US insurer Cigna Corporation to bring in staff wellness plans

MUMBAI: Connecticut-based Cigna Corporation plans to be a trendsetter in the Indian market by bringing in long-term 'wellness' programmes for corporate employees starting with its global clients. The corporation became the first US health player to do business in India with the launch of Cigna TTK Health - the fifth standalone health insurance company in India.

Cigna-TTK is a 24:76 joint venture between the US insurer and TTK Industries. According to T T Jagannathan, chairman of TTK Group, the joint venture will be one of the group's biggest investments. Starting with an initial paid-up capital of Rs 146 crore, the partners envisage investing an additional Rs 400 crore in the next five years.

Cigna is leveraging on its global network to bring advanced health insurance programmes into the country. One value addition will be providing global coverage, which means that buyers of health insurance will not need an overseas mediclaim policy and can get treatment in 12 lakh hospitals across 180 countries if there is an emergency during travel. The other international feature it will bring is recruitment of 'clinicians' - persons from healthcare industry - in all customer service roles to ensure that they can be an effective intermediary between policyholders and healthcare providers. Several of the global clients such as Accenture and IBM are present in India and Cigna is looking at introducing the same 'wellness programmes' that are available to employees elsewhere in the world.

Speaking to TOI, Sandeep Patel, CEO and MD, Cigna TTK, said that the wellness programme would encourage customers to stay healthy and lead healthier lifestyles. These involve lifestyle changes and managing chronic conditions, all of which would ultimately lead to lower health costs for employers.

"The IRDA's standard health insurance policy will form the core of our product and the other features will be introduced as additional benefits," said Patel. Although Cigna and TTK entered into an agreement to float a joint venture in 2012, the launch was delayed as the regulator required TTK to hive off its subsidiary providing third-party administrator services for health insurers.