Pre- Budget Expectations from Mr. Mayank Bathwal, CEO, Aditya Birla Health Insurance

New Delhi, February 01, 2020: “The cost of hospitalisation is increasing and medical treatments are becoming more expensive . With the upcoming Budget 2020, we expect the government to focus on increasing its overall allocation on the health sector. Unfortunately, in India, the awareness about insurance is very low which is one of the major reasons for low-level of insurance penetration. Before Ayushman Bharat Yojana was introduced, very few people had any kind of health insurance, thus the government should also consider on introducing measures to increase health insurance penetration . The industry expects tax deduction cap for medical insurance under Sec. 80D to be increased further from Rs.25,000 to Rs.50,000 for self, and from Rs.50,000 to Rs.75,000 for elderly and dependent parents. This could be a huge relief for those who are apprehensive about the rising healthcare costs. The government should also consider reducing GST slab for health insurance premiums paid, tax benefits for health checks ups and should also focus on primary care and prevention as these could be driving factors for customers to invest in health insurance.  To sum it all, these measures would help in increasing health insurance penetration in India as well as bolster a culture of preventive healthcare in India.”

In the upcoming budget, we expect the government to focus on bringing more people under the ambit of Life Insurance, promote long-term savings and encourage capital formation. In a country with inadequate social security, protection offered by life insurance is inevitable; however, lack of its penetration is plaguing the industry.  Introducing separate deduction of Rs 50,000 for first time life insurance buyers and an additional capping of Rs 50,000 for someone purchasing a pure protection (term) plan will put life insurance on fast track. Another important move would be to encourage women to insure their lives and savings. Extra tax benefit for women policyholders will be a significant step. Moreover, relaxation of section 10(10)(D), where minimum sum assured is required to be 10 times of annual premium will be a desirable move. The budget should also bring about measures to bring parity between pension products offered by life insurers and NPS. Lowering rate of GST at 12% (with input tax credit benefit) will be beneficial for both policyholders and companies. These measures will pave the growth path for the LI sector, besides increasing the security net of the nation’s people at a very low cost.”

Corporate Comm India (CCI Newswire)