Fitness Insurance: The Newbie In Town

Nimit Bavishi, Co-founder and Head – Networks at Symbo India Insurance Broking, in a conversation with Himali Patel, explains the trend of fitness insurance for enthusiasts and sports persons

Can you explain the concept of fitness insurance and its features?

Fitness insurance is a bite-sized insurance product catered towards workout enthusiasts and sports persons. While most comprehensive health insurance plans require the patient to be hospitalised for 24 hours, injuries such as fractures and ligament tears come under out patient treatment and are generally not covered. Fitness insurance provides cover for such injuries with premiums starting at just Rs 25 per day. Fitness insurance provides coverage for:

- Fracture: Rs 5,000

- Dental injuries: Up to Rs 10,000

- Ligament tear: Up to Rs 25,000

- Hospi-cash, (a daily allowance for expenses incurred during hospitalisation): Up to Rs 1,000 per day

- Supporting accessories: Up to Rs 50,000

- Accidental Death Benefit: Rs 1,00,000

Who are your target audience? 

Fitness insurance is targeted towards workout and sports enthusiasts. The target audience includes gym goers as well as groups that book turfs for playing sport. Due to their active lifestyle such individuals are at a higher risk of fitness related injuries than ailments such as diabetes or heart disease. Over 90 per cent of fitness related injuries do not require 24 hours hospitalisation and are not covered under most standard health insurance plans. Fitness insurance fills this gap by providing comprehensive cover to its target group by covering the risks that they are most prone to.

What are the other trends the Insurance companies are likely to witness in the coming days?

The insurance sector is rebuilding itself around creative and innovative structures. Bite-sized context-based insurance products such as fitness insurance and vision insurance are growing in popularity and such products are likely to gain more traction over time. Insurance companies and intermediaries such as brokers are breaking away from the one-size fits all philosophy and are targeting niches with relevant need-based products. 

Such a transition is enabled with rapid technological progress. Big data analytics, machine learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be leveraged to analyze behavioral patterns of a target group through which insurance providers can build suitable coverages for its audience.

The trend for innovative context-based insurance is in line with the millennial generation, which believes in seizing the day rather than investing in the long term. Health insurance provides cover for an entire year, but sports enthusiasts can always buy fitness insurance while booking a turf where there is an immediate risk of suffering from an injury. Similar products such as vision insurance, car rental insurance, mobile phone and laptop insurance from various insurance providers are designed to fulfill a context and to cater to a specific need.

What is the Insurance broking companies’ role when it comes to bridging the gap in the development of the industry?

Insurance brokers and intermediaries add value and facilitate bridging the gap in the development of the insurance industry by:

- Innovating much faster than the market by leveraging technology and gaining insights into target groups to develop context-based products.

- Combining the elements of life, health and general insurance to provide comprehensive covers to the appropriate target audience.

- Simplifying the insurance process end-to-end right from policy issuance to the claims service experience.