When Insurance Pays You Back for Staying Healthy

More than one lakh policyholders earned their premiums back upto 100% in FY25—a reflection of how health insurance is beginning to reward staying well, not just paying for illness. Behind this scale are thousands of individual journeys shaped by everyday health choices, enabled and sustained by Aditya Birla Health Insurance.

From daily step goals to better chronic care, policyholders are turning small health choices into lasting habits. Whether it’s Shahnawaz Pathak following the step tracking and staying active at 50, Kadambani Auslekar from Mumbai, shared that the app helped her refocus on her health. may not always be possible, she sees it as a positive and motivating starting point in her fitness journey. For Abhishek Goswami, regular health check-ups, coaching support and simple lifestyle changes helped him manage his diabetes more effectively. Together with over one lakh other customers, these stories reflect how healthy behaviour is being actively encouraged, tracked and rewarded—turning insurance into a partner in everyday wellbeing.

Health insurance in India has traditionally been designed as a reactive safety net, stepping in when illness strikes. As lifestyle-related conditions now make up over 56% of the disease burden, the model is now being reimagined to complement treatment with prevention. Responding to this shift, Aditya Birla Health Insurance (ABHI) has sought to redefine what an insurer’s role can be. Through its “health first” philosophy, wellness and prevention are built into the core of its offering rather than positioned as optional add-ons—recognising that hospitalisation support alone cannot shape long-term health outcomes. The aim is to support customers well before a claim becomes necessary.

HealthReturns™: when habits pay back

A defining element of this approach is HealthReturns™">HealthReturns™, ABHI’s wellness-linked reward model. Policyholders can earn returns by completing Active Dayz™, for example, walking 10,000 steps or burning 300 calories—and maintaining a good Healthy Heart Score™ through regular assessments

​Customers who achieve 325 Active Dayz™ in a year and maintain a Green Healthy Heart Score™ can earn up to 100% of their annual premium back as HealthReturns™. These rewards can be used to pay renewal premiums, buy medicines or fund diagnostic tests, allowing everyday healthy habits to translate into savings on healthcare expenses.

​Turning healthy choices into everyday wins

The Activ Health App"> Activ Health App brings together activity tracking, digital health assessments and personalised nudges, supported by lifestyle and mental wellbeing insights that help customers understand where to improve. The experience is highly personalised, with prompts tailored to age, activity levels, health indicators and lifestyle patterns. The focus is on simple, sustainable habits like staying active and getting regular health check-ups, rather than short-term fitness fads.

Wellness woven into products

Wellness is integrated into ABHI’s flagship health solutions in different ways. Activ One">Activ One goes beyond traditional hospitalisation cover by combining comprehensive medical protection with proactive health support — including day-one chronic care for key lifestyle diseases, annual health assessments, and broad coverage of inpatient and allied treatments to support long-term well-being.

For younger, Activ Fit is designed to reward healthy lifestyles by blending financial protection with behavioural incentives. It offers standard health coverage along with good-health premium discounts, step-based rewards, sum-insured refills, fitness milestones and additional benefits like maternity and ambulance cover, helping keep policyholders motivated to stay active and healthy.

The real-world impact of this approach is reflected in FY25, when over one lakh ABHI policyholders collectively recorded 350 billion steps which is a testament to sustained engagement and positive behaviour change among users

Chronic management as part of care

Recognising that many Indians live with long-term conditions, ABHI integrates chronic care into core products rather than offering it as a separate add-on. In FY25, ABHI intervened with 1.8 lakh lives through combined chronic-care support. Eligible customers with conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, asthma or high cholesterol can access day-one coverage for these chronic conditions alongside structured support that helps them manage their health more effectively.

These programs combine regular doctor consultations, diagnostics, medicines and lifestyle coaching to help customers manage conditions proