Reliance General Insurance launches OPD cover. Is it worth buying?

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Reliance General Insurance Company Ltd (RGICL) has launched an OPD product called Digital Care Management policy that is designed to cover regular outpatient expenses. The product has got approval under the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India’s (IRDAI) regulatory sandbox guidelines. Under Regulatory Sandbox (RS) guidelines insurers are allowed to do testing of new and innovative products in a controlled environment for which the regulator also allows some relaxations.

OPD has become a big piece of health expenditure as the charges are quite expensive. Consider this in India, out-of-pocket expenses are very high comprising a large component of 62%. In developed countries, it will be about 10-16 %. In South Africa, it is just 7.72% and around 35% in China.

The Covid-19 pandemic too has led to an increase in expenses incurred towards OPD treatment, leading to average Indian spending close to Rs 4,000 to Rs10,000 per annum on outpatient treatment. Reliance General Insurance latest offering covers such out-of-pocket expenses with Digital Care Management Policy.

“During Covid-19 people abstained from visiting doctor clinics or hospitals due to the fear of the virus, giving way to faster adoption of digital methods for OPD treatment like Tele-medicine, Online Pharmacy etc. Thus, it became imperative to introduce an OPD policy like Digital Care Management, that covers the new-age digitally-savvy Indian from the financial burden of such Out-of-Pocket expense irrespective of the treatment mode,” said Rakesh Jain, ED and CEO of Reliance General Insurance.

Features

The policy offers OPD related medical expenses such as:

Medical expenses cover Online medical expenses Pharmacy expenses Investigation expenses Dental and ophthalmology cover Add-on covers such booking online medicine and online investigation appointment

Eligibility

The policy offers sum-insured from Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000 for people between the age of 18-75 years. It also has a family floater option with maximum coverage for 8 members. Moreover, there is a 5% discount for existing policyholders on premium and an additional 5% discount for Covid-19 vaccinated people.

Claims

OPD claims can only be done via reimbursement. The policyholder can also file the claim online by downloading the app, fill the form online and submit proper bills and other required documents in order to claim the amount.

Should you buy?

Reliance Digital Care Management can be an important addition over and above your basic health insurance policy to give you comprehensive coverage. But remember that OPD covers are quite expensive compared to the sum insured offered.