Very rarely does a foreign brokerage firm comment on specific products of companies. When Jefferies stated that ICICI Lombard’s new health insurance product Elevate would revolutionize the industry, it caught the attention of many stakeholders.
In a fairly competitive health insurance market, Elevate offers some unique features – such as unlimited coverage, top-up of sum assured with no maximum limit, cumulative bonus increases even when claims are made on the base policy. Apart from this, there are other additional benefits that are quite unique such as inflation protection, reduction in waiting periods for certain diseases, 100% increase in sum assured every year, worldwide coverage and the like.
The policy is also open to people between the ages of 18 and 125, which is quite unique.
With all these features, Elevate’s premiums are quite reasonable for different age groups and family sizes.
We examine some key features of this policy that are not widely available elsewhere, as well as the premiums charged, to assess its suitability for policyholders.
Enhanced basic protection
ICICI Lombard’s ‘Elevate’ health insurance cover starts from a sum insured of Rs 5 lakh. Health insurance policies are available for sum insured up to Rs 3 crore.
However, Elevate scores points because it also offers the option of unlimited coverage, with no maximum limit on the insured sum. And the premiums are affordable.
A 40-year-old person with a younger spouse and two children can get a Rs 3 crore policy for Rs 47,657 (excluding GST), while an unlimited sum assured with an annual premium of Rs 51,510 (excluding GST) costs a little more. For comparison, a Rs 15 lakh sum assured costs Rs 23,611 (excluding GST) annually, following the company’s rate table for Zone A of the country – policyholders from other zones can get discounts from these premium tiers.
In a time of rising medical inflation, unlimited sum insured is actually an excellent option for policyholders.
Another important feature is the guaranteed cumulative bonus. Elevate offers a 20 percent cumulative bonus for each claim-free year, up to a maximum of 100 percent of the regular annual sum insured. The advantage here, however, is that, unlike other health insurance companies, the cumulative bonus is not reduced even if you make a claim in a year.
So, five claim-free years with a cover of Rs 1 million will give an additional cumulative bonus of Rs 1 million. A claim in the sixth year will not affect the bonus accumulated up to that point.
Elevate also offers a rollback benefit in the basic cover that resets up to 100 percent of the sum assured an unlimited number of times in case of illness if the cumulative bonus or other add-on arrangements to increase the sum assured are not sufficient. So, with a cover of Rs 1.5 million, if a person makes two claims of, say, Rs 1.2 million and Rs 5 million per year, the policy will cover both hospital bills in full. This rollback benefit will not be triggered for the first claim.
Drivers increase the weight
The policy contains interesting clauses that are available by paying an additional amount on top of the regular premiums.
For those who have not opted for the unlimited coverage in the basic policy, there is an option to purchase an add-on package called Infinite Care, which covers bills that exceed the sum insured. However, this add-on package is only available once during the term of the policy.
Then there is the PowerBooster add-on, which offers a guaranteed super bonus. When this add-on is taken out, 100 percent of the annual sum assured is added every year, even if a claim is made. The bonus can be accumulated with no upper limit. However, if you decide not to take out this add-on, any extra payments made up to that point will be withdrawn.
In the case of pre-existing conditions, the waiting period is 36 months, and in the case of certain illnesses, it is 24 months.
But with the JumpStart add-on package, the health insurance company offers coverage for six specific diseases – asthma, diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, obesity and coronary heart disease – with a waiting period of just 30 days.
As international travel for both business and personal reasons becomes more common, global health insurance has become essential given the high medical costs in advanced economies.
Elevate offers worldwide insurance cover up to the sum assured, subject to a maximum of Rs 3 crore. There is a waiting period of two years for regular claims. However, there is no waiting period for unforeseen emergencies.
Overall, Elevate by ICICI Lombard has refreshingly unique features and most importantly, the premiums are not expensive considering the higher level of coverage offered.
A high entry age, additional benefits such as inflation protection, maternity allowance and more are well thought out.
Policyholders can choose the highest possible sum insured from the available options or even opt for unlimited cover. Many of the additional benefits that offer higher bonus amounts, broader insurance coverage and shorter waiting periods are also worth looking into.
