Group insurance is a financial policy that covers various people in a single policy. All the members of the group gain access to the same level of insurance, which eradicates the need of purchasing individual policies for every member.
Moreover, the risks covered by the policy are also the same for all the members. Generally, these policies are offered by organizations to working individuals as a contributing part of their employee benefits program.
However, as it provides coverage to various predefined people, the policy can also be purchased by members of a cooperative society, professional associations, and even clubs. They’re highly cost-efficient as compared to purchasing individual policies for every member of the group.
3 Unique Characteristics of Group Insurance
A group insurance policy differs from individual plans in a variety of ways. Here’s a complete list of some of the most unique features of these policies that make them the best bet for covering various people under a single policy:
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Cover Groups of All Sizes
The majority of group insurance providers allow you to cover your whole group, irrespective of its size. Whether you have five or 5000 members, a group insurance policy doesn’t place any cap on the limit of members that can be covered against the plan.
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Standardized Coverage for All
The coverage offered by group insurance policies is the same for all the members of the group, regardless of their position in the group, financial status, or age. This ensures that all the members receive adequate benefits without any irrationalities.
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Policy Termination Upon Leaving
The group insurance policies are only exclusive to groups and when a member leaves the organization, the coverage will be ended for that particular member, but the policy will still be active for other existing members of the group.
Benefits of Group Insurance for Organization and Members
As you may have already figured out, there are a total of three parties involved in a group policy i.e., the insurer, group members, and the organization. With these policies, both the organization and its members enjoy exclusive benefits as stated below:
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Lesser Premiums
Organizations require to pay much less premium through a group plan, as compared to the premiums paid for individual plans. As the overall risk associated is diversified across various members of the group, the insurer faces less liability and provides lesser and lower premiums as well.
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Greater Loyalty
It’s often seen that the organizations that provide coverage to their members enjoy a greater loyalty from their members and retain them easily. With such plans, the employees or group members feel valued and look forward to keeping progressing with your organization.
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Tax Benefits
Group insurance policies are also eligible for tax savings, which can be availed by the organization while filing their income tax, for the returns of the premiums paid against this policy, as per the Indian Income Tax Act.
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Highly Customizable
Group insurance plans can also be customized as per the various hierarchies in your group. This allows you to make variations in the group plans as per the salary or type of work of your group members to make the policy much more efficient.
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Very Affordable
For members, a group insurance scheme is very affordable and fits the bill for lower-income groups who cannot afford to pay premiums for individual insurances to remain protected. These are either paid by the organization or kept very low for the sake of affordability.
Family Extensions
A lot of group plans also allow you to extend the coverage of your policy to include your family members as well. Depending on your insurer, you may gain the ability to cover your spouse, parents, or children to the policy.
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No Perquisites
Group insurance policies don’t require members to fulfill a certain requirement or prerequisite to be able to be a part of the policy. Unlike individual plans, these policies don’t even require you to undergo any health check-ups as well.
Now that we know the key characteristics and benefits of group insurance, it becomes critical for us to also understand what is group health insurance and what its features are.
What is Group Health Insurance?
A group health insurance is a subset of the group policy that offers adequate health coverage to all the members of an organization or group. It covers the members against ambulance charges, accidental hospitalization, daycare, and sickness.
Here is a list of features associated with group health insurance policies:
- It offers medical coverage to both the members of the group and their family members
- It features an in-built pre-existing disease waiver that allows you to gain coverage for your existing ailments from the first day itself
- It also covers the birth of a new-born and maternity expenses after a waiting period of nine months
- It includes a cashless treatment facility that can be availed by the group members at the network hospitals of the insure
Group health insurances are considered to be ideal for organizations as they’re cost-effective and provide adequate coverage to their members for varying ailments and emergencies. Let us now take a look at the claim process of group policies.
What is The Claim Process of Group Insurance Policy?
The process of claiming the benefits associated with a group insurance policy is fairly quick and simple. It requires the insurer to be informed about the situation beforehand. Moreover, you also need to submit all the relevant documents, along with the claim form.
Once the insurance company has verified the claim based on the coverage available under the specified group plan, the claim amount will be paid to you or your nominee as per the situation that called for the need for a claim.
Summing Up
If you’re looking to get multiple people of your group covered in the same policy, you must take a look at the various group insurance plans available in the market. Hopefully, the guide may have helped you extend your knowledge about such plans.
Now, you can choose a good group plan as per the specifications and requirements of your group or team members. Therefore, make sure you enjoy the throughout coverage and cost-saving benefits of these policies.
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