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What is Group Insurance Policy? – Features, Types & Benefits

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What is a group insurance policy?

Group insurance policy, as the name suggests, is a comprehensive health insurance package that is provided to the employees of an organization, SMEs, corporates, societies, professional clubs, associations, and even startups! The purpose of a group scheme is to cover a group of employees. The employer-employees have an option to include their family members as well. The entire cost of implementing a GIS scheme is the sole duty of the employer/organization.

Types of Groups

To start with, let us first learn more about the two types of groups eligible for employee insurance:

Formal group – Employer-employee groupUnder this type of group, all the individual professionals work for the same company.

Example – Employees of an organization/workers of the same company. The employer entirely purchases the group cover for all employees.
Informal group – Non-employer-employee groupIn this type of group, the individual professionals may/may not be employed by the same employer. But they are categorized as members of the same group.

The group administrator takes the group insurance fund on behalf of all the association or cooperative society members.
Types of group insurance in India

Features of a group coverage policy

If you are looking for group mediclaim for your company, you must know the most popular features of group cover. We have created a complete list to help you know more.

Everyone is included

The best part about having a group cover scheme for your team is that every individual professional is covered with an option to include their family members. Now you can include same-sex partners with Plum Insurance.

Big or small

With group healthcare plan, no team is too big or small. Plum provides healthcare cover and employee benefits for groups as small as 7 members to companies with no upper limit.

Uniform cover

All members of the employer-employee group are entitled to the same employee benefits and healthcare. In addition, as an employer, you can include wellness sessions for your team members with Plum.

Covid-19

Yes, due to the recent pandemic. Treatment for Covid-19-related hospitalization and social isolation is included in employee insurance cover.

Benefits of a group insurance scheme

Every group insurance plan comes with its own set of advantages. Let us check the benefits of buying a group policy online for employers and employees.

Advantages for employers

Less cost of premium

Suppose you are an entrepreneur or an owner of an organization. In that case, the cost of cover per employee under a group cover scheme will be less expensive than purchasing an individual health insurance policy for each employee.

Online customization

Gone are the days when you had to spend countless hours with an agent or schedule a meeting with a bank/AMC. With Plum Insurance, you can get a group medical plan with a wide range of customization options entirely online.

Save money plus tax

In addition to the low cost of the premium, employers are eligible for a tax deduction based on group cover (Section 80D of the Income Tax Act, 1961).

Reduces attrition

Many employees are highly motivated to stay in their respective companies because of the healthcare benefits offered by the corporate. With group cover, an employee and their family members feel much safer.

Employee motivation

With group cover, an employee need not worry about arranging for financial aid for their family in times of medical emergency. Thus, a stress-free modern workforce contributes best to the organization.

Advantages for employees

Easily affordable

As mentioned earlier, buying a group insurance scheme for the employees is entirely borne by the company. It is almost close to availing free medical healthcare for the employees if they opt for cashless hospitalization.

Family members

Many organizations provide an option to include family members and dependents of an employee under the group cover. Most companies include spouses, children, and parents by default.

No health check-up

One of the best advantages of a GIS scheme is that there is no need for a health check-up as a primary eligibility criterion. Plus, pre-existing diseases are covered from the start.

Individual healthcare plan

If you are planning to leave the company, you can avail an option to convert the group policy into an individual health plan at the cost of an additional premium.

Boost your health cover

With Plum Insurance, you can boost your existing group health cover by Rs. 20 lakhs with a super-top-up plan @ Rs. 529/yr.

Eligibility criteria for a group policy

The following is a list of the most common requirements for a group policy to be followed.

  • Individuals should either be a member of an organization or an employee-employee group. It’s also possible to include informal groups.
  • The age at entry for employees should be 18 years.
  • The maximum age at entry can vary from one policy to another. This also depends on the insurance company and the policy offered by them. By default, it is 60 years. Post that, you will be required to buy a senior citizen health plan.
  • There is no limit on the minimum or the maximum number of employees required to be present in a group cover plan.

Frequently asked questions

What is the minimum number of professionals required to avail of employee insurance?

The minimum number of employees required under group cover is 7. This again varies from one policy/insurer to another.

Which is the best group mediclaim policy online?

The three best group plans you can purchase online are group medical insurance, group term life insurance, and group personal accident insurance. In addition, there are multiple variants of the plans mentioned above.

Can I customize a group policy online?

Yes, if you are an employer, you can easily customize your group insurance scheme online based on the number of employees and additional benefits required by you. Check out more on Plum.

Who can buy a group plan?

Startups, entrepreneurs, SMEs, large corporations, associations, cooperative societies, professional clubs, informal groups, and more can buy group coverage online.

What is a group term policy?

This is a term life insurance policy provided by the employer to the employees. A term life insurance plan provides a death benefit to the employee’s family if the policyholder dies unexpectedly within the mentioned policy term.

What is a group personal accident plan?

This is a personal accident insurance policy offered by the company to the workforce. The plan is designed to provide a financial payout to the employees’ dependents in case of death or disability due to an accident in the course of active employment.

What are the advantages of group insurance for employees?

There are many advantages of having a group cover policy for employees. here is to name a few:
👉 Boosts employee morale and motivation
👉 Tax benefits for the employer-employee
👉 Applicable for both formal and informal groups
👉 Covers covid19 and pre-existing diseases
👉 Cost-effective for both employers and employees
👉 Option to buy and customize online
👉 Various employee benefits and wellness add-ons
👉 Group cover comes with a low premium amount
👉 Online and cashless claim settlement process
👉 Employees and their families are covered

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