What documents are required to purchase group health insurance?

To purchase group health insurance in India, an employer needs company registration proof, a list of employees to be covered with their details, the employer’s GST and PAN, and a completed proposal form. The core requirement is the employee data the insurer uses to price and issue the master policy, including each member’s name, age, and the dependents to be included.

What company documents does the insurer require?

The insurer requires proof that the business is a registered entity and can pay premiums. This usually means the certificate of incorporation or registration, the company PAN, and the GST registration certificate. Insurers may also ask for the registered office address and bank details for premium payment. These establish the policyholder’s identity and allow the insurer to issue the master policy in the company’s name.

What employee information is needed?

The insurer needs an employee census listing each member to be covered and their dependents. A standard census includes employee name, date of birth or age, gender, and the relationship and age of each dependent such as spouse, children, and parents where covered. This data drives the premium, since pricing depends on the age and family-size profile of the group. The employer submits the list in the insurer’s template, and accuracy matters because cover and claims are validated against it.

What forms and policy choices must the employer complete?

The employer completes a proposal form setting out the chosen sum insured, family definition, and any add-ons. The proposal records the sum insured per employee or family, whether parents are included, room rent or other limits, and riders such as maternity or outpatient cover. The employer also confirms the premium funding arrangement, whether it pays in full or shares the cost with employees. Once the proposal and census are submitted and the premium is paid, the insurer issues the master policy and member identity cards.

How long does it take to issue a group health policy?

A group health policy can usually be issued within a few working days once complete documents and premium are received. The timeline depends on group size and how quickly the employee census is finalised. Smaller, clean datasets move faster; larger groups or those with extensive dependent and parental data take longer to validate. Using a benefits platform that collects employee data digitally shortens the process and reduces errors in the census.

How Plum approaches this

Plum sets up group health and group term life cover for companies with a minimum of 7 employees, against the common assumption that a group needs only 2 or 3 members. The claims experience is measured: Plum holds a claims NPS of 79 and a median pre-authorisation turnaround of 45 minutes, well inside the one-hour cashless pre-authorisation window set by the IRDAI Master Circular of May 2024. Cashless access depends on the insurer underwriting the policy, so the hospital network varies; Plum places cover with insurers including ICICI Lombard, HDFC ERGO, Bajaj Allianz, Star Health, Niva Bupa, and Aditya Birla Health Insurance, and matches the network to where a company’s employees actually live and work.

Frequently asked questions

Is medical testing required for group health insurance? Group policies generally do not require individual medical tests for standard cover, since the risk is pooled across the group.

What is the minimum group size to buy group health insurance? Through Plum, the minimum is 7 employees, against the common assumption that 2 or 3 members are enough.

Can employees be added after the policy starts? Yes. New joiners are usually added mid-term by updating the census, with premium adjusted on a pro-rata basis.