Mr. Antony Jacob's Interview in NDTV

Antony Jacob about Global Mediclaim Policy

GLOBE trotting executives will no longer have to buy an overseas mediclaim policy every time they fly abroad. Apollo Munich Health Insurance will soon launch a mediclaim policy that will be valid anywhere in the world — the first of its kind in India.

Currently, heath insurance policies compensate claims that are incurred in India. Those travelling abroad need to buy overseas mediclaim policies which are valid for a maximum of six months. Although, a worldwide policy would be very expensive, it is likely to find takers among CEOs where the premium is borne by the company.

Speaking to ET, Antony Jacob, CEO, Apollo Munich, said that the new offering targeted at senior executives is part of the company's plan to be present in every segment of the health insurance business. "We are offering health insur­ance under the Rashtriya Swaran Bima Yojana which caters to those below the poverty line. We also have a Rs 20 lakh health insurance policy — which is the only one of its kind in the country. In be­tween, we have a host of plans," said Mr Jacob.

According to Shobana Kamineni, whole time director, Apollo Munich, and part of the Apollo Group which has pro­moted the company, Munich Re and Apollo will invest Rs 500 crore in the health insurance business over five years. The partners have already invest­ed around Rs 200 crore in the business. The health insurance company has re­cently renamed itself as Apollo Munich Health Insurance, following the decision of Munich Re, which owns the Munich brand, to centralise its health business within a new divi­sion under Munich Re.

"What we are looking at is the po­tential of this mar­ket. We expect that the market would be around Rs 35,000 crore by 2015. Even if there are 15 play­ers, anyone with a significant share would need to invest a lot of money."

She added that while this invest­ment may not be vis­ible in terms of phys­ical assets, the com­pany would be creating assets in the form of employees and a base of policyholders. "Munich Re as partners will be a game changer as they have the best underwriting prac­tices and the best expertise in health in­surance," she said.

Since Apollo Munich was launched last year, the company has appointed Mckinsey on board to redraft its mission in terms of what essentially includes a study by AC Nielsen.

7 comments:

  1. Interesting post. It has educated me and I am convinced that I will buy Apollo Munich's travel insurance plan. I am an executive and I have to travel regularly, so it is a must for me.

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  2. Mr. Saxena, just wanted to let you know that I have bought the travel policy and am very satisfied with it.

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  3. Th eRs. 20 lakh policy that Mr Jacob mentions is just another one of the innovative features of Apollo Munich. It is good, some people need higher insurance cover.

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  4. This is really good news for a person like me. I have lived in three countries in 4 years and face big problems when it comes to things like health insurance policies.

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  5. Excellent idea. You can trust Apollo Munich to come up with policies like these, that are the need of the hour.

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  6. This is great for all the executives. I hope this product is rolled out fast. It will find many takers.

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  7. Great idea, and first ever of its kind in India. Hope to see more such plans by Apollo Munich.

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