Health Insurance Policies Could Soon Offer Preventive Benefits Like Discount On Gym Membership

With IRDAI's (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India) recent proposal to "to enhance the scope of services offered under wellness and preventive features/benefits of health insurance products," your health insurance could come with vouchers for a gym membership, yoga centre membership or purchase of protein supplements.

In its draft titled "Exposure Draft on Guidelines on Wellness and Preventive Features/Benefits" released this week, the regulator proposed that policyholders can be offered with health-specific rewards as wellness benefits on health insurance products.

The draft said that these could include:

• services by network providers or other empanelled hospitals for outpatient consultations or treatments, pharmaceuticals, health check-ups and diagnostics, including discounts by redeemable vouchers.
• redeemable vouchers to obtain protein supplements and other consumable health boosters / supplements.
• redeemable vouchers for membership in yoga centres or gymnasiums for participating in fitness activities.
• discounts on premiums and/or increase in sum insured at the time of renewals based on wellness regime followed by policyholders in the preceding policy period. Provided increase in sum insured shall be independent and shall not be linked to the cumulative bonus offered, if any.
• Coverage to non-payable/non-admissible items of cost of treatment.

"Insurers shall not publish the trade names or trade logos of third party merchandize in any of the insurance advertisements, but may refer the product or service offered in generic term. However, Insurers shall disclose the specific items of products and services offered in their website with complete granularity and may provide a link to this in their insurance advertisement and policy contracts," it further said.

"Provided insurers shall not promote products or services of any particular third party service provider," it added.