5 Attributes Of The Best Employee Group Health Plans

Posted by amrina alshaikh on September 3rd, 2021

When one speaks of insurance, one often thinks of individual or family health insurance plans in India. There is a third type that most people don’t immediately think of, though it is quite common: group health insurance.

It is quite simple to be enrolled for employee health insurance – you only need to be employed by the company and you are automatically enrolled in the group health scheme. The employer has an ongoing health scheme with a leading service provider that allows new member enrolment. However, you are covered by the plan benefits only as long as you are employed with the company. The plan benefits are passed on to your family members in the case of your unfortunate demise while you are still employed with the company.

Employee health insurance plans in India are suitable for those who do not have individual health plans to their name, and who would like some form of basic coverage. You do not spend anything on the employee health plan – your employer pays the premium on it every year.

Better group health plans since the pandemic

Employers are assuaging employees with comprehensive group health insurance plans ever since the pandemic broke out. After thousands of businesses shut down and so many more people lost their jobs or suffered pay cuts, companies that are invested in employee welfare stepped up their game to increase retention and a feeling of security in employees’ minds.

Do you have employee health insurance? Read on to know if it’s the best one.

The 5 attributes that the best employee health plans must have

Does your employee health insurance plan have these 5 top attributes?

1)      High coverage at a low premium.

Usually, the biggest flaw in group health insurance plans is that the coverage amount is quite low. It is not high enough to cover the costs of treating long drawn or serious illnesses. Thus, you are forced to pay out of pocket for your treatment, or take an individual health plan by yourself. However, the best employee health insurance plans in India offer a sufficiently high coverage without burdening the employer with high premiums.

2)      Inclusive plans that offer wellness benefits, too.

Lately, group health policies have departed from the usual cut-and-dried approach of offering basic health coverage without any additional benefits. Some of the best group health policies offer coverage for health tests, blood testing, ordering medicines, etc. Some insurance policies also have add-ons like group health challenges, consult health experts via the insurer’s app, etc.

3)      A policy purchased from a leading insurance provider.

It is not as important to offer group health insurance as it is to select an insurance provider that is the market leader in the industry. The insurance provider must have the best group health plans, easy payment terms, valuable add-ons and a high claims settlement ratio.

4)      Easy claims settlement process with minimal TAT.

The biggest attribute for the group plan is that claims are settled quickly. This is helpful during a health emergency. The company processes the claim on your behalf, but it must be done in minimal time upon receiving the relevant documents. Time is especially of the essence in case of your unfortunate demise and your family needs the insurance money for its daily upkeep.

5)      Premium cost does not escalate and does not lead to policy cancellation from the employer.

The biggest attribute of the group health insurance plan is that it costs the employer very little money in terms of premium payments per employee. This is why many companies today are willing to extend employee health insurance, since it costs them less and builds employee goodwill. However, it becomes a problem if the insurance provider hikes up the premiums periodically. If the company size is large and there are many grades of insurance being offered as per employee seniority, then the company might decide to restrict the numbers of employees getting insurance. Thus, the policy should be such that the premium is hiked only in increments and with long intervals in between.