More than 80% insured people unsure about efficacy of health cover, claims survey
Rau said Future Generali India Insurance has come up with a comprehensive health insurance offering, 'Health Unlimited', to ensure that customers do not run out of coverage even during times of higher bills, irrespective of their sum insured getting exhausted.
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Time of India
12 hours ago
- Time of India
Cap on management expenses leading to recalibration of business: Future Generali CEO
MUMBAI: The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) capping management expenses at 30% of premium income is prompting insurers to recalibrate their business mix according to Anup Rau, CEO of Future Generali India Insurance. In an interview with TOI, Rau was clear-eyed about the challenges and opportunities presented by regulatory change. 'One of the things that has happened in wholesale health is a softening of rates,' Rau noted. 'That's partly because of the new expenses of management regulation. People want to write more low-commission business to be able to grow their retail book. So they're being more aggressive on pricing in group health to create headroom. ' 'In balance, it's a good regulation. Eventually, it ensures that customers get better value,' said Rau. For Future Generali, the company's focus remains squarely on retail health. 'There's still headroom for growth in retail. We've grown at twice the pace of the industry and will continue to invest in that,' he said. The company has also reined in its exposure to crop insurance, which previously accounted for a quarter of its business. That line is now under 10%. 'We've reduced crop as a precaution. The model does not leave enough room to manage risks effectively,' he explained, referring to the so-called 'cup-and-cap' framework, where profits are clawed back and losses subsidised which distorts pricing incentives. According to Rau, while there is a proposal to allow composite insurance companies, there are strong benefits in being a specialised insurance company. 'My personal view is that if you want to grow your business and be a player of consequence and size, you are better off having two separate companies'. Rau provided the example of standalone health companies that have grown faster than industry. 'Most of the market is dominated by standalone health companies,' Rau said. 'They have the distribution arbitrage. They can tap any life agent without having to license them.' Rau believes Future Generali's differentiated proposition lies in its claims execution and investment in backend systems. 'We are not the cheapest. Our proposition is that we settle claims fairly and quickly,' he said. 'We don't offer the highest commissions or lowest prices. We offer the best claims experience we can.' This operational focus underpins the company's support for Bima Sugam , a digital platform under development by the industry. Rau is optimistic about its potential. 'Bima Sugam has a lot of potential beyond selling,' he said. 'It can make the ecosystem more efficient and the environment more enabling.' In his view, the platform's greatest value lies in shared infrastructure. 'Measures like common enrolments of hospitals and a common provider network can help the council negotiate rates on behalf of the industry. That will deliver better value to the customer.' He pointed to the unregulated nature of private healthcare pricing as a problem. 'Hospitals don't have a regulator. There's still a vast difference in the claimed amount between a person who has insurance and someone who doesn't. A unified platform can solve a lot of these issues.' According to Rau there would still be differentiated products and specialised agents. 'Agents may use the platform, but they'll also pick and choose companies they are comfortable with. They want access to management, confidence in claims processes, and a good understanding of the products.' He argues that the real transformation lies not at the customer interface, but in the infrastructure beneath it. 'The front end gives the customer more options, but customers still want advice and handholding,' he said. 'The real diamond is a solid backend that gets the entire ecosystem to engage better. That's the game changer.' Rau offered a practical vision of how this might work. 'An agent can sell a product on the Bima Sugam portal, register a claim, access the network and bills—all through the same system. It would significantly improve the customer experience. Historically, shared backends have been more successful than front ends—look at mutual fund platforms or Vahan.' Such platforms could include features like real-time updates, hospital networks, procedure tracking, agent locators, and surveyor rankings. 'People talk a lot about the front end, but if we can get the backend right, it can really improve the experience for all stakeholders,' he said. Future Generali is investing accordingly. 'We are changing our core system and building capabilities around it,' Rau said. But he pushed back against the notion that technology brings cost savings. 'People think tech leads to savings—whether manpower or other costs. It doesn't. Technology costs money. It costs even more to keep it running. Skilled people are costly and constantly in flux.' Despite this, he sees value in what digitalisation enables. 'Volumes, complexity, better decision-making—that's all real,' he said. 'But even things like AI-generated suggestions can be annoying. I keep clicking 'no' to co-pilot prompts.' New models in the health ecosystem like managed healthcare being tried by newcomers are welcome, Rau added. 