Definition
Group Health Insurance
Group health insurance is a single policy covering a defined group, typically employees of a company, often including their dependents.
Employer-provided Group Mediclaim Policies (GMC) are the most common form in India, giving staff cashless hospitalisation cover, frequently with maternity and pre-existing disease coverage from day one and no individual underwriting. Premiums are usually borne wholly or partly by the employer.
Group cover is cheaper per head than retail because risk is pooled and acquisition costs are low, but it ends when employment ends, which is why advisers urge employees to also hold a personal policy. IRDAI portability rules allow converting a group cover to an individual policy on exit, preserving some continuity benefits.
Related terms
- Corporate CoverCorporate cover refers to group insurance benefits an employer arranges for staff, spanning group health, group term life and group personal accident.
- Group MediclaimGroup Mediclaim Policy (GMC) is an employer-arranged group health insurance covering employees and often their dependents for hospitalisation.
Plain-English explainer from The Dispatch Investors Encyclopedia. General information, not financial advice.