Asian Alliance, Apollo Hospitals sign ‘Health Alliance’
Thursday, 12 February 2015 01:41
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By Shehana Dain
Asian Alliance Insurance Plc, part of the Softlogic Group, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Apollo Hospitals, India to provide clients with a choice of world-class healthcare facilities locally and internationally.
Health Alliance combines Softlogic entities Asian Alliance Insurance with Asiri Hospitals and now Apollo hospitals India, with the aim of creating a premier health platform in the country whose clients and their families will have access to the best foreign and local medical care.
Asiri Hospitals, being the market leader with approximately 65% of market share in private healthcare in the country with hospitals in Colombo - Asiri medical and flagship The Central hospital - in addition to two hospitals in the Southern Province, will be able to give policyholders a wider scope of facilities. Asian Alliance Managing Director Ifthikar Ahamed commented: “The objective of the healthcare group is to remain a market leader. Whatever facilities or expansion that needs to be done are coming from the group to retain its market leadership.”
Asian Alliance premium customers, AAA+ cardholders, currently enjoy the benefit of cashless medical treatment, priority service and many other value-added services when treated at any Asiri Hospital.
The partnership with Apollo Hospitals will enable these customers to enjoy further benefits including pre-travel assessment by Asiri Hospital’s authorised physicians, super speciality care at Apollo Hospitals India, review and follow-up in Sri Lanka, a 10% discount on Apollo preventive checkups, free online medical opinion services and complementary airport transfer for direct admissions in India
The Apollo Group will also have a representative in Sri Lanka who will act as a liaison for Asian Alliance Life customers who plan to travel to India as they will facilitate visa and other travel services.
Ifthikar stated that the affiliation with Apollo Hospitals will give the company the ability to say “we offer international standard healthcare services.”
“We expect as we go into the future that health insurance, as a part of insurance, will grow very steadily as Sri Lanka’s per capita income rises over the next years.”
Giving a market viewpoint he said: “In 2014 we expect health premiums to be around Rs. 6.2 billion, roughly 10% of the total general insurance premiums in the market which was roughly around Rs. 59 billion, and at Asian Alliance if we take both General Insurance and Life Insurance we are the largest health insurance player in the market.”
Speaking at the occasion, Apollo Hospitals Southern Region CEO Anne Marie Monecure said: “Disease does not recognise boundaries and therefore it is critical that modern healthcare recognises this reality and delivers in a seamless and collaborative manner to provide superlative care to every patient. Health Alliance is the need of the hour considering the ever-increasing disease burden and ever-changing disease pattern.”
