India’s 1st standalone mental health insurance cover soon

Axa to provide ~25,000 for consultation, up to ~1 lakh for hospitalisation

AXA France India, with insurance partners in India, is set to launch the country’s first ever mental health insurance cover in its group policies, said a person aware of the development. This is the first standalone mental health cover in the country.

Mental health insurance will provide ~25,000 for consultation with therapists, psychologists, life coaches, among others in virtual mode, and up to ~1 lakh for hospitalisation. The cover will also provide free mental health assessment tests as recommended by WHO. This comes amid rising awareness about mental health in India and the number of cases increasing after the pandemic

came.

The policy will provide coverage for consultation, therapy medicines, and hospitalisation, and is expected to be available from July 1, said the person quoted above. This will be a first-of-its-kind policy focusing on mental health, said Rajesh Dalmia, partner, EY India. The demand for such a product would pick up slowly with rising awareness on mental health issues, Dalmia said.

Such a policy can be made compulsory for employeremployee groups and a limited exposure would make it more feasible and adequately priced, he said. It would also help in curbing fraud due to there being an unclear definition of mental health, Dalmia added.

Last week, AXA, along with the Manas Foundation, launched a fully funded, freeof-cost, 24 by 7 mental health helpline to provide free mental health support and consultations from counsellors and psychologists. The recently released National Family Health Survey shows 0.1 per cent of the urban households and 0.2 per cent of the rural households in India have mental disabilities. However, it is estimated around 99 per cent of retail insurance policies do not cover mental health as illness cover.

Experts like Prathap C Reddy, founder and chairman of Apollo Hospitals, have pointed out non-communicable diseases are the biggest threat to the world. Clinicians welcomed having mental health coverage in health insurance policies. “It’s important that all stakeholders play their part and in this insurance providers have a very important role,” said Dr Samir Parikh, director, Mental Health and Behavioural Sciences, Fortis Healthcare.