Insurance companies in India are conducting audits of workplace cafeterias and proposing changes to reduce claims related to gastroenteritis, colitis and heart related ailments under group mediclaim policies. These audits are being done as part of wellness programmes, industry executives said.

The health insurance sector, which is growing at over 20% every year, is seeing a rise in claims for workplace-related health issues, reports The Economic Times.

Recently, ICICI Lombard conducted a wellness audit on the premises of a company where a worker had suffered a heart attack. The oxygen level in the work area was found to be low. The executives, cited earlier, said companies are focusing on cafeteria audits and ergonomics audit to help corporates assess the status of food safety, nutritional value of food served and musculoskeletal related issues.

During their audits, insurers look at the hygiene and sanitary conditions in cafeterias and their adherence to the guidelines of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (Fssai) on prevention of cross contamination while preparing, cooking, storing and serving of food. The executives said they test the water used for cooking, the process for procuring raw foods and ingredients and regularly test food and kitchen surfaces to check for growth of fungus and bacteria that can contaminate food.

“Our analysis of claim trends shows that over 8% of employee claims are from digestive disorders, and the average claim in this disease category is around INR42,000 ($612),” said Prawal Kalita, director, benefit solutions, JLT Independent Insurance Brokers.