Now get insurance just to protect your pearly whites

MUMBAI: Now, all your dental expenses may soon be covered under an insurance cover for the first time in India. Ocare founded by Neeraj Sheth, a dentist from Mumbai, has applied for a licence to float a dental insurance company. There are five standalone health insurance companies in India but none provide complete dental cover.

This company may offer cosmetic dental surgeries apart from teeth extraction procedures and others.

“We are looking to start as a dental insurance company and expand into other healthcare insurance,” said Neeraj Sheth founder Ocare. “Today, only those procedures are covered, which requires domiciliary medical care.”

The dental service market is around Rs 12,000 crore. There is no insurance company offering dental insurance to individuals. Today, root canal costs Rs 1,500-8,000, teeth extraction up to Rs 800. Cosmetic dental surgery costs upwards of Rs 25,000 and is not covered under any group insurance policy.

Reliance Health and Jiva Health have other standalone health insurance companies to float standalone companies.

Health insurance is the fastest growing segment in the general insurance segment. It contributes 30% to the sector.

In a report, Moody’s said that they expect the non-life sector’s double-digit growth to continue over the next 3-4 years.