In today’s day and age, you are more prone to health contingencies and accidents. Whether it’s the pressure you endure during your job or the effect of the pandemic, stressful lives have caused a beeline of lifestyle diseases. It makes you question whether there is any effective solution to this.
The answer to that is a yes. The silver lining in this scenario is health insurance 🏥. It can act as a financial protector 💵 in case of emergencies and help you keep yourself and your family members 👨👩👧👦 secure.
It is for this reason and more that organizations across the globe are today offering health coverage to their employees in the form of low-cost group insurance. There are several benefits of providing low-cost group health insurance as well.
Let’s understand what low-cost group insurance entails, which companies commonly offer it in India, and how you can take advantage of it.
🏥 What Is Low-Cost Group Insurance? 🏥
Low-cost group insurance is a type of insurance plan 📜 that covers several people under the same scheme, at affordable rates. It extends the same level of coverage 💊 to all the members of the group regardless of their age, gender, economic status, or other such differentiators.
Generally, this type of group insurance extends to two types of groups – formal groups and informal groups.
Employer insurance falls under the former wherein the organization extends health coverage to a number of employees at affordable 💰insurance premium rates.
READ MORE: What Is Employer-employee Insurance: A Comprehensive Guide
Further, such a plan provides medical expenses 🩺coverage to not just the group members but also their spouses, children, and dependent parents. The scheme is either provided free of cost to employees or at affordable rates.
Group health insurance plans can further be divided into contributory and non-contributory plans.
In contributory plans, employers, and employees both pay a part of the premium amount 💷. Whereas, in non-contributory plans, employers bear the whole premium, and employees are not required to contribute financially.
KNOW MORE: Are Group Health Insurance Premiums Tax Deductible?
In both contributory and non-contributory plans, employees can purchase top-ups and avail higher coverage over and above the existing employer-based scheme.
MORE ABOUT TOP-UP: Loop’s New Launch Alert: Super Top-Up Insurance
Further, as the risk spreads across a large number of people, you can purchase low-cost group health insurance at affordable rates as compared to individual insurance.
However, a member is covered under it only as long as he or she is part of the group. The cover ceases if the member or the employee leaves the organization.
Up next, let’s have a look at the list of companies offering low-cost group insurance in India.
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🏢 Which Companies Offer Low-Cost Group Insurance? 🏢
There are several companies in India that are offering group health insurance policies. Below, we list the best health insurance brokers for both retail and group plan to help you zero in on exactly what you’re looking for:
1. Loop Health
Loop is India’s first integrated care provider. We help companies get amazing health benefits for their teams and deliver the care with our own in-house team of 👩⚕️ 30 experienced doctors👨⚕️.
We started in 2018 when we found that GPs treat patients when they’re sick, and do not keep them healthy 💪. This is a disadvantage for patients who have to navigate the complex healthcare system and they lack medical expertise.
The idea was to create a company that actively cares about people and is financially incentivized to keep them healthy. It was possible by combining primary care 🩺 and insurance 📜.
Today, Loop is one of the fastest-growing 📈 group health insurance providers in India. We’re one of the first providers who have an in-house medical team.
With their help, besides offering customized group health plans at affordable premiums, we offer 24X7 medical support ⏲️ for all our members. We also have a dedicated 24X7 customer and claims support team.
Group health plan cover with Loop extends beyond hospitalization. You also get free primary care, unlimited OPD consults, and two wellnesses sessions in a month. All of this is accessible via the Loop app 📱. It is your go-to for all your group health insurance needs.
Recently, soon after the Series A funding round of $12M, we raised $25 Million in a Series B round. The total is $40 Million. Read more about the funding and how we plan to use the funds in this article.
2. Prudent Insurance
Based in Mumbai, Prudent Insurance was founded in 2005 and is regulated by the IRDAI. The company has a global presence with a reach in over 120 countries with an employee base of over 800.
The company offers life insurance, general insurance, and health insurance policies with a focus on small businesses, multinational companies, and corporate entities.
3. Anviti Insurance
Anviti Insurance Brokers Pvt. Ltd. has its headquarters in Bengaluru. It was renamed Aon in 2017. The company offers a wide range of insurance products and services including health coverage, home insurance, travel insurance, and more.
Aon’s health coverage includes group health plans that are targeted toward large as well as small corporations. Employers can select from the range of health schemes offered based on their specific needs and employees’ requirements after consultation with the company’s executives.
4. Marsh India
Marsh is another well-known name in the insurance sector. It has a global presence and spans 12 locations in India. An early player, the company was founded in 2003 and has since grown to 130 countries across the globe.
The company offers a range of insurance products, including insurance program design, insurance claims management, property risk consulting, supply chain risk management, logistics risk management, and global analytics, with health insurance being one of them.
5. Howden
Associated with the well-known Hyperion Insurance Group of the UK, Howden Insurance Brokers India Pvt. Ltd. is a prominent health insurance provider in the country.
They offer a range of products and services, particularly health insurance and other types of common insurance schemes such as motor insurance and travel insurance. The company is headquartered in Mumbai and has a presence in most metro cities.
Let’s understand the features of Loop’s comprehensive group health insurance plans and why they are your ideal bet below.
🟢 Why Does Loop Offer The Best Low-Cost Group Health Insurance? 🟢
Loop was founded on the core principle that health checks and allied services should be available to everyone, regardless of socio-economic constraints or barriers of age. Our products are aimed at providing affordable health care with a focus on prevention and primary care.
Learn all about preventive care, what are its pros, the differences between preventive and curative health care, the importance of preventive healthcare for employees in India, and more here.
In addition to standard features such as coverage for pre-existing diseases, maternity benefits, and cashless claims, here’s what sets Loop apart as the best low-cost group health insurance provider.
