Abstract
Health insurance is a mechanism by which a person protects himself from financial loss caused due to accident and/or disability. The chairman of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has mentioned that low consumer awareness and insufficient healthcare infrastructure are the major hindrances to widen the reach of healthcare insurance in India. Healthcare costs have witnessed a phenomenal rise in the current times. This has led the customers to insure not only themselves but their family members for any future medical expenses and other related requirements. The need to insure assumes is more importance for older generations who are either retired or will be retired in near future. Given high health cost, it is important for us to get covered for health risks. With this, a good insurance policy is needed to cover doctor's visit, laboratory tests, hospital stays and diagnostic tests. There are quite a few companies covering health risks with good insurance policies. Health insurance (popularly known as Mediclaim) offers protection in case of unexpected medical emergencies. In case of a sudden illness or accident, the health insurance policy takes care of the hospitalization, medical and other costs incurred. Thus, health insurance to be introduced to all consumers in India to protect them from financial loss caused by unfortunate incidents.