Magma HDI General Insurance Company ready to insure infertility treatment

KOLKATA: Magma HDI General Insurance Company said that it would provide insurance cover for infertility treatment of women through In-Vitro Fertilisation or IVF, making itself perhaps the first company to do so in India on a standalone basis.

Infertility cases in India are rising while the treatment for this is extremely expensive. Surveys have shown that one in almost every eight women is a victim of infertility. Cost of IVF treatment comes to about Rs 1.5 lakh in small towns and may go up to Rs 3.5 lakh in larger cities.

Earlier, Bharatiya Mahila Bank and New India Assurance had jointly launched insurance for infertility treatment in 2014 but the policy does not exist today as the bank ceased to exist after its merger with State Bank of India.

Magma HDI, a joint venture between Magma Fincorp and Germany's HDI Global SE, Germany, said it would also provide cover for psychiatric, bariatric and lasik treatment under its premium policy plan.

All these insurance cover will come with three years waiting period, Magma HDI's chief technical officer Amit Bhandari said.

The company forayed into health insurance business with the launch of indemnity policy. "We are targeting the under penetrated segment both in urban and semi-urban markets," deputy CEO Vikas Miital said.