MUMBAI: Start Health & Allied
Insurance
has said that it will hike
rates
by 10-15% in a segment of its
policies
. The company has said that hospital charges that rose during Covid have not been corrected and that reducing the waiting period for pre-existing illnesses would also require higher rates.
“We have planned for a couple of product price increases already, of which one product has gone live, two more products will go live in the next one month’s time,” said Anand Roy, MD & CEO, Start Health, responding to a question at a recent analyst call.
He added that the changes in regulation pertaining to reduction in moratorium period and reduction in the wait period for covering pre-existing diseases from four to three years would also have a long-term impact on pricing.
Amitabh Jain, the company’s COO, said that the company was planning to increase prices in over 30% of its policies. The average price
hike
would be 10-15% and would push up the company’s total premium collection by around 4%. The proposed hike is on the back of a recent sharp increase in the rates of Family Health Optima Plan.
Hari Kanniah (72), who paid a premium of Rs 36,262 on a sum insured of Rs 3 lakh for two adults in 2023-24, saw premium jump to Rs 80,078 for 2024-25. Over Rs 12,000 of it went towards GST. He was informed the hike was due to the rate revision in the Family Health Optima Insurance Plan coupled with the the move to a higher age bracket.
