Health insurance holders can now win reward points for keeping to a pre-specified “wellness regime” that will enable them to win discounts on premium and in availing themselves health-specific services.

The Insuance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has come out with the guidelines on wellness and preventive measures, a step that formalises a long pending request from the insurers in a competitive market.

“As part of promoting a wellness and preventive regime, insurers may offer reward points to those policyholders who comply with or meet a set of criteria of wellness and preventive measures,” the regulator said.

Health specific services to get discounts include outpatient consultations or treatment, check-ups and diagnostics, and pharmaceuticals.

Insurers can offer redeemable vouchers to obtain health supplements and membership in yoga centres, gymnasiums, sports clubs and fitness centres.

The can also offer discounts on premiums and/or increase the sum assured at the time of renewals based on the wellness regime followed by policyholders in the preceding policy period, provided the increase is not linked to any cumulative bonus. In the case of more than one reward, the policyholder has to choose one.

Insurers, however, will have to meet certain criteria. They will have have to file the methodology and criteria used to calculate the reward points. The pricing impact of wellness and preventive measures have to be disclosed upfront.

Insurers cannot promote products or services of any third-party service providers. Other than the monetised value of the reward points redeemed by the policyholders, no payment shall be made by the insurers to the third party merchants. Insurers in turn shall not also receive any consideration amount from the third-party merchants.

The reward points cannot be linked to any dynamic factor such as interest rates and have to specify in the policy contract whether the accrued points can be carried forward or not.