A detailed guide on Health Insurance Wellness Programs

 “Healthy citizens are the greatest asset any country can have.” – Winston S. Churchill.

The above words deliver a lot of meaning, especially during the current times when everyone is battling the COVID-19 pandemic. With the need to move towards a healthier lifestyle, organizations are also doing their bit by educating the customers to follow hygiene practices. However, health insurance in India is still finding its way. Still, the recent guidelines issued by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) on health insurance wellness programs are sure to bring the focus back to the focus on health insurance.

Sandhya is a 28-year-old advertising professional who is passionate about making it big in her current company. However, due to extreme stress and the need to deliver projects on time, she started working odd hours without any rest, which eventually led her to gain weight drastically within a few months. Sandhya started feeling low because of her weight gain, which affected her professional life as well. While she was desperately looking for motivation, she met her college friend, who told her how her health insurance plan offers wellness points to perform healthy activities, which can be utilized for discounts in premium renewal. Without any delay, Sandhya immediately bought the health insurance plan that her friend suggested through the internet. She started following the wellness programs offered by the insurer religiously, and within the next 3 months, she was able to see a lot of positive changes in her. Sandhya was really happy about choosing between buying the health insurance policy and using its benefits.

What are health insurance wellness programs? 

There are different types of health insurance plans available in India, each with its own set of features. To differentiate their policies from the competition, some health insurers offer benefits such as free preventive health check-ups, gym memberships, diet consultations, yoga classes, etc., in exchange for points, which can be redeemed later for discounts in renewal premium.

Though such initiatives were offered by few insurers earlier, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has issued detailed guidelines on the wellness programs, pushing all health insurance companies to offer such benefits and incentivize the policyholders for completing the said activities.

What are the offerings in health insurance wellness programs? 

The concept of a health insurance policy to provide coverage for your medical expenses has changed with the provision of wellness benefits to tackling modern-day health issues. For all those who are wondering what the benefits of wellness are, here is a quick summary:

• Preventive Healthcare: Policyholders can undergo preventive health check-ups, outpatient consultations or treatments, diagnostic tests, etc., for free of cost or at a discounted price, at hospitals chosen by the insurance company to understand their health condition.
• Wellness Features: As part of providing wellness benefits in health insurance, insurers are encouraged to offer redeemable vouchers to their policyholders. These can be used to purchase health supplements or to buy memberships at gyms, fitness centers, sports clubs, yoga centers, etc.
• Discount in Premium: Based on the wellness regime followed by the policyholder, the insurance company may offer a discount in renewal premiums or could increase their sum assured if certain conditions are followed continually.
• Reward Points: On completing specific tasks as part of your wellness program and promoting active participation among policyholders in the future, the insurer may offer reward points for achieving the milestones.

Benefits of wellness programs for policyholders

You may scour through all the best health insurance policies in India and choose the right one for you, but it serves no purpose if you do not care about taking care of yourself. Therefore, the main objective of offering wellness benefits with health insurance policies is to promote a healthy lifestyle among people, which seems to be lacking as of now. Some of the other benefits are:

• Understand the importance of healthy living while practicing healthy habits through the offered wellness programs.
• The ability to undergo any diagnosis or preventive health check-ups at discounted pricing or for free. People usually tend to postpone such decisions citing lack of time or forgetting to remember their next check-up, but with such benefits bundled into your health plan, it is hard not to use them.
• Who doesn’t like reward points? Now, get reward points for performing the activities set by the insurer and redeem them for buying health products or gym membership, fitness class, or anything related to a healthy lifestyle.
• With multiple wellness options to choose from, you are always surrounded with healthy choices rather than splurge your efforts and time in unhealthy habits. By practicing healthy habits, your behavior also moves towards a healthy being.
• Know about all the latest trends in the fitness world as insurers will keep you informed about the most happening deals and offers in town, creating an opportunity for you to always stay ahead of the curve when it comes to health.
• Suppose you have a family floater plan. In that case, other family members can also use the wellness benefits, which is a huge benefit considering the positive effects on your entire family.
• Some health plans also offer carry-forwarding unused benefits to the next year if you were not able to use them in the current year. This ensures your wellness benefits are not wasted, and you can still make use of them in the following policy year.

Health and wellness are the two keys to leading a balanced and happy life. So is the reason it is said that if health is lost, everything is lost. The health insurance benefits have increased multifold by bringing wellness options, making it a single comprehensive tool. It helps you by taking care of the medical expenses in case of getting affected by diseases or illnesses and ensures your wellness is taken care of, boosting your immunity, which is necessary to keep any health complications at bay. So do not wait longer and start your journey towards healthy living by choosing the right health insurance plan.