Antony Jacob New Health Plan from Apollo Munich Insurance

Apollo Munich Health Insurance, a joint venture between Apollo Hospitals Group, Deutsche Krankenversicherung (Munich), a leading health insurer in Europe, launched ‘Maxima’, a unique 360 degree health plan in Chennai.

Initially, Maxima would be available in six cities - Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore and Kolkata.
In the subsequent years it would be introduced into new markets with a network of providers.

‘We are sure that Maxima is the best product which covers the policy- holders and their family in all aspects by giving benefits in health insurance when compared to other companies’ products.

We are targeting five per cent marketshare of retail health insurance business within the next five years,’ said CEO of Apollo Munich Insurance Company Ltd Antony Jacob.

‘Our head office is in Gurgaon, Haryana, it will help us to reach northern parts of India. We are planning to cover all villages by conducting check-ups for dental and visual problems.

A identity card would be issued to them and complete knowledge about the products would be described to all the people. Previously, we designed several products in health insurance with other companies according to their needs,’ he added.

He also said, ‘Through partnership, agents, brokers, staffs, we are planning to market the products. We also have a website which is most essential and easiest channel to reach the customer. Along with the health insurance certificate we give CDs that demonstrate the process which will be helpful for the customer to reach us’.

The products are developed by healthcare expertise and experience of The Apollo Hospitals Group and Munich Health of Germany after thorough understanding and research. Each benefit is designed keeping the healthcare needs of Indian customers in mind.

The structure, the process and the benefits have been formulated by experts in the field of healthcare and health insurance.

The product benefits are designed with the sole aim to create India’s top-of-the-line health insurance plan for customers to maximise advantage of tax deduction benefit.

The Maxima benefits include Rs 3 lakh inpatient insurance cover with pre- and post- hospitalisation cover, day- care surgery cover, cash- less OPD expenses across trusted network of pharmacies for pharmacy bills, diagnostic centers for diagnostic tests and annual health check-up, dental and optical care centers for contact lenses, spectacles and dental treatments along with consultation with family doctors.

Over 1,500 providers have been empanelled by Apollo Munich in six cities with plans to add more in the coming days. The customer can also consult the doctor of their choice outside the trusted network on a reimbursement basis as per the plan.

Do you think the insurance has become acceptable to the customers and has become as important as banking and other segments of financial sectors?

In the last 14-15 years, the level of awareness and the need for health insurance amongst people has improved tremendously. In 1996 when I first looked at health insurance in India, the amount of premium generated by private health insurance was somewhere in the region of 450 crores. Today, my calculations for March 2010 say that it is going to close at around Rs 9000 crores, i.e. about 20 times in 14 years. Though the industry has been growing at about 25-30%, there is no time for complacency.

People often compare between faster growth of telecom in India and that way insurance has hardly grown. Please comment.

If you evaluate the industry numbers, the health insurance market in India has been growing at about 25-30% per annum and has the potential to grow for the next 5 years, in my opinion, at 20-25%. But I must admit that this growth has been on a small base while it must be noted that the private sector telephony was started around mid 90s, a clear 5-10 years ahead of the private sector insurance.

How do you see the next decade of Indian insurance industry as the country's profile both inside and outside is changing rapidly?

At present the health insurance sector is characterized with very low penetration (only 3% of the Indian population is covered with some insurance cover), high out-of-pocket expenses and steep medical inflation (which is much higher to general inflation). It is estimated that 80 per cent of the healthcare spending is actually an out-of-pocket expense for individuals. On the other hand, changing demographics, affluence and work-life balance has brought about a paradigm shift in attitudes and demand for better and the best quality of healthcare.

Health insurance as a mechanism to finance this need is therefore finding greater acceptability. Thus the market has great prospects, but the need of the hour is to identify products that will suit customers' insurance needs and win their confidence. One of the critical elements in the competitive landscape of future would be the timely and accurate settlement of claims to win consumer confidence. No insurer wants to be known for being tardy in settling claims — its reputation will be built around the efficiency and alacrity with which claims are processed. A collective effort from all companies is necessary to take insurance to consumer and grow the insurance coverage beyond the 11 per cent that are covered at present in the top eight cities only.

At Apollo Munich Health, we are deeply committed to grow at least 25 per cent year on year for the next few years. We hope to uncomplicate people lives by giving them better healthcare and innovative products.

By Mr. Antony Jacob,
Chief Executive Officer