Study of Determinants of Renewal of Health Insurance Policies Ahire Neha1,*, Rishipathak Parag2 1Assistant Professor, Symbiosis Institute of Health Sciences Symbiosis International (Deemed) University, Pune, India 2Director, Symbiosis Centre for Health Skills, Symbiosis International (Deemed) University, Pune, India *Corresponding author: Neha Ahire, Assistant Professor, Symbiosis Institute of Health Sciences, Symbiosis International (Deemed) University, Pune, India Email: nehaahire@sihspune.org
Online published on 9 January, 2019. Abstract Introduction Health insurance in India is still at a naïve stage. Out of pocket (OOP) expenditure is still the most predominant mechanism for funding healthcare. Studies have shown that there exists a close relationship between the health conditions of the people and the economic growth of the country in which they live. In such scenario, there is a dire need to study determinants of renewal of health insurance policy. Method A descriptive study was carried out to understand factors affecting renewal of health Insurance policy in Pune City. Questionnaire was circulated to 200 individuals who were covred under voluntary health insurance. Further, this population was studied for two variables a) those who have renewed their health insurance policy at least once and b) who did not renew the policy and discontinued after one year. Further determinants of renewal were compared within both the groups. In addition, respondents were identifiedfrom both the groups who have availed benefit of health insurance policy through cashless hospitalisation or reimbursement. The claim settlement process was studied through 5-point Likert scale. Results Age, income, percentage spending on healthcare as well as total expenses affects the renewal decisions. Younger individuals have shown to be more customary in paying the premium and renewing the policy &willing to renew health insurance policy. The group who have renewed health insurance have also rated tax savings component higher Conclusion The study suggests need of product innovation to suit everyone's needs. The products offered should focus upon long term benefits and tax savings components to sustain customers for a longer duration. The results also suggest improving the claim settlement process as customer satisfaction is significant factor in influencing the renewal decision of policyholder. Top Keywords Health insurance, Renewal, claim settlement. Top |