Maternity insurance coverage offered by companies is not in sync with the rising cost of medical inflation in India, according to a recent report by Pazcare, an employee health insurance platform. According to the firm, 23 percent of companies are not providing sufficient coverage for maternity.

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While the costs related to delivery may depend on several factors, the average cost of delivery in India can go up to Rs 2 lakh, excluding medication and pre and post-surgery tests. Given these figures, the study finds out that the majority of the companies offer only up to Rs 50,000 cover.

The numbers

In companies where there are less than 50 employees, 55 percent offer Rs 50,000 or more as maternity cover. On the other hand, 22 percent offer less than Rs 50,000 and 23 percent are not covered, Pazcare said.

In the case of firms where there are 51 to 250 employees, 69 percent offer Rs 50,000 or more. 24 percent offer less than Rs 50,000 and only 17 percent is not covered. In companies with 251 to 500 employees, 62 percent offer Rs 50,000 or more as maternity cover. 22 percent give less than Rs 50,000 and 16 percent are not covered. In enterprises, where are there are more than 500 employees, 65 percent offer Rs 50,000 or more cover, the report said.

(Source: Pazcare)

The reality

Experts believe believes that maternity is getting costlier and offering coverage below Rs 50,000 is as good as not offering anything in urban cities.

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"Some companies have different cappings for metro and non-metro locations. For metro, it could be Rs 50,000 coverage and for non-metro Rs 35,000. However, these days hospitals have become costlier everywhere. Parents also prefer going to the best hospitals for maternity. So, we suggest the same coverage for both locations," a Pazcare spokesperson said.

The need for ESC and other demands

Apart from increasing coverage, experts also think that companies should offer Employee, Spouse, and Children (ESC) policy to give full advantage of maternity coverage. With maternity coverage, the baby is also covered for 60 to 90 days after birth. This is automatically kicked in when the insurer is informed about the birth of the child.

"With an employee-only policy, only female employees can be covered. With an employee and spouse policy, the baby won't be covered but maternity is applicable for all employees. That is why ESC is preferred," the spokesperson said.

Additionally, companies could offer different cappings for normal and C-section deliveries. They can give Rs 50,000 for normal and Rs 75,000 for C-sections, according to Pazcare.

On top of these, the number of infertility cases is also increasing and companies are trying to be more inclusive by including infertility coverage.

"In a year, a person will generally either be going through maternity or infertility. So, employers should definitely consider extending infertility coverage," said Sanchit Malik, co-founder and CEO at Pazcare.

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