What wellness benefits are commonly bundled with group health insurance in India?

Most group health insurance policies in India now bundle four categories of wellness benefit: annual health check-ups, unlimited telehealth consultations, mental health support through counselling or an Employee Assistance Programme, and preventive screenings covering diabetes, cardiac, and cancer risk. Wellness stipends, gym reimbursements, and app subscriptions are usually offered as separate benefits alongside the group policy rather than embedded in it.

What counts as a wellness benefit in a group health policy?

A wellness benefit is any non-treatment service designed to keep employees healthy or catch health issues early, funded by the employer through the insurance policy or a separate structure. The distinguishing feature is that wellness benefits are used before an employee is sick, unlike the mediclaim policy which pays out when treatment is needed. Wellness benefits typically operate on a per-employee annual entitlement rather than a shared sum insured.

Which wellness benefits are most commonly bundled with group health?

Five wellness benefits appear in most modern group health policies:

• Annual health check-up: A comprehensive test panel (usually covering blood work, lipid profile, thyroid, and diabetes markers) offered once per policy year at partner labs.
• Unlimited telehealth consultations: Video or phone consultations with general physicians and select specialists, delivered by partner platforms such as Practo, DocsApp, or the insurer's in-house telehealth service.
• Mental health counselling: A set number of counselling sessions per employee per year, either through an EAP or the insurer's mental health platform.
• Preventive screenings: Age-based screenings for common conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and cardiac risk.
• Vaccinations: Adult vaccinations including flu, HPV, and hepatitis, either through employer camps or partner clinics.

Are wellness benefits part of the mediclaim policy or separate?

Wellness benefits are technically part of the group health policy contract when bundled, but they are administered separately from claims. Employees access them through the insurer's app or a partner wellness platform without needing pre-authorisation or a claim number. Wellness benefits do not affect the mediclaim sum insured and cannot be transferred to hospitalisation cover if unused.

How much do wellness benefits typically cost the employer?

Adding an annual health check-up, telehealth, and mental health counselling to a group policy typically increases the per-employee premium by 5% to 12%, depending on the coverage depth and provider quality. Stand-alone wellness stipends (gym, apps, nutrition) sit outside the insurance policy and are budgeted separately, usually at Rs 3,000 to Rs 25,000 per employee per year.

Do employees actually use wellness benefits?

Utilisation varies by benefit. Annual health check-up utilisation typically runs 40% to 60% of eligible employees. Telehealth utilisation runs 25% to 45%, higher at organisations with active communication about the benefit. Mental health counselling utilisation is typically 5% to 20%, with the wide range driven by how confidentially the benefit is presented and whether managers reference it in team conversations.

How Plum approaches this

Plum treats wellness bundling as a design decision rather than a default add-on, since not every benefit adds value at every workforce composition. Across Plum's group book, claims NPS runs at 79 and cashless pre-authorisation clears in a median of 45 minutes on the mediclaim side, and Plum tracks wellness utilisation alongside claims data to guide renewal decisions. Plum places group cover from a minimum of 7 employees, working across partner insurers including ICICI Lombard, HDFC ERGO, Bajaj Allianz, Star Health, Niva Bupa, and Aditya Birla Health Insurance, each of which bundles a different wellness set into its group product.

Frequently asked questions

Are wellness benefits taxable for employees?

Wellness benefits routed through the group insurance policy are generally treated as exempt under Section 17(2) of the Income Tax Act. Cash wellness allowances added to salary are taxable.

Do family members get wellness benefits?

Typically no. Annual check-ups and telehealth are usually employee-only, though some policies extend telehealth to spouse and children at additional cost.

Are wellness benefits available in tier-2 and tier-3 cities?

Coverage depends on the partner network. Telehealth and app-based benefits work uniformly across locations; annual health check-ups depend on partner lab presence.

Can an employer add wellness benefits mid-policy year?

Yes. Wellness add-ons can typically be layered on mid-year, since they are administrative rather than tied to underwriting.

Do wellness benefits reduce claims cost?

Early evidence from Indian insurers suggests employers with strong preventive wellness programmes see 5% to 15% lower hospitalisation claims frequency over 3 to 5 years.

Is participation in wellness benefits mandatory for employees?

No. Wellness benefits are voluntary, and employees choose whether to use them.