The continued threat from COVID-19 has led people to buy health insurance, according to a recent PwC report. As, per the report insurers have the fear of coronavirus and it has pushed thrm to buy health insurance, with inquiries surging by about 30-40 percent.

But Tapan Singhel, Managing Director and CEO of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, told that insuring oneself is not so common among Indians.

“Our brain is not wired to see risk. The younger you are, the more you are wired not to see risk. Even if it is in front of you, you will not see the risk because you think it will not affect you. The same thing happened during COVID. The common belief is that it is not going to affect you,” Tapan told in an interview.

He believes that India’s insurance industry is been offering good policies and products for different conditions, and further adds that the companies often are perceived as agents but are “just the intermediaries”.

“Even when everything is going digital, one cannot eliminate the role of these intermediaries in some form or the other. A customer needs to be informed about benefits to influence him or her to buy the insurance. The day people are excited to buy insurance, that day intermediaries will disappear,” he says.

“Insurance is critical, which is why a partnership between government and insurance companies is vital. Both need to work together to benefit citizens. At the backend, there should be some support or provision from the government if things go out of control,” he says.

In India Insurance penetration is low, but is slowly growing. According to the report by India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), the insurance penetration in India has reached 3.69 per cent in 2017 from 2.71 per cent in 2001. The number of insurance companies are less in India, as compared to othee foreign countries. So, far about 50-60 insurance companies are operational in the country.