
Why your health insurance won't cover the true cost of ageing
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Most of the recent conversations around Bima Sugam, the IRDAI-backed one-stop digital insurance marketplace, have focused on access – simpler purchases, standardised products, and possibly lower costs through zero-commission policies. If executed well, this could reduce the friction in buying and managing insurance.But for households dealing with ageing parents, this addresses only one part of the financial reality. The more relevant question is not whether insurance is easier to buy, but whether it meaningfully covers the full cost of ageing.India is already at an inflection point.
According to the Longitudinal Ageing Study of India (LASI), about 12% of today’s population is elderly, and this is projected to rise sharply to 319 million by 2050. This is not a marginal demographic shift. It is a structural change that will influence how families plan, spend and allocate resources over time.Meanwhile, health insurance has become a central part of household finance.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) reports that insurers settled 32.6 million health insurance claims amounting to ₹94,248 crore in 2024-25. The average claim size was ₹28,910. Also, health insurance is now the largest segment within non-life insurance, accounting for over 40% of premiums.However, these numbers also highlight a limitation.
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