A group insurance Policy offers certain class of individuals the benefit of standard Health Insurance Coverage at very competitive rates.

1. A group insurance Policy offers certain class of individuals the benefit of
standard Health Insurance Coverage at very competitive rates. Majority
of the group insurance schemes available on the market pertain to the
employer- employee group. However, the guidelines of group insurance
are not just limited to an employer-employee group, but it can extend to
a group where there are common interests. Such groups may include
employee welfare associations, holders of credit card issued by a specific
company, borrowers of a bank besides professional associations or
societies may also be considered as a group.

2. There are several benefits that a group plan offers as compared to
individual health plans and hence they are gaining in popularity
these days.

3. The cost of covering an individual within a group through a group
insurance cover can be about 30% less than individual health covers.
The low cost does not mean the health care Coverage is
compromised; rather insurance companies offer the discount as they
are more than happy to pass on the savings they make in marketing
and administration expense.

4. When taking a group health cover an individual does not have to go
through medical check ups to qualify for the policy. Since the
insurance company gets a pool of people under the insurance cover
any individual specific Risk is hedged by diversity of the population
covered under the insurance policy.

5. An individual Health Insurance Policy has several waiting periods for
specified reasons and diseases. But with a group insurance Policy
you can get a fuller Coverage for your needs. Group insurance
policies generally would have a Waiver on these waiting periods. To
get a handle on how valuable the benefit is let us look at the various
waiting periods that individuals have to accept when they buy a
Health Insurance policy.

6. 30- Days Waiting Period – In order to ensure that people are not buying
a Health Insurance Policy to get an immediately pending Hospitalization
expense covered, insurance companies have a 30-day Waiting Period
before a Claim can be filed. In case of group insurance policy, such a
Waiting Period can be done away with.
Waiting period for Pre-existing disease – Likewise, individual Health
Insurance policies have a 3 to 4 year Waiting Period before which they
allow Reimbursement of health Claim for expenses related to some Pre-
existing diseases. This however, may be waived off in a group insurance
policy.

7. 2 year Waiting Period – Apart from Pre-existing diseases, insurance
companies also disallow Coverage of pre-specified illnesses or
surgeries for a period of up to 2 years which as well can be waived off
in a group insurance plan
Thus, by virtue of some very obvious benefits that group insurance
Policy offers they are getting increasingly popular. Employers and
companies find these an effective tool to enhance employee and
customer satisfaction and thus enhance their own business prospects
in turn.