Rising Parental Cover Pricks Group Health Insurers and Corporates
In order to keep up with the rising premium costs of group health insurance schemes, corporates are asking employees to pay on their own for parental cover. The rising premium costs have been a cause of worry for the insurers too, since the claim ratio for the parental cover is quite huge and as such the insurance agencies have been incurring losses for quite some time now.
Due to this, corporates have been asking employees to avail a separate health insurance plan for their parents. However, according to a recent study by Marsh Insurance Brokers, 19% of corporates who did not have a parental cover in their group insurance scheme have introduced it this year. Since, there is no social security structure in place for Indians, the demand for group insurance parental cover is expected to be high as always. The study also points out that 41% of organizations are providing employer-sponsored group insurance in the year 2013-14 as compared to 35% in the year 2012-13. Self-sponsored parental cover is being facilitated by 76% organizations as against 54% in the year 2012-13.
Corporates increasingly are trying to keep parental cover excluded from their group insurance schemes because the cost of premium is increasing as a result of increased claims being made for parental medical cover.
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What is meant by Group Insurance Schemes?
Group insurance schemes are insurance cover for people who generally belong to a group. This group can consist of members of a society, a club, an organization or a workplace. These people avail group insurance not because of any high-risk factor but because they belong to a certain group and have no insurance-specific reason whatsoever for obtaining group insurance. Group insurance schemes generally give the advantages of standard insurance at a very optimum rate.
The most significant drawback of a group insurance scheme is that your insurance cover would cease in case you cease being a part of your particular group. Also, the manager of the group is required to disclose all the benefits, features and terms and conditions of your group insurance scheme to you.
Benefits and Features of Group Health Insurance Schemes
Understanding Group Insurance by an Example:
Rajesh was quite worried since her mother had been diagnosed with kidney stone and had to be operated as soon as possible. The financial liabilities on Rajesh were already huge, with home loan EMI, children's education and daily household expenses to care for. However, thanks to the group insurance scheme provided by his employer, his whole family including parents were covered under medical insurance. Rajesh's mother's operation was thus a cashless affair wherein he did not have to pay a penny out of his pocket except for medicine bills which too were reimbursed later. Group insurance is an extremely profitable financial tool for a working individual. Although, the cover amount provided is sometimes not that great but nonetheless, it can always be topped up for higher benefits, by paying out of one's own pocket.
More details about health insurance - http://www.bankbazaar.com/insurance/health-insurance.html
Due to this, corporates have been asking employees to avail a separate health insurance plan for their parents. However, according to a recent study by Marsh Insurance Brokers, 19% of corporates who did not have a parental cover in their group insurance scheme have introduced it this year. Since, there is no social security structure in place for Indians, the demand for group insurance parental cover is expected to be high as always. The study also points out that 41% of organizations are providing employer-sponsored group insurance in the year 2013-14 as compared to 35% in the year 2012-13. Self-sponsored parental cover is being facilitated by 76% organizations as against 54% in the year 2012-13.
Corporates increasingly are trying to keep parental cover excluded from their group insurance schemes because the cost of premium is increasing as a result of increased claims being made for parental medical cover.

What is meant by Group Insurance Schemes?
Group insurance schemes are insurance cover for people who generally belong to a group. This group can consist of members of a society, a club, an organization or a workplace. These people avail group insurance not because of any high-risk factor but because they belong to a certain group and have no insurance-specific reason whatsoever for obtaining group insurance. Group insurance schemes generally give the advantages of standard insurance at a very optimum rate.
The most significant drawback of a group insurance scheme is that your insurance cover would cease in case you cease being a part of your particular group. Also, the manager of the group is required to disclose all the benefits, features and terms and conditions of your group insurance scheme to you.
Benefits and Features of Group Health Insurance Schemes
- Group health insurance schemes cover the insured as well as dependents. This includes spouse, children, parents and in some cases in-laws too
- Group health insurance sometimes covers ancillary expenses like ambulance charges too
- Some employees provide reimbursement of medical fees and consultation charges under the group insurance scheme
Understanding Group Insurance by an Example:
Rajesh was quite worried since her mother had been diagnosed with kidney stone and had to be operated as soon as possible. The financial liabilities on Rajesh were already huge, with home loan EMI, children's education and daily household expenses to care for. However, thanks to the group insurance scheme provided by his employer, his whole family including parents were covered under medical insurance. Rajesh's mother's operation was thus a cashless affair wherein he did not have to pay a penny out of his pocket except for medicine bills which too were reimbursed later. Group insurance is an extremely profitable financial tool for a working individual. Although, the cover amount provided is sometimes not that great but nonetheless, it can always be topped up for higher benefits, by paying out of one's own pocket.
More details about health insurance - http://www.bankbazaar.com/insurance/health-insurance.html