Awarded a Silver in the Digiratti 2012 List

Apollo Munich shines out once again with a Silver in the Digiratti 2012 List by Paul Writer for Marketing Campaign of Optima Restore- an Unbelievable Plan.

Optima Restore that was introduced as an Unbelievable product came in as a first of its kind plan in Indian Health Insurance market. Apollo Munich has brought unique healthcare benefits to serve people with better services through this product. Taking into consideration the uniqueness of this product, it was awarded Silver in the Digiratti List in 2012.

The Digiratti List by Paul Writer honors those campaigns that are benchmarks for Connected Marketing. This List aims to recognize the team that has created unique customer communities and used innovative social media, video, mobile and digital technology to increase marketing impact. Placing itself in this list, Optima Restore has proved itself to be one of the most
innovative products launched in health insurance arena.

Introducing the product under the unique concept of ‘Unbelievable’, Apollo Munich grabbed the attention of many. After years of research and analysis, it came with this concept that gave health insurance a new perspective. Apollo Munich won this Silver Award for its marketing theme 'Unbelievable' for memorability and retention - featuring hard-to-imagine acts performed
by people from different parts of the world and for turning the company website upside down before the launch to create a buzz to draw trade and customers to the website for more information. This unusual concept successfully gained attention of majority of people.

Beginning its journey as a pure health insurance company, Apollo Munich promised to serve people with trusted services. It aimed at reducing the gap between high going medical care cost and people’s pocket. With an aim to make healthcare affordable, Apollo Munich working with a team of experts ensures best results for healthy future of all.

Coming up with innovative products, it has served people with policies that come with a promise unique and comprehensive coverage. Since the year of inception 2007, Apollo Munich has come a long way with launch of several new products. Presently it has immense variety to offer.

Optima Restore is the most innovative product launched by the company. It has given access to unique medical insurance benefits without any extra charge. Its ‘Restore’ and ‘Multiplier’ benefit has introduced first of its kind benefit in health insurance sector. They make health insurance beneficial and convenient for the insured. Due to such innovative features and benefits, the plan became the choice of millions of people soon after its launch. Framed in sum insured options
ranging from 3 lakhs to 15 lakhs, the plan can be purchased as both individual and family health plan.

With the help of survey, it kept an eye over the changing healthcare needs of people all around. Thereby, keeping the focus on needs of people it has come up with this innovative product. Optima Restore offers the opportunity to people to enjoy first of its kind benefit at reasonable insurance premium.

Considering the uniqueness and the Unbelievable concept in mind, Apollo Munich came with unique marketing strategy of the product. Its promotional videos are equally innovative adhering to the campaign. They bring alive the concept of being unbelievable and something unique. Knitting around this new concept, this campaign made its unique identity in Indian
Health Insurance sector.

Having won several awards, it has brought recognition of being innovative for Apollo Munich. Based on consistent efforts and hard work, this plan holds a place in Digiratti list. It recognizes Apollo Munich’s relentless efforts to uncomplicate health insurance for the citizens of India continue to bring us deserved recognition.

Antony Jacob inputs How to Insure your Health

Your health is one of those things you so easily take for granted. I mean, you just have it. It's not something you earned so you don't bother to take care of it, till it's not there anymore. Of course, in the rare event that you do fall sick, you have it all covered. Your partner's job has great perks and Mediclaim's included! But is that really enough? No!

Here are some reasons you need to have your own health insurance policy:

Why your husband's policy is not enough!
• Do you know what the No.1 reason for hospitalisation is? Of course, it's pregnancy! However, the plan / benefit structure of group health insurance policies are customised to suit corporate needs and usually don't cover pregnancy.
• Even if it does, what if your husband really needs to change his job right about the time you are going for your delivery? Worse still, what if he gets fired?
• A mediclaim policy provided by a company will extend upto the day he retires at the most. If you get an independent health insurance policy after that you will have to pay a much, much higher premium thanks to your age!

So now that you know why you need your own retail health insurance policy, it's time to go get one that's right for you.

Start early
First off, it takes about three to four years to really benefit from any health insurance policy. Benefits like waiver of waiting periods, coverage of pre-existing diseases, cumulative bonuses etc take effect only after the first couple of years. So it's better to start early.
Also, at a younger age you can avoid the ordeal of pre-policy check up and avail of lower premium rates too.
And scary as it may be, nowadays, diseases that usually hit people later in life, like heart attacks, arthritis etc, are now occurring much earlier. So you might as well be covered for these too.


Choosing a policy
Just because you need a health insurance policy doesn't mean you buy the first one a salesman offers you. Do a little research on what different insurance companies are offering, the rates, etc.

• Also base your decision on the following:
• Age
• Lifestyle
• Premium paying capacity
• Benefit requirement


You could start with a coverage of Rs. 2,00,000 and gradually increase it as you grow older.

