Startup fix for health insurance’s take-up pain: Subscriptions

Two major issues afflict the health insurance market in India: only a small segment of the population buys policies and people who do often have a torrid time while filing the paperwork, especially claims. 

The solution to the first problem may lie in fixing the second. 

What if getting health cover could become as easy as starting and using a Netflix subscription? A cashless process with no documentation and no questions asked. Sceptics say this is too good to be true, and one veteran industry executive calls it a recipe for racking up losses.

But tech entrepreneurs believe this model can work, and they are creating subscription-based products that can be bought online after a simple check-up. Once you become a member, you can seek doctors’ appointments, tests, treatment and medicines for free or at discounted prices at partner hospitals and other facilities.

Kenko Health and Even Healthcare are two such startups trying to change the way insurance and consumers interact.