Satisfaction and Problems of Health Insurance Policyholders in India

Abstract

Health insurance holds a lot of business potential in India. After deregulation of general insurance sector in 1999, more than twenty companies have been established in India and almost all of them are offering health insurance. This study investigates the satisfaction and problems of the health insurance policyholders of various public sector and private sector general insurance companies. Data have been collected from 321 health insurance policyholders in the state of Punjab and the union territory of Chandigarh. The study shows that all the respondents have opted for sickness and accident covers. The respondents have been studied for their claim Settlement experience. Majority of the health insurance claimants have filed claims as they faced some form of illness. Satisfaction level of respondents from claim settlement and various other features of health insurance cover has been examined and compared across public and private sector companies. The policyholders have generally complained of delay in policy issue, excessive documentation, non-responsiveness and non-cooperativeness on the part of company and its officials, delay/ denial in case of claim settlement, lack of transparency, etc. In light of the findings, the study gives suggestions to improve overall experience of the health insurance policyholders.

Keywords: Health Insurance, Customer Satisfaction, Claim settlement, Customer Problem.

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