OPD Add-On Covers Getting Popular
The study found an exponential uptake in OPD adoption and usage with the covers rising from 5 per cent in FY23 to 22 per cent this year: Reports
MUMBAI: An increasing number of health insurance buyers are opting for outpatient department cover (OPD) add-on covers and bundling them with the main policy. According to a study of 64,000 policies bought on the platform of insurance aggregator Policybazaar, one in five health insurance policies now include hospital outpatient department cover (OPD).
The study found an exponential uptake in OPD adoption and usage with the covers rising from 5 per cent in FY23 to 22 per cent this year.
Interestingly, preventive care results in 5–10 per cent fewer hospitalisation among OPD users. But unlike hospitalisation claims that may be used only once in several years, OPD policies see far more
engagement. Customers typically make three to four claims annually, according to Policybazaar.
A whopping 90 per cent of the OPD claims are cashless with customers often walking into clinics or pharmacies and use insurance directly, much like a payment wallet.
The top usage of OPD add-on covers are consultations (35–40 per cent), diagnostics (25–30 per cent), pharmacy (20–25 per cent). Dental (5–7 per cent), mental health (3–5 per cent), and preventive check-ups and vaccinations (3–5 per cent) are a smaller share but growing- showing OPD’s ability to broaden healthcare beyond illness. Physical visits still edge ahead with 50–55 per cent share but tele-consults are nearly at parity (45–50 per cent reflecting India’s post-pandemic shift to digital health found the study.
Urban professionals between 18 years to 45 years were found leading OPD adoption. Tier-I cities with high financial awareness and dense healthcare network accounted for half of all the OPD adoption, though Tier-II centres are catching up quickly. Mumbai, Hyderabad and Chennai
stood out with high adoption of OPD covers.