Managing claims efficiently is the top most priority at this juncture, Mr. Anand Roy, Managing Director, Star Health and Allied Insurance Co. Ltd in conversation with our Editor in Chief Mr. Vivek JAIN.

Q:     The 2nd wave of covid 19 has started in India, What are the challenges you anticipate?

A:    As a company we are well equipped to handle the second wave without any interruption to our business . Even during the first wave, we were able to quickly transform and implement digitization across all operations. The second wave has seen an unprecedented surge in covid cases.

Right now we are focused on managing the surge in inflow of claim requests. A dedicated covid cell has been setup to facilitate handling of covid claims. While most of the requests for cashless are processed within 2 hours, covid claims are processed on TOP PRIORITY basis. As the pandemic progresses, we expect the percentage of claims to further increase. While we are ensuring that our network hospitals provide cashless treatment to all our customers, the rising cost of hospitalisation is another crucial concern.

Q:     In the present situation what are your plans for times to come?

A:    Managing claims efficiently is the top most priority at this juncture. We have also enabled a digital facility for submission of claims documents to ensures faster claims processing. Our homegrown TeleHealth facility " TALK TO STAR" is providing instant medical consultation over audio / video calls on all days from 8 am to 10 pm. This facility is extended on a "NO COST" basis to the general public as well, as a goodwill gesture from STAR HEALTH. In addition to our 24 x 7 Customer Care Centre, our Chatbot Twinkle is also handling customer queries on policies and claims. 

Our sales teams and agents have adopted to our digital channels to reach prospective customers and ensure renewal of existing policies. The end to end paperless contactless process has been well received by the insuring public. We anticipate a good demand for health insurance products during this second wave also and are fully geared up to meet the demands of our Customers.