The pricing and validity of any health insurance plan is one year, whether it is retail health insurance product or a group insurance solution. Group health insurance is a basket of group health insurance solutions. By enrolling, you will become a member of a group with Kuvera as the master policy holder. The validity of the policy is valid for one year from the date on which a member enrolls and completes the premium payment.
A group health cover will almost always be cheaper due to the larger number of individuals in the group and also due to a lower cost of distribution.
Kuvera as the master policyholder will renew the policy every year and members shall have the option to participate or not at their discretion. The premium payable will change next year due to inflation, if the terms of the policy are changed or due to the actuarial behavior of the members in terms of claims etc. So Kuvera will negotiate with the insurer for the best terms and pricing possible every year and if required, Kuvera may even change the insurer if that is in the interest of the group.
Even in a retail health policy each individual policyholder has to approach the insurer for renewal and agree to the revised pricing offered by their insurer. But in a group policy, the size and quality of the group and the master policyholders' negotiation capability helps to keep costs and entry barriers(medical tests, exclusions etc) lower.
If Kuvera were to shut down or discontinue the policy, members will continue to enjoy uninterrupted cover till the expiry of 1 year from the date of their enrolment into the group. Subsequently, members shall have the option of approaching the insurer directly and migrate to the retail version of the policy offered by the same insurer.
And even if the insurer (ICICI Lombard GIC) discontinues operations, they will have to continue to provide coverage for at least 90 days after they have intimated the insured about the discontinuation.
In general, members do have the option to migrate to a similar health insurance product available with the insurer at the time of renewal with continuity benefits such as cumulative bonus, waiting period waivers as per IRDAI guidelines, provided the policy has been maintained without a break.
