As rightly said, health is not a destination but a journey. But maintaining health has become a challenge for many with our current lifestyle. Our country as a whole is witnessing a degradation of the health of its citizens. In a time of pandemics like COVID-19 and other viral infections, the persisting threat of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), otherwise known as lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases are often overlooked.

According to recent studies by the Department of Biotechnology, India witnesses around 53% of deaths every year due to non-communicable diseases. One such lifestyle disease, diabetes, has its highest prevalence in India, where around seventy-seven million people are living with it. Moreover, the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases is also high, especially among people of young age groups. These figures show that the threat of developing lifestyle diseases and succumbing to them will become imminent if we do not take a step toward our health and well-being.

We all live in a fast-paced life where many of us can hardly dedicate any time to health and wellness activities. Health Insurance in this aspect, apart from providing firm financial support, gives that little push to keep ourselves healthy through wellness programs. All Health Insurance companies have wellness programs as per the IRDAI mandate. However, the range of wellness activities and programs they offer might vary from one insurer to another.

The wellness programs in Health Insurance plans help policyholders in a multitude of ways. Most insurers allow the policyholders to self-assess their health through detailed questionnaires and show the results in an easily understandable way. This allows people to be well-informed about their health. Apart from this, the wellness programs offered by many Health Insurance providers contain various activities such as steps tracker, walkathon, marathon, etc. People can enroll in such wellness activities and keep good track of their health.

There are some programs that are specifically designed to address the needs of people having chronic health conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, asthma, etc. There will be specialized wellness coaches to train and guide them. This will be helpful as proper healthcare routines are instilled into their daily lives.

Health Insurance’s wellness programs not only focus on physical health but have also started paying attention to mental well-being. The recent advancements in the medical field have revealed that there is a strong correlation between various health conditions and mental health. For instance, one of the common disorders such as hypertension can affect the mental health of people and lead to anxiety, depression, etc. It can also work the other way around. Hence, there are now an increasing number of wellness programs that focus on mental health such as stress management, yoga and meditation sessions, etc.

Some people may wonder why there are now so many apps that offer such wellness activities and think that what is the difference between them and having a medical insurance plan. Well, taking part in wellness programs offered by Health Insurance has monetary benefits associated with it. People can enroll in wellness activities such as weight management programs, step trackers, etc. When they reach a certain milestone like reducing a certain kilogram of weight or achieving a certain number of steps by participating in such programs, they can earn reward points for the same. The policyholders can redeem these reward points for discounts on the premium at the time of renewal of the health insurance policy.

Against the common misconception that Health Insurance is a costly investment, it offers various discounts that considerably reduces the premium. Moreover, people can avail tax deductions under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act, 1961 for buying medical insurance.

A variety of plans offer wellness programs that include both Individual Health Insurance plans as well as Family Health Insurance plans. You can also gift Health Insurance plans for parents as they also offer various wellness benefits. Thus, the role of Health Insurance has expanded from providing financial support to motivating people of all age groups to keep their health on track.