QUICK READ: Top 10 Features Of Group Health Insurance Policy | Loop
1. 🩺 Unlimited doctor consultations
Providing easy health care access to employees is at the center of Loop’s group plans. That’s why we provide unlimited doctor consults 🥼 with specialists and thereby enable members to tackle health issues before they turn into emergencies.
2.⏰ 24X7 support on chat
Unlike other group insurance providers, our in-house team of doctors provides round-the-clock support. Employees can reach out to us via chat at any time throughout the day or night and enjoy quick and easy management of health concerns.
Simply log into the Loop app and you can chat with your dedicated medical advisor 24X7. They will guide you in your healthcare journey.
3. 📜 Customized group health insurance plans
Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, we provide customized group health insurance plans that are suitable for you. Employers can choose a scheme that is most beneficial for the company as well as the employees.
4. ☎️ Round-the-clock claims support
Claims processes are usually tedious and time-consuming. However, not with Loop. To enable easy management of claims and documentation, we have a 24X7 claims support team in place that can help employees and HRs do away with operational hassles in case of hospitalization and also benefit from a lesser waiting period.
5. 💆 Access to wellness sessions
At Loop, we believe in the holistic wellness of employees. Instead of tackling health emergencies when they arise, our team enables employees to maintain their health on a regular basis. This is done via free access to wellness sessions (conducted by experts in the field) twice a month.
The sessions range from nutrition sessions to financial wellness to better sleep dealing with procrastination, and more. Learn more about wellness sessions here.
6. 🏥 Pre and post-hospitalization coverage
While hospitalization charges are usually covered in the sum insured, group plans at Loop also cover pre and post-hospitalization charges. These include costs for health check-ups, ambulance charges, investigative tests, and more.
Essentially, anything 30-days before hospitalization and 30-days post-discharge.
Read 7 Must-Known Facts about Employee Healthcare Insurance Coverage.
7. 🦷 Dental and vision coverage
Although most health insurance policies promise standard features such as access to renowned network hospitals, and cashless claims, not all offer flexibility in terms of coverage.
At Loop, we extend dental, and vision coverage as part of our group plans for extra protection.
8. 🧠 Complimentary mental health counseling
While most group plans focus on physical health and ailments, Loop’s personalized offerings also include mental health benefits.
We offer mental health counseling to employees as part of our group plans. This enables them to manage stress and avoid several diseases and absenteeism at work.
➕ What Are The Advantages Of Buying Low-Cost Group Health Insurance From Loop? ➕
Employers and employees can enjoy several benefits of group health insurance with Loop’s low-cost plans. While the prime advantage is accessible health care and seamless claims management, here are other added benefits that come with it:
1. 👇 Lower absenteeism
Due to Loop’s focus on preventive health care, employees have access to doctor support round the clock. Further, they can also avail mental health counseling sessions and tackle stress better. This leads to lower absenteeism for the company and helps improve productivity.
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2. ☝️ Higher employee engagement
By providing Loop’s holistic health coverage to employees, companies can create a healthier and happier workforce.
Employees feel taken care of due to the various benefits that come with Loop’s group plans. This enables increased employee engagement in the long run.
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3. 🎯 Enhanced productivity
Preventive health care with limelight on overall employee wellbeing – that’s the crux of group plans at Loop. With access to complimentary wellness sessions, such as stress management, yoga, and meditation, employees can improve their focus at work.
This can, in turn, lead to enhanced productivity within the organization.
LEARN MORE: 10 Workplace Wellbeing Initiatives To Increase Productivity
4. 💶 Tax benefits
With group health plans, both employers and employees stand to benefit from tax benefits. Insurance premiums paid by the employer are a business expense and hence deductible under the Income Tax Act. Similarly, premiums, if any, paid by the employee can also be claimed for tax deductions.
5. 💰 Affordable health care
Individual plans are usually more costly as compared to group plans. Depending on the scheme, employees can enjoy Loop’s group health insurance at low costs. This enables them to be free from the burden of hefty premium payments while ensuring adequate coverage for themselves and their dependents.
6. 💊 Coverage for pre-existing ailments
In addition to hefty costs, individual plans do not provide coverage for any pre-existing ailments that the employees may be suffering from. However, Loop’s group plans are designed to tackle this gap.
We offer complete coverage for pre-existing diseases for employees and thereby help them seek aid in case of health contingencies.
GOOD TO KNOW: Group Health Insurance Vs Individual Health Insurance In India
7. 👨👩👧👦 Coverage for dependents
Loop’s group plans extend not just to employees but also to their dependents and family members, including children, spouses, and parents.
This allows employees to enjoy financial assistance and quick claims support in the unfortunate times when their loved ones are in a health emergency.
8. 💹 Improved revenues
Comprehensive health care with Loop allows companies to enjoy lower absenteeism and better productivity. This favorably impacts revenues for the company as employees perform better and to their maximum potential. It also helps companies retain talent and reduce attrition costs.
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9. 🤝 Better employer-employee relationship
Providing holistic health insurance to employees and dependents can enable them to feel like they are taken care of. It renders a sense of belonging amongst team members and enables them to build a relationship of trust with the employer.
They are likely to stay longer with the organization and also refer more people to work for the company.
👍 Avail Low-Cost Group Insurance With Loop 👍
Loop is armed with the vision to change the landscape of health insurance in India. To this effect, we are constantly innovating and bringing newer products and services to the table.
At present, our group health insurance plans include customized offerings and a host of benefits for both employers and employees. However, while packing in some great perks, we’ve managed to keep our prices budget-friendly.
Avail of the above-mentioned advantages with our low-cost group health insurance plans today. For more information, get in touch with our experts today!