'These experiments are good. The industry needs to test hypotheses and see how they play out. If successful, they could move the needle not just for the company but for the entire sector.' Future Generali is running AI and chatbot pilots across all personal lines. 'This is not just for health, but across the board,' he said. The company's operational metrics back its strategy. With a solvency margin of 196% and one of the best combined ratios in the sector, it has sustained profitability despite limited capital infusions since 2019. 'The combined ratio is one of the best in the industry, despite our smaller scale. We've grown faster than the industry and intend to maintain that pace,' Rau said. The insurer has moved up the league tables too. 'From being ranked between 13 and 17 in 2018, Future Generali is now among the top 10 general insurers,' Rau said. 'We will continue to grow faster than the industry. We may not always know our exact position, but we will grow our market share.' 'Our CAGR over the last five years has been 21%, compared to the industry's 15%,' he noted. 'We've tripled our top line in the last six years, excluding crop insurance.' Future Generali's emphasis is not on scale alone, Rau concluded, but on execution. 'In general insurance, unlike life, the difference in scale between the top player and number ten is not big,' he said. 'We see a clear path to grow our presence and penetrate deeper into retail health.' Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Mint
23-05-2025
- Mint
Future Generali unveils ‘Health Unlimited' with lifetime unlimited coverage. Details here
With health inflation continuing to rise, insurers are regularly coming up with new plans that offer some succour for customers. Future Generali India has launched 'Health Unlimited', which offers the customer a once in a lifetime benefit of unlimited coverage that will pay for the full cost of any one claim, irrespective of the sum insured, among other benefits. The plan also offers 'Unlimited Restoration of the Sum Insured' starting from the second claim. 'Health Unlimited' comes with an inflation guard that provides annual enhancement of the sum insured to cover rising medical expenses, a premium payback wherein a discount in renewal premium that is equivalent to the first-year base premium is provided in the fifth year if there is no claim in the preceding four years and unlimited refills through which the base sum insured gets refilled unlimited times from the second claim. 'Rising cost of medical treatment is a cause of concern for a vast majority of people in India, despite having a health cover. Our comprehensive health insurance offering, 'Health Unlimited', will ensure that our customers do not run out of cover even during the times of higher bills, irrespective of their sum insured getting exhausted,' said Anup Rau, Managing Director and CEO, Future Generali India Insurance Company. More than eight out of every ten insured feel unsure about the efficacy of their health cover amid soaring medical costs, according to a survey by Future Generali India Insurance. This survey, which was recently conducted on 800 insured individuals who are more than 25 years old, revealed rising concerns about the adequacy of current health insurance coverage. Three out of four insured individuals in India worry about the sufficiency of their health insurance, the survey found. When faced with a claim, two out of every three individuals feel insecure and inadequately covered as they encounter unexpected bills, it revealed. 'Nine out of ten health insurance policyholders feel that recharge of sum insured is a key benefit,' the survey said. India had one of the highest medical inflation rates among Asian countries in 2021. India's medical inflation was around 14% surpassing China (12%), Indonesia (10%), Vietnam (10%) and Philippines (9%), Future Generali said. Future Generali's new plan also offers other benefits like wellness discounts, cumulative bonus for every claim free year, additional sum insured for accidental hospitalisation, no sub-limits for services like cataract surgery and LASIK procedure, road ambulance and complementary health check-ups. 'Health Unlimited' covers in-patient hospitalisation, day-care treatments, AYUSH treatments, referring to the coverage for traditional Indian systems of medicine, including Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy, pre- and post-hospitalisation expenses, organ donor costs, and modern treatment methods. Allirajan M is a journalist with over two decades of experience. He has worked with several leading media organisations in the country and has been writing on mutual funds for nearly 16 years.
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Business Standard
21-05-2025
- Business Standard
Unlimited health cover is helpful, but ensure your plan has these features
A cumulative bonus rider can increase the sum insured without an increase in premium Himali Patel Listen to This Article Future Generali India Insurance has launched 'Health Unlimited', an insurance plan that offers unlimited coverage once in a lifetime. ICICI Lombard had earlier introduced a similar offering — Elevate (with the Infinite Care add-on). While this benefit is significant, policyholders should ensure their plan includes additional features that can help them cope with steep medical inflation. Buy adequate sum insured Families living in metro cities should opt for a higher sum insured. 'Health care costs in India are rising sharply, driven by an annual medical inflation rate of 14 per cent. Moreover, the cost of advanced treatments is also high
