The Digital Journey Of The Health Insurance Sector: The Policybazaar Show

The COVID-19 outbreak has led to turmoil in many industries on a global scale. Even in India, many sectors are suffering the brunt of lesser production leading to major losses. Amidst these tough times, with the increasing demand for health insurance, the entire insurance industry has been successful in gathering a much higher penetration rate than the pre-COVID times. Anuj Tyagi, CEO, HDFC Ergo Health Insurance is of the view that people should buy a health cover at an early age because it is like any other investment, the earlier you start, the better it is. 

[ Also read | Protect Kar Befikar In The Times Of A Pandemic: The Policybazaar Show ]

The digitization of the insurance sector had been in progress for a long time. HDFC Ergo General and HDFC Ergo Health Insurance have taken big strides as far as the digitization of processes is concerned. Today, they receive roughly around 70% claims from the hospitals through their website. That is a big development because earlier, people used to submit claims physically.

((calculator))

Every step towards digitization leads to enhanced customer service. The turnaround time for cashless claims now on an average is 13-14 minutes which is very less. The uptake of digital as far as service is concerned due to Coronavirus has gone on a different level. Tyagi said that they had various apps for services and claims like 'Health Chain and Empower', but earlier they had to request the customer to use those apps. Today, the consumers are using them one their own. The digital ecosystem usage has increased. As far as selling is concerned, the company has a simple online process to purchase insurance. Tyagi said that he has seen a huge uptick in the fulfillment of renewals through digital channels. 

[ Also read | Health Insurance in Times of Coronavirus: The Policybazaar Show]

Owing to the digitization, the insurance sector considers moving along with the ‘new normal’. The sector will be further focusing on adopting digital practices even in tier 2 and tier 3 cities. These cities have been quite inept in adapting to the digitization of all the other industries. A large part of the e-commerce revenues actually come from these cities.
((newsletter))