The silent strain: How lifestyle diseases are reshaping India’s health insurance landscape
Claims related to diabetes and hypertension are more frequent but also more expensive, given the associated complications like cardiac events, kidney ailments, and long-term medication needs.
- Sep 8, 2025,
- Updated Sep 8, 2025 2:34 PM IST
The first signs don’t always come in a doctor’s report. Sometimes it’s the fatigue after climbing two flights of stairs, or the persistent headache that refuses to go away. For many Indians in their 30s and 40s, these small interruptions in daily life are early warnings of deeper conditions like diabetes, hypertension, cardiac risks that will soon determine not just their medical journey but also their financial preparedness.
And this is where health insurance quietly enters the story. What looks like a personal health issue often shows up on the balance sheet of insurers as well through higher claim volumes, longer hospital stays, and escalating treatment costs. For the industry, lifestyle diseases aren’t just a medical problem; they are a structural risk that is reshaping how policies are priced, what they cover, and how they are sold.
The Scale of the Silent Epidemic
India today is often called the “diabetes capital of the world” and the numbers back it. According to ICMR’s 2023 findings, over 100 million Indians are diabetic and another 136 million are pre-diabetic. Hypertension affects one in three adults, while obesity is steadily climbing in urban as well as semi-urban regions. These conditions are no longer confined to retirees; they are emerging in young professionals at the peak of their earning years.
For insurers, this trend has financial consequences. Claims related to diabetes and hypertension are not only more frequent but also more expensive, given the associated complications like cardiac events, kidney ailments, and long-term medication needs. The actuarial models that once assumed chronic illness as a late-life phenomenon are being rewritten.
How Insurers Are Responding
The insurance industry has entered what one could call its “adaptation phase.” Instead of treating lifestyle diseases as exceptions, they are increasingly the norm around which new products are designed. Three shifts stand out:
1. Premium Loadings and Waiting Periods
Those with conditions like diabetes or hypertension often face 25–50% higher premiums, along with waiting periods of two to four years. While this helps insurers manage risk, it also makes early purchase of health cover even more critical.
2. Condition-Specific Plans
Insurers now offer dedicated products for diabetics and cardiac patients, covering diagnostics, consultations, and wellness benefits—recognising these as ongoing, not one-time, health needs.
3. Wellness and Technology Integration
From wearable-linked discounts to app-based health challenges, insurers are rewarding preventive habits. What began as a marketing tool is now a real lever for reducing risk and premiums.
The Customer’s Dilemma
For individuals, this shift brings both opportunities and challenges. On one hand, insurance is finally moving closer to the way people actually live acknowledging daily habits, long-term risks, and lifestyle patterns. On the other hand, it means health status is now a financial variable.
The lesson is clear:
● Buy early. Purchasing health insurance in your 20s or early 30s, before chronic conditions are diagnosed, locks in lower premiums and broader coverage.
● Be transparent. Concealing pre-existing conditions may seem tempting but often leads to denied claims later, defeating the very purpose of insurance.
● Use wellness benefits. Engaging with preventive features not only improves health but can also reduce long-term costs.
Why It Matters Now
The economic implications are hard to ignore. India’s healthcare spending is projected to rise sharply in the next decade, and much of it will be driven by lifestyle-linked illnesses. For the growing middle class, insurance is the only realistic buffer against financial shocks. But that buffer is becoming more complex, more personalised, and in some cases, more expensive.
The silver lining lies in awareness. Just as India embraced term insurance in the last decade, the coming years may see a cultural shift toward early, proactive health cover not as an optional safety net, but as a necessary investment in one’s financial wellbeing.
The Takeaway
The silent strain of lifestyle diseases is reshaping India’s health insurance landscape in ways both visible and invisible. For families, the message is simple: don’t wait until illness dictates your premiums. Buy early, stay honest, and take prevention seriously. For insurers, the challenge is sharper: innovate beyond payouts, integrate wellness, and ensure that access doesn’t become the next casualty of rising risks.
