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More than 9,200 customers of Aditya Birla Health Insurance Company Ltd got 100 per cent of their annual health insurance premium back in FY26 under the company’s wellness-linked insurance programme, as the insurer increasingly uses rewards for healthy behaviour to improve customer retention and manage rising medical costs.
Overall, around 2.03 lakh customers earned between 6 per cent and 100 per cent of their premiums back in FY26, accounting for nearly 11 per cent of eligible customers, up from 8.5 per cent in FY25 and around 6 per cent in FY24, Mayank Bathwal, Chief Executive Officer of Aditya Birla Health Insurance, told businessline.
“The idea is simple — if customers stay healthy, hospitalisation chances reduce, claims reduce and the overall insurance portfolio improves,” Bathwal said during a visit to Ahmedabad to launch “Activ Yuva”, a wellness-focused health insurance plan targeted at younger consumers.
‘Health first’ model
The insurer said customers who actively participated in wellness programmes showed over 8 per cent better claim ratios and more than 11 per cent higher policy renewals, encouraging the company to deepen its focus on preventive healthcare and fitness-linked incentives.
Bathwal said the company launched its “Health First” model in 2016 to engage customers beyond just selling insurance policies. “Mainly people above 35 buy health insurance and because of lifelong renewability, portfolios age over time. We wanted to work with customers to help them lead healthier lives. If customers are healthy, our claims come down and the business becomes better,” he said.
The company’s push towards wellness-linked insurance comes even as health insurers grapple with steep medical inflation, which Bathwal estimated at 12–14 per cent annually. “If healthcare costs keep rising at 12–14 per cent, technically premiums also have to rise by similar levels because we are ultimately paying hospitals on behalf of customers,” he said.
According to Bathwal, healthcare inflation — rather than distribution expenses — remains the biggest reason behind rising insurance premiums. “India has to find a way to make healthcare affordable. We cannot run the US model,” he said.
Changing behaviour
The insurer said consumer behaviour has also shifted sharply after Covid, with customers opting for higher coverage despite rising premiums.
“Today, around 80 per cent of our business comes from policies with sum assured above ₹10 lakh. People do not want to compromise on healthcare quality,” Bathwal said.
Aditya Birla Health Insurance currently covers around 24 million customers and reported overall growth of around 39 per cent, with nearly half the growth coming from customer additions and the rest from higher ticket sizes.
The company is also increasing the use of AI and automation in underwriting and claims processing.
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