Is Medical Insurance Mandatory for Private Sector Workers? Seeking Legal Insights

Hi,

I work in a real estate firm, and my management wants to know if medical insurance is compulsory for private sector employees. If yes, please provide details under the law.

Regards,
Rakesh Singh
Asst. Manager HR

As I could gather, the incidences of health issues and accidents are common in real estate business, construction sites. It's better for you to cover all these risks both for health, accident, and life insurance in order to avert heavy payouts in cases of untoward incidents. Even by law, you have to adhere to stipulations under the Employees' Compensation Act and address health issues and other relevant Acts/Rules.

If the workmen are working in non-implemented areas of ESI, cover them under WC / Employees' Compensation Policy. Under this policy, there is also a provision for hospitalization claims due to accidents up to Rs. 1 lakh with some additional premium.

Additional Term Life Insurance

Additional Term Life Insurance cover is the best option for workmen. This policy provides cover for any kind of death due to accidental or natural causes anywhere in India with a nominal premium for Group Coverage.

Group Mediclaim Policy

Introduce a contributory Group Mediclaim Policy for workmen with a reasonable premium deductible from wages and share the employer's contribution equivalent to 4.75% for this policy.

If you have a large number of workmen, you can negotiate with insurance companies and reduce the annual premium drastically, at least for the first year, and thereafter depending upon the claim ratio.

Regards,
Suresh