Health Insurance in India is one of the most prominent industries where according to the surveys conducted in the year 2011, nearly 3.8% of India’s GDP was used up in the Health Sector. The evolution of the Health Insurance is also quite a learning experience where the identification can be divided into three distinct milestones to enable the ease of understanding.
The first period was before the Independence where the Life Insurance was started and began to evolve, the second phase was the early few decades of the Independence where Life insurance gained popularity and the concept of Health Insurance was understood as the Government-sponsored programs and the last phase was when the Health Insurance experienced maximum growth primarily because of the liberalization of the economy and awareness in general masses.
The growth in the last phase was significant and as per the surveys, more than 25 percent of the total population in India had marked their presence and had access to the Health Insurance.
When we analyze the evolution of Health Insurance in India, we can easily identify that Life Insurance was the precursor of Health Insurance and the prime reason for the growth of Health Insurance was the growth of the economy and a clear understanding of the health insurance benefits by the public.
Insurance in India was started in the year 1818 by the Oriental Insurance company in India although this was only meant for and limited to the European community yet the concept was incipient in India and a year later after the foundation of Indian Medical System, Bombay Mutual Life Assurance Society began the offering of Life Insurance for Indians too but at a higher premium rates as compared to the British people but the twentieth century witnessed an emergence of many insurance companies in India. The National Insurance Company came into existence in the year 1906 which is the oldest insurance company in India that exists till date.
Life Insurance Corporation which came into existence in the year 1956 was the main reason for the nationalization of the Life insurance.
The initiation of the opening and exposing of the Health Sector was done during the economic reforms in the year 1991.
The government of India also took a major step in the year 2003, when they launched a Universal health Insurance to ensure that the insurance can also reach out to the untouched mass of below poverty line.
The health insurance industry has evolved through many phases of development and there is still much room for development as many published case studies do suggest that there is a possibility of improving the regulation and transparency of the private Health Insurance but with the growth of the sector, the industry is going to witness extreme growth in near future.
Medimanage 