Star Health surpasses one crore claim settlements

The average length of stay of patients in hospitals has decreased since 2008 but the average size of medical insurance claims has increased four times, according to Star Health and Allied Insurance Company Ltd.

Since 2008, patients have experienced a 20 per cent decrease in the average length of stay in hospitals due to rapid medical developments. On the other hand, the average claim size has increased fourfold, indicating medical inflation and the rising expense of sophisticated equipment and treatment.

During its Q3FY24 earnings call, the management indicated that medical inflation remained high.

The company is likely to effect a price increase for some of the products in the next few months. “We periodically review product pricing subject to various market conditions,” the company told businessline.

1 CRORE SETTLEMENTS

Meanwhile, the Chennaiheadquartered Star Health has become the first standalone health insurance company to achieve the milestone of settling more than 1 crore claims since its inception in 2006. During this period, the company has disbursed more than ₹44,000 crore in claim payments.

The company has a claim settlement team of over 580 medical experts from across specialisations.

“The journey from an unknown startup insurance company to becoming the largest standalone health insurer has been exhilarating. This landmark accomplishment underscores our com

Anand Roy, MD and CEO of Star Health Insurance

mitment towards our valued customers and bolsters our position as their preferred health insurance partner,” said Anand Roy, MD and CEO of Star Health Insurance.

In the total claims settled over these years, 14 per cent of the claims were paid to senior citizens, 61 per cent to other adults, and 25 per cent of the total claims outgo were towards children. Fever and infectious diseases were the most prominent reasons for claims, amounting to 20 per cent of the total number of claims paid. Claims arising for general medicine, gastroenterology, and orthopaedics were also sizeable, said the company.

MARKET SHARE

The health insurer holds a market share of 33 per cent in retail health insurance, which is more than 3 times the secondlargest player in the industry.

During the nine months of this fiscal, the company’s gross written premium (GWP) stood at ₹10,286 crore, an 18 per cent increase over ₹8,753 crore in the same period a year ago. Its share of GWP was close to 46 per cent of the entire standalone health insurance industry.