While buying online, customers are largely comfortable purchasing health insurance policies for a sum assured of Rs 5 lakh. It used to be Rs 2 lakh a few years back. Nearly four out of ten Indians purchasing health insurance online prefer a minimum cover of Rs. 5 lakh, said a study by Policybazaar.com. The study took into account online buying behaviour of over 10,000 consumers across 20 states.

While 40 per cent prefer Rs 5 lakh, nearly 22 per cent of consumers surveyed opted for Rs. 3 lakh cover and Rs 10 lakh cover was opted by more than 12 per cent. A few years back most of the online buyers used to purchase Rs 2 lakh cover.

"Healthcare costs are rising at an astronomical rate. Today, any lifestyle disease treatment costs anywhere between Rs 3-10 lakh in a decent private hospital in the urban areas. As such, what was a Rs 2 lakh average health cover bought two-three years back has become a Rs 5 lakh cover today. With growing awareness around the need for having a health cover and understanding of the existing treatment costs in hospitals, we expect the Indian consumer to opt for an even bigger umbrella to ensure a better protection for their family over the next few years," Vaidyanathan Ramani, head of product and innovation centre (PIC), Policybazaar.com said.

The study also indicated that consumers falling in the age bracket of 26-45 years are the ones who are most active online in health insurance purchases, with nearly 75 per cent of the respondents belonging to this group, while 12 per cent of the online sales were attributed to people between the ages of 45 and 60 years.