- Company adds Individual health insurance to its current range of health insurance products
- Launches Health Pre Underwritten (PUP) Kits as an Over the Counter offer for customers
- Expands network to 30 branches across the country
Bharti AXA General Insurance Company Limited, has received the regulatory approval for its SmartHealth Insurance policy. The company already has a Group Health and Personal Accident product under its current health offering to the market. In addition to this, they have also strengthened their presence across India in key markets like Cochin, Ludhiana, Pune and Madhurai to name a few.
The SmartHealth Insurance policy launched by the company offers various unique benefits that include
- Covers for hospitalization expenses to treat diseases and injuries as well as a host of value- added benefits and additional features
- Separate additional Sum Insured automatically available in case of diagnosis of any of the covered critical illnesses
- Single Policy for a comprehensive coverage of the insured’s family
- Value added benefits such as Hospital Daily Cash, Recovery Grant, Home Nursing, Ambulance charges amongst others
Commenting on the products, Mr. Narayanamurthy, Senior Vice President -Underwriting & Product Development, Bharti AXA General Insurance Co. Ltd. Said that the emphasis is on providing customers with value added services that will differentiate them from the rest. “With a Bharti AXA General Insurance health policy, customers can opt for various add-on covers that provide additional benefits and compensations. Apart from our Group and individual health products we will also launch products for the Rural and Micro Segment. Our focus is on making the claim process easy and hassle free for the customer through simple documentation and easy claim management”, he added.
The SmartHealth Individual product has been packaged as an OTC product through the sale of Pre Underwritten or PUP Kits that can be sold over-the- counter to individuals who fulfill a set of pre underwritten criteria. This eliminates the hassle of health tests and other procedure involved in buying health Insurance.
With respect to expansion plans, Mr. Kimsoon Chua, Chief Operating Officer said, “Before the close of the year, we plan to increase our branch strength to 80 offices from our existing 30 offices across the country. We would like to penetrate the largely untapped Tier II – Tier III markets in India through massive expansion of our distribution network. We will also be increasing our employee strength to 1500 employees by the end of the year.”
The company has also filed 3 more products with the regulator - SmartHealth Critical, SmartHealth Essential & SmartHealth Deductible. Health constitutes around 15% of total General insurance premium. The Health premium is about Rs. 4500 Crores against the total GI premium of Rs. 28,000 Crores.
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Bharti AXA General Insurance
Bharti AXA General Insurance Company Ltd is a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises, a leading Indian business group and AXA, a world leader in financial protection. The joint venture company has a 74% stake from Bharti and 26% stake of the AXA Group. Currently the company has offices in 20 locations across the country, and plans to expand to 29 locations by the end of the first year of operations.
Bharti AXA General Insurance combines Bharti's powerful leadership position in India, its network and corporate relationships, with AXA's vast experience as the leading global provider in Financial Protection and Asset Management services in over 55 countries across the globe. The company will leverage AXA's operational excellence in the areas of product innovation, technical excellence, quality of service, productivity and distribution, as well as their expertise in claims management, underwriting, pricing and investment performance. Bharti AXA General Insurance will hence provide a well defined product portfolio that will have both traditional and innovative product solutions for the corporate and retail customers.