'Ulips will grow as Indians have faith in stock markets'

With the onset of the new year, Sarbvir Singh, chief executive officer of PolicyBazaar.com, spoke to Aathira Varier about the major trends that dominated the insurance space in 2024 and the trends to look forward to in the new year. Edited excerpts:

What has been the major trend in the health insurance segment in 2024?

In 2024, the relevance of health insurance on the consumer side became quite well-established. However, there were concerns about affordability. While the sum insured went up, there were also price increases. This has manifested itself, at least on our platform, with the number of people buying policies every month increasing. It used to be a small portion, but this year, we have seen a very significant increase in monthly mode policies. Meanwhile, the claim size has also gone up. There have been concerns about the percentage of claims being paid and the actual amounts that policyholders are receiving.

Is the growth in retail health insurance being driven more by increased sum assured, or is the overall pie expanding?

I sense that the overall market pie is increasing, although not dramatically. Over the past four years, we've been around the 52-53 million mark. However, I believe that gradually, the pie is growing.

One key focus for both the industry and platforms like PolicyBazaar is the development of more affordable products. The future of health insurance will likely be more collaborative, with hospitals, insurance companies, and customers all working together to ensure the sector continues moving in a meaningful direction.

How do you see the demand for pure protection products in 2025?