The phygital turn: How tech-enabled advisors are reshaping health insurance access

On a crowded local train into Mumbai, a young professional scrolls through her phone, comparing health insurance plans on an aggregator app. She fills in her age, income, and city, tweaks the sum insured and riders, and even saves two shortlisted options in her email. But when she reaches her station, she is still unsure about room rent limits and whether a family floater will work once her parents move in with her, so she calls the advisor whose number her colleague shared, asking if they can talk that evening.

The above is not an isolated scenario but a glimpse into how health insurance in India has quickly moved from paper-heavy forms and long branch visits to online applications, e-policies, and app-based servicing. Yet even in this more digital landscape, as seen in the above scenario, many customers still seek a human advisor at two crucial moments: choosing a policy and navigating a claim.

From branch counters to blended journeys

Video KYC, digital signatures, document uploads, and e-policy issuance have reduced the need for physical visits, especially in larger cities where broadband and smartphone access are widespread. Yet, as seen in the case of Delhi-based Punita Paul, while a customer today might begin by reading FAQs on an insurer’s site, using a premium calculator, or checking network hospitals online before ever speaking to an advisor, the final decision often comes after a phone or video call with an advisor who can personalise those digital inputs.


In one such case, a family that had almost bought a policy online changed course after an advisor explained, over a video call, how room rent limits could affect their preferred single-room hospital stay and why it might be wiser to choose a slightly higher sum insured with fewer riders rather than a heavily layered plan they did not fully understand.

“Initially, I would be looking online and comparing the prices with multiple brands, but I had difficulty understanding what constitutes a critical illness and what constitutes a serious illness,” recollects Paul. Eventually, her friend helped her find an advisor, who was able to clarify the differences between them. “Even with so much information online, it is still reassuring to hear from someone in the industry,” affirms Paul.

The advisor’s evolving toolkit
For advisors, the workday now includes a dashboard and smartphone as much as a diary and pen. Gurleen Kaur Tikku, a Delhi-based advisor, attests this: “For me, my workday now includes a digital dashboard and a smartphone as much as a diary and a pen. I frequently log into insurer portals to generate real-time quotes and show my clients on-screen how adding a deductible or adding a Super Top-up can drastically alter both their premium and their protection.” The enablers and instant solution, Kaur says, give instant gratification, which leads to faster decision-making.

To make these concepts easier to digest, some advisors create short explainer videos or voice notes in local languages on topics such as deductibles, top-ups, waiting periods, and OPD benefits, and share them via messaging apps so families can listen again later. Kaur makes videos on topics such as ‘Things to know before buying a health insurance’.

In a small-town setup, for instance, an advisor might record a two-minute audio clip comparing an individual plan and a family floater using familiar household examples, sending it to a family group before their in-person meeting. For a family whom she was advising on the difference between an individual plan and a family floater, Kaur recorded a two-minute video clip explaining the difference and how the premium is calculated for both before their in-person meeting. “By the time we met, the technology had already bridged the ‘trust gap,’ moving the conversation from technical confusion to a confident decision for their family’s wellness,” she elucidates.

Keeping semi-urban and rural customers in the digital loop

In semi-urban and rural India, the phygital journey often looks more improvised. Patchy connectivity, shared phones, and limited comfort with apps mean that customers may rely on an advisor to bridge nearly every digital step, from eKYC and document uploads to tracking claim status on an app they rarely log into themselves.

It is not unusual to see an advisor in a small town visit a customer with a tablet, hotspot device, and a folder of physical reports, scanning and uploading files on the spot, then following up with the hospital over a call to confirm cashless approval. Nashik-based advisor Yogita Maruti Jagdhane caters to people from rural areas, and she notes that it is very hard for customers in these underserved regions to understand the policy terms and conditions when the documents are shared with them digitally. “Many of them don’t have internet access to file for claims, so we do it for them,” Jagdhane shares.

In another instance, an advisor might receive SMS updates about a claim, take screenshots, and forward them with voice explanations in the local language so that elderly policyholders do not have to interpret technical messages on their own.

“We need to create awareness among such customers about the changing processes and digital landscape of the health insurance industry. In some cases, customers have become victims of fraud from fake advisors who take advantage of the lack of digital literacy among customers,” Jagdhane emphasises.

What a stronger phygital layer could unlock
A stronger phygital layer, where robust platforms and well-trained advisors work in tandem, could bring significant upside for India’s health insurance ecosystem. It can lower distribution and servicing costs for insurers while widening reach to customers who might otherwise remain outside formal cover.

For policyholders, especially those navigating their first claim, this combination promises faster responses, clearer updates, and a sense that there is both a platform and a person accountable for the outcome. As the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) pushes for more technology-driven grievance redressal and “Insurance for All by 2047”, the ability of advisors to keep pace with both regulation and digital tools is likely to be a decisive factor in how inclusive and trusted health insurance becomes.

Training for a tech-heavy, human-centred role

As tools multiply, advisors are expected not only to know products but also to navigate platforms and protect customer data. Training curricula now commonly include modules on using insurer portals, handling online forms, managing digital documents securely, and following basic data protection norms, alongside traditional content on regulation and products.

Niva Bupa’s Insurance Academy reflects this shift, combining health insurance fundamentals with digital learning pathways that cover underwriting basics, claims communication, product positioning, and objection handling, as well as the use of social media, content, and WhatsApp outreach to stay in touch with customers. Advisors are encouraged to see technology as an enabler that helps them respond faster and more precisely, rather than as a substitute for the empathy and judgment that customers still expect in stressful health situations.

Kaur acknowledges that in today’s health insurance landscape, training has evolved to be as much about navigating digital platforms as it is about understanding products.

However, even as technology is a powerful enabler for speed and precision, Kaur notes that it can never be a substitute for human judgement.

“In a stressful health situation, a customer isn’t looking for an automated response; they are looking for the empathy and expertise of a human advisor who can navigate the ‘phygital’ loop for them,” Kaur adds.

To become stakeholders in this evolving health insurance landscape, join the Niva Bupa Insurance Academy.