Because in the India of tomorrow, the real cost of lifestyle diseases won’t just be measured in medical bills, it will be written into the fine print of our health policies.
(Views are personal; the author is CEO at BajajCapital Insurance Broking Ltd)
The first signs don’t always come in a doctor’s report. Sometimes it’s the fatigue after climbing two flights of stairs, or the persistent headache that refuses to go away. For many Indians in their 30s and 40s, these small interruptions in daily life are early warnings of deeper conditions like diabetes, hypertension, cardiac risks that will soon determine not just their medical journey but also their financial preparedness.
And this is where health insurance quietly enters the story. What looks like a personal health issue often shows up on the balance sheet of insurers as well through higher claim volumes, longer hospital stays, and escalating treatment costs. For the industry, lifestyle diseases aren’t just a medical problem; they are a structural risk that is reshaping how policies are priced, what they cover, and how they are sold.
The Scale of the Silent Epidemic
India today is often called the “diabetes capital of the world” and the numbers back it. According to ICMR’s 2023 findings, over 100 million Indians are diabetic and another 136 million are pre-diabetic. Hypertension affects one in three adults, while obesity is steadily climbing in urban as well as semi-urban regions. These conditions are no longer confined to retirees; they are emerging in young professionals at the peak of their earning years.
For insurers, this trend has financial consequences. Claims related to diabetes and hypertension are not only more frequent but also more expensive, given the associated complications like cardiac events, kidney ailments, and long-term medication needs. The actuarial models that once assumed chronic illness as a late-life phenomenon are being rewritten.
How Insurers Are Responding
The insurance industry has entered what one could call its “adaptation phase.” Instead of treating lifestyle diseases as exceptions, they are increasingly the norm around which new products are designed. Three shifts stand out:
1. Premium Loadings and Waiting Periods
Those with conditions like diabetes or hypertension often face 25–50% higher premiums, along with waiting periods of two to four years. While this helps insurers manage risk, it also makes early purchase of health cover even more critical.
2. Condition-Specific Plans
Insurers now offer dedicated products for diabetics and cardiac patients, covering diagnostics, consultations, and wellness benefits—recognising these as ongoing, not one-time, health needs.
3. Wellness and Technology Integration
From wearable-linked discounts to app-based health challenges, insurers are rewarding preventive habits. What began as a marketing tool is now a real lever for reducing risk and premiums.
The Customer’s Dilemma
For individuals, this shift brings both opportunities and challenges. On one hand, insurance is finally moving closer to the way people actually live acknowledging daily habits, long-term risks, and lifestyle patterns. On the other hand, it means health status is now a financial variable.
The lesson is clear:
● Buy early. Purchasing health insurance in your 20s or early 30s, before chronic conditions are diagnosed, locks in lower premiums and broader coverage.
● Be transparent. Concealing pre-existing conditions may seem tempting but often leads to denied claims later, defeating the very purpose of insurance.
● Use wellness benefits. Engaging with preventive features not only improves health but can also reduce long-term costs.
Why It Matters Now
The economic implications are hard to ignore. India’s healthcare spending is projected to rise sharply in the next decade, and much of it will be driven by lifestyle-linked illnesses. For the growing middle class, insurance is the only realistic buffer against financial shocks. But that buffer is becoming more complex, more personalised, and in some cases, more expensive.
The silver lining lies in awareness. Just as India embraced term insurance in the last decade, the coming years may see a cultural shift toward early, proactive health cover not as an optional safety net, but as a necessary investment in one’s financial wellbeing.
The Takeaway
The silent strain of lifestyle diseases is reshaping India’s health insurance landscape in ways both visible and invisible. For families, the message is simple: don’t wait until illness dictates your premiums. Buy early, stay honest, and take prevention seriously. For insurers, the challenge is sharper: innovate beyond payouts, integrate wellness, and ensure that access doesn’t become the next casualty of rising risks.
Because in the India of tomorrow, the real cost of lifestyle diseases won’t just be measured in medical bills, it will be written into the fine print of our health policies.
(Views are personal; the author is CEO at BajajCapital Insurance Broking Ltd)