is a group medical insurance policy?
A group medical insurance policy is designed to provide coverage for an entire group's medical expenses in a single plan. Under this policy, all members of a group are covered under a single policy regardless of age, gender, occupation, and socio-economic status. Although both formal and informal groups can get coverage under group medical policies, the plans are typically developed considering the needs of a formal group between an employer and their employees.
Group insurance policies are an optimal way for an organisation to provide health insurance to their employees following the Government of India’s mandate requiring all professional organisations to provide health insurance to their employees. This is due to the convenience of being able to provide health insurance to all employees in a single cost-effective plan with standardised coverage. Not just this, group policies are also highly customisable and come with several benefits which are not otherwise available for individual and family plans.
What are some challenges associated with group medical insurance for employees?
While there are numerous benefits of opting for a group medical insurance policy, there are also some challenges faced by various stakeholders whether they are the employees, the organisation providing the insurance, the healthcare provider, or even the insurance provider selling the policy.
Here are some of the challenges associated with group insurance policies faced by the various stakeholders:
Employee
Non-specialised coverageNo tax rebate on premiumUncertainty in terms of coverageLack of clarity and confusion regarding coverage and policiesConfusing claims processOrganisation
Lack of informationAdditional expense for the organisationConsidering the needs of all employees when purchasing a policyHealth providers
Difficult claim processingCoordination with insurers for the transfer of informationInsurance provider
Lack of customer awarenessChanging needs of the marketHigh claim requestFraudulent claimsWhat is the role of technology in improving group medical insurance?
There have been numerous technological advancements in recent years, such as the prevalence of wearable technology, mass adoption of social media, easy doctor consultation, cloud infrastructure for easy data transfer, artificial intelligence, chatbots, and machine learning algorithms.
All of these advancements have played a critical role in promoting accessibility, improving communication, and easing the transfer of information. This allows all stakeholders to have a better overall experience.
Whether it is using social media to help insurers educate customers and clarify any questions they might have, or utilising cloud infrastructure and chatbots to simplify the purchase and claims process. Similarly tools like smartwatches and other wearables are promoting an active lifestyle, incentivising individuals to remain active, thus reducing health risks. This also helps in reducing the number of unnecessary claims and thus reduces the renewal charges.
Additionally, technology such as machine learning algorithms, OCR (optical character recognition), and artificial intelligence play a crucial role in predictive analysis for risks of individuals and the market, assessing the veracity of claims, and quickening the entire process for ease of customers.
On top of this, popularisation of telemedicine, the easy availability of doctors as well as the promotion of preventative diagnosis and wellness centres have further made the lives of policyholders a lot more productive and convenient.
Conclusion
Technological advancements play a vital role in insurance simplifying and making the process easier for all stakeholders. While there are still numerous challenges that are being sorted over time, group medical insurance for employees and health insurance in general help ensure peace of mind for those covered by it.
With worsening medical inflation and high risk of health risks due to the current lifestyle, with health insurance, policyholders can mitigate the impact of the risk and live life freely. So safeguard yourself and your loved one’s health and financial wellbeing by getting the right insurance policy with the help of technology.
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