Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Thursday, Apr 27, 2006
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Thursday, Apr 27, 2006 |
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Money & Banking - General Insurance Industry & Economy - Education Students going abroad can get medical cover here `at better rates' Radhika Menon
Mumbai , April 26 The bulk of Indian students in universities abroad prefer to buy medical insurance once they leave Indian shores. While it is mandatory for several foreign universities to have their students buy medical insurance, many are not aware that they can do so at better rates in India. According to travel analysts, maximum insurance claims from Indian students abroad come from accidents and health ailments, followed by pregnancy-related conditions. Mr Sudhir Menon, Head-Travel Insurance and Worksite-Marketing, ICICI Lombard, said just around 10 per cent of the Indian students buy medical insurance from India. "Around 1,10,000 students go abroad every year. Considering that 50 per cent of these Indian students are headed to the US, where medical insurance is compulsory, awareness about buying `comparable' insurance here is very low." Each university has a different set of requirements for coverage and companies in India are now offering customised or `comparable' cover as per the university's need. Most universities also have tie-ups with local health insurance companies and hence persuade students to purchase their cover.
Sizeable savings
Insurance companies say students going abroad could make a saving of at least $500 by buying insurance in India. While the annual premium in India would be $350, universities abroad would offer them the same cover at $900-$1000. The cover ranges from $50,000-$100,000. With a number of private general insurance companies having international joint venture partners, a wide healthcare network is already in place. "While the universities abroad could offer insurance that is applicable in only in a predetermined radius, our policy covers students all over the world including contingencies such as passport or baggage loss," said Mr Menon. Since the insurance tie-ups of universities are for groups, they offer a higher cover with more features. "Foreign universities offer a liberal coverage of up to $1 million. For an Indian company, the numbers are not adequate to compete with that," said Mr Krishnamoorthi Rao, Head-Underwriting, Bajaj Allianz General. "Some universities also provide for over-the counter medicines as part of their policy. But an additional premium of $500 for medicines is not justified," said Mr Khalid Sohail, Head-Travel Services, Tata AIG General Insurance. Since the target audience is niche, insurance companies have been tying up with student counsellors, travel agents and banks or companies involved in forex remittance for distributing medical insurance.
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