Care-India, Bajaj Allianz launch rural health cover

NGO Care-India, in association with Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company, has launched a community-based micro health insurance programme in Kanyakumari district on a pilot basis.

Under the programme, Care-India and its SHG partners will create a pool of people from the community and the neighbourhoods in rural and semi-urban areas.

The pool will cover upto Rs 5,000 for claims arising from critical illness, surgeries and hospitalisation. Any claim above Rs 5,000 will be paid by Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company, said R Devaprakash, team leader "" Livelihoods, Care-India.

Premium to cover four people in a family will be Rs 390 per annum. Of the total premium, 65 per cent will go to the pool, while 35 per cent will go to Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company, he added.

Micheal Anthony, spokesperson - group communications, Allianz SE, Europe's financial services major, partner of Bajaj, said the company would provide technical services to community groups to manage their insurance services on their own.

He added that when the project was initiated two months ago, both partners had projected that 75,000 people would be covered in the first year. "With the current progress of the project, our revised estimate is 2 lakh people," Anthony said.

Devaprakash added that health insurance is considered as expensive and still evades poor households in the rural and urban areas. "Considering the low premium paying capacity of the targeted communities, the mutual insurance model will help poor families gain greater access to health insurance service," he said.

A doctor has been appointed by the project partners to provide subsidised outpatient treatment to all members.

The doctor will also serve as gatekeeper to prevent misuse of funds by false referrals. He will decide and recommend clients for hospitalisation, Devaprakash said.

While maternity coverage is generally excluded from health insurance schemes, the pilot project will provide maternity coverage to women members, he added.