HYDERABAD: Hit by Covid-19 pandemic, more number of Hyderabadis, who were undecided about having health insurance, are keen on it now to keep their out of pocket expenses on healthcare in check, revealed a latest survey by insurance player Max Bupa.
As per the findings of the Max Bupa Covid-19 Survey, in the pre-Covid-19 times, only 22% in Hyderabad were interested in buying health insurance but now 84% consider health insurance as a necessity. The survey was conducted across 11 cities including New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Pune, Patna, Jaipur and Chandigarh.
The survey also found that 68% of the respondents in the city were willing to pay more premium In the next one-to-two months to get coverage for Covid-19. “Around 94% people in Hyderabad said that health insurance can play an important role in covering the hospitalization cost, medical tests, medicines and quarantine cost. In Hyderabad, 41% people are willing to buy comprehensive health insurance plans to cover any new-age and prevalent diseases,” it added.
Commenting on the study, Anika Agarwal, director (direct digital business and marketing), Max Bupa Health Insurance said, “We are seeing this growing awareness translating into purchase from all over the country, including tier II – III markets. In Hyderabad, in the last four months, we have seen business growth has increased by 23%, as compared to the same period last year. Also, in just one month, we have seen an 80% growth in health insurance policies being purchased online in the city, which shows that people in Hyderabad are prioritizing health insurance purchase in light of Covid-19.”