17th edition of Health Insurance Summit 2024 hosted by CII

The 17th edition of Health Insurance Summit 2024 was held in Mumbai on October 22, 2024, on the theme “Health Insurance for all by 2047”. The inaugural session was addressed by the Chief Guest, Debasish Panda, Chairman, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). He encouraged the insurance sector to embrace digitalisation and new technologies and adopt a consumer-centric ethos. He emphasised that insurance should be a promise with trust and transparency as its pillars.

He advocated for simplifying products, processes and promises with products being designed to reflect understanding and address gaps in traditional areas. He emphasised that underserved markets like MSME, and agriculture should be catered with personalised products for technology-driven lives and inclusive and comprehensive coverage. Customers need to be provided with frictionless and seamless claim processes, he added.

Siddhartha Mohanty, CEO and MD, Life Insurance Corporation of India said, “The insurance penetration is increasing with rising income levels and the government taking steps for ensuring the underserved communities are insured. The penetration of microinsurance is increasing thanks to digital tools available.” He emphasised that the right mix of policies will ensure insurance and technology integration with new distribution channels increasing outreach. He highlighted that regulatory support is essential with a focus on prioritising cyber security with innovation, regulation, and collaboration empowering individuals. The “Insurance for All” report was released at the conference on the theme “Potential for insuring a billion + people.”

Randip Singh Jagpal, Executive Director, Health, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) said, “India is the only country in the world where we have a single body responsible for both regulation and development of the insurance industry. Although our primary mission is to protect policyholders, this objective is not at odds with supporting insurance providers and growing the insurance industry” while addressing the session on bridging the trust gap.

The plenary sessions focused on building trust and easy access being critical as average age of insurers is declining. The Digital Health Mission was emphasised to resolve the issue of customer trust deficit as it will increase transparency. Insights were also shared regarding the reduction in out-of-pocket expenditure of the average customer while government expenditure is increasing, led by greater penetration of health insurance. Challenges are prevalent in terms of headwind medical inflation being in the range of 11 – 14 per cent with the burden of non-communicable diseases increasing and a need for health insurance to be more holistic. It was emphasised that the data from hospital visits can be instrumental in bridging the trust deficit between patients, insurers and healthcare providers and improving accessibility and affordability of healthcare services, especially with the latest AI tools. Better standards, processes and technology will help reduce the information asymmetry in the health insurance sector.