'1 Hospitalisation Away From Bankruptcy’: Zerodha Co-Founder Nithin Kamath’s Health Insurance Tips For The Average Indian

The co-founder of Zerodha, Nithin Kamath, recently took to the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, to share his thoughts on what makes for a good health insurance plan for the average Indian.

In a country like India, where medical expenses can be seen as a significant burden for many who struggle to meet their daily needs, health insurance is not just a financial product, but also a necessity in today's bustling world.

Taking to platform X, Kamath wrote sharing a creative/graphic of selecting a health insurance plan, "Most Indians are just 1 hospitalisation away from bankruptcy. A good health insurance plan is mandatory."

Choosing the Right Insurer

In the post shared including a creative of selecting the insurance plan, Kamath advises looking for a company with at least 5 to 10 years of experience. The 3-step ultimate guide graphic shared by him added that a less than 5-year track record as avoided, more than 5 and less than 10 as decent, and greater than 10 years as good.

Additionally, he suggests focusing on insurers with a 3-year average claim settlement ratio between 80-90 per cent.

The Importance of Network Hospitals

Another factor shared by Kamath through the post is of choosing an insurer with 5,000 to 8,000 network hospitals.

Apart from this, it also added that an ideal incurred claim ratio is between 55 to 75 per cent.

Kamath also outlines several key features through the creative that should be part of any good health insurance policy such as avoiding Co-pay, no room-rent restrictions, beware of disease-wise sub-limits, low waiting periods, and so on.

Netizens Reaction

Many netizens responded to Kamath's post by suggesting their notion towards it.

An X user wrote, "Most Indians suffer from preventable chronic diseases. By make some lifestyle changes, they can prevent and often reverse many of their disorders and save on health expenses."

Another user added, "Health insurance in black hole. You don't know what you don't know. Insurance companies intentionally added so many add on and t&c which is design for not to pay."