Life insurance covers unwarranted emergencies in life. (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Less than 10 per cent of those polled have used the healthcare benefits given by their employers to submit a claim, according to a survey by Onsurity, underscoring the danger that workers run of being unprepared for unexpected medical crises.
New Delhi: The coronavirus pandemic made Indians more aware of the value of health insurance, which sparked the growth of group health insurance plans as a means of delivering reasonably priced healthcare services. However, a poll indicates that one significant issue is prevailing. The employees are not aware of healthcare plans and their advantages. This knowledge gap is problematic because it may lead to underinsurance and underuse of healthcare benefits among employees. Access to medical consultations, preventative care, mental wellness assistance, fitness regimens and other services is important in addition to insurance coverage.
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The poll was carried out by Onsurity, reported by Mint, a supplier of employee healthcare benefits with a subscription-based model, and it covered a number of cities, including Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Pune, Noida, Ghaziabad, Lucknow and Chandigarh. Ninety per cent of respondents didn’t belong to Onsurity.
Alarming lack of awareness
The results of the poll showed that 9 out of 10 people had employer-provided healthcare coverage, however, 2 in 10 people didn’t know their sum insured. Six out of ten respondents had no knowledge of who their employee healthcare benefits provider was. Less than one in ten respondents submitted a claim for health insurance under their employer’s healthcare plan.
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As per the Mint’s report, in addition, 83 per cent of those surveyed did not know whether their healthcare plan covered preventive health checkups, and 84 per cent of respondents only had a health checkup when their doctor advised it. The same number of people were also unaware of the benefits their employer-provided healthcare plan offered. About 71 per cent of respondents weren’t aware if their parents were covered by the healthcare plan that their work provided.
What are employer-offered healthcare plans?
Employee benefits insurance policies that are comprehensive and designed expressly to protect employees are offered by several insurance firms in India.
A type of insurance plan supplied to workers by a company is known as an employee benefits insurance plan. It offers health and life insurance to its employees in the event of unexpected medical or other problems.
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Additionally, these insurance programmes are advantageous to the workers and also cover their relatives, including spouses, children who are dependant, parents, and parents-in-law. The benefits that are provided to the employees include retirement and gratuity benefits, as well as coverage for unintentional injury and illness, medical crises, and hospitalisation fees.
How does it work?
Insurance for employee benefits operates much like individual health insurance. The main distinction is that in this scenario, your company is the primary policyholder and provides health insurance benefits to you and the other employees. Every insured member of this policy is covered by the employer’s payment of the premium, therefore it functions as an employee benefits insurance plan provided to a group of employees by a specific firm. There are broadly three kinds of employer-offered healthcare plans namely group health insurance, group life insurance, and group personal accident.