Companies in India Underinsure Maternity Leave: a Study

By: WE Staff | Tuesday, 12 April 2022

According to Plum, an employee health insurance platform, corporate maternity benefits are out of step with the escalating cost of healthcare in India's cities.

In India, healthcare inflation is increasing at a rate of 18-20% per year. According to the survey, one of the main reasons for a reduction in the ratio of women in the workforce from 26 percent in 2005 to 20.3 percent in 2019 is a lack of adequate maternity benefits.

According to Plum, the average cost of childbirth in private hospitals in India's tier-I cities and metros ranges between $45,000 and $55,000. C-sections in private hospitals, on the other hand, can cost anywhere from 70,000 to $200,000, depending on the extent of complications.

“However, while 66% of Plum’s customers have adopted maternity covers, a majority of them cover expenses up to ₹50,000 for up to two children. Only 15% of Plum’s customers, which are new-age companies, have taken covers between ₹1 lakh and ₹1.25 lakh for maternity," Plum said in the report.

Bengaluru has the highest average cost of childbirth in India, at $55,000, followed by Chennai (53,000), Delhi (51,000), and Mumbai and Hyderabad at $45,000 apiece.

In India, separate retail regulations for maternity are non-existent, according to Plum.

Additionally, under retail health insurance, there is a 90-day waiting period for the newborn to receive medical insurance coverage from the time of delivery. GHI insurance can cover female employees and couples for maternity treatment, infertility, and other prenatal difficulties, as well as provide baby day coverage from the start.

Plum believes that ideal maternity benefits should provide a minimum of $1,000,000 in coverage for tier 1 cities and include infant day coverage from the first day.

According to the report, organisations should consider including surrogacy and adoption leave policies and benefits, same-sex partner maternity and leave benefits, and paternity leave and benefits in order to be considered equitable.

Abhishek Poddar, chief executive officer and co-founder of Plum, said, “Companies today are in a position to do much better for their employees. This is not about insurance alone, this is an opportunity for us to kindle conversations around workplace equity, social justice and forward thinking. When it comes to education, women in our country are doing better than men (i.e, growing at a faster rate), but as a culture, we seem to be making it harder for them to return to work after giving birth."