Here's the amount of cover you can look at:
20 to 35 years – Rs 2,00,000
35 to 45 years – Rs 4,00,000
45 to 59 years – Rs 5,00,000
60+ years – Rs 6,00,000 to Rs 10,00,000

Check the fine print
Check and double check the policy details. You don't want your policy to spring any ugly surprises on you. For instance, discovering that your policy doesn't cover certain diseases or that there is one to two year exclusion for certain diseases or that there is a waiting period for pre-existing diseases can be a real downer.

Also check the insurer's credentials and experience in health insurance and ask for details regarding the underwriting approach at the time of entry and claims.
Lastly, make sure your policy does not end at a certain age because this could leave you without any cover at a time when you need it most.

Added benefits
Don't we all love them? Well, all insurance policies don't offer them to you. Look for a policy that gives you the advantages of cover for health check ups, maternity benefits, day care surgeries etc.

Insurance uninterrupted
Once you've found a suitable health insurance product that meets all your needs, it is important to stay insured without interruption. For that, remembering your health policy renewal date is pretty much as important as remembering your partner's birthday or your wedding anniversary!

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

Antony Jacob: Apollo Munich to tap parent co’s hospitals, pharma chain

Apollo Munich Health Insurance will leverage the Apollo Hospitals and pharmaceutical chain and add 2,000 agents by April 2010. The standalone health insurance company, in its first year of operations, has clocked a premium of Rs 60 crore.

Addressing a press conference on the launch of its Maxima 360 Health Insurance plan, Mr Antony Jacob, Chief Executive Officer, Apollo Munich Health Insurance, said, “Our major focus will be to grow the retail segment and expand the agency force to 40,000 agents by 2013-14 from the present 8,000 agents.” The claims from insuring corporates are more than 100 per cent while the claims from insuring individuals are 65 per cent, he said.

The Indian health expenditure is estimated at Rs 1,290 lakh crore of which 80 per cent of the medical expenses is met by individuals from out of their pockets. The nascent health insurance market, in terms of premium collection, is Rs 7,000 crore, growing at 25 per cent annually.

Using the health data available with its parent company Apollo Hospitals, Apollo Munich has developed a health insurance for HDFC Ergo General Insurance. “Since the company is focused only on health insurance, we will explore the possibility of developing co-insurance for other insurers,” he said.

Maxima 360 insurance covers outpatient consultations as well as inpatient hospital expenditure at a sum insured of Rs 3 lakh.

By Mr. Antony Jacob,
Chief Executive Officer

Apollo Munich CEO Mr. Antony Jacob Interview

What types of products are most popular? How about your focus for product development in India?

Inpatient indemnity cover is the most preferred and widely bought health insurance product in India. All general and health insurance players offer the same with few variations. However, Health insurance as a sector in India gained in importance post detarification in 2007 and since then there are visible examples of interesting product innovations.

With the strong understanding that Apollo Hospitals and Munich Health bring to healthcare and health insurance, we are in a good position to develop new market leading products. We will do this with a clear understanding of the voice of the customer. Having said that, we already have some of the best products in the market, and the scope for growth is quite substantial.

Nowadays most companies offer corporate health insurance to their employees as a part of their benefits package which is often positioned as an attractive proposition to retain talent but it needs to be noted by India Inc that the cover ceases to exist once the corporate employee moves out of the organization or there is a policy change for the employer side.

Thus keeping in mind the volatility of the professional and economic environment it is imperative for all corporate employee to look beyond the group insurance plan as extended by an employer and choose an adequate health cover for himself as well as his family at an younger age to make sure all diseases are covered when needed.

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What changes do you foresee in the health insurance industry?

The health insurance market in India has been growing at 25-30 per cent per annum and has the potential to grow in the next five years, in my opinion, at 20-25 per cent. At pres­ent, the health insurance sector is characterised by very low penetration (only 3 per cent of the Indian popula­tion is covered), high out-of-pocket expenses and a steep medical infla­tion (which is much higher than the general inflation). It is estimated that 80 per cent of health care spending is actually an out-of-pocket expense for individuals.

Changing demographics, affluence and work-life balance have brought about a paradigm shift in attitudes and demand for quality health care. Health insurance as a mechanism to finance this need is finding greater acceptability. The need of the hour is to identify products that will suit customers'needs. One of the critical elements would be the timely and accurate settlement of claims to win consumer confidence. No insurer wants to be known for being tardy in settlingclaims—its reputation will be built around the efficiency and alacri­ty with which claims are processed.

The success of this industry and its players hinges on the awareness level of consumers. So a collective effort by all companies is necessary to take insurance to the consumer and extend the insurance coverage beyond 11 per cent which is covered at present only in eight cities.

How does Apollo Munich envisage to stand out?

Apollo Munich is a combination of two specialists—Apollo, which is synonymous with the health care industry, and Munich Health, a leader in health insurance around the world. These two parents of Apollo Munich make an outstanding combination, difficult for any other company to replicate. We believe that through this parentage, we will be able to understand the health care financing requirements of the country and per­haps replicate the success of health care financing through insurance, as seen in other countries, with the sup­port of Munich Health.

We have already rolled out some products which reflect the blended advantage of the two specialist par­ents and will continue to innovate and uncomplicate.

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By Mr. Antony Jacob,
Chief Executive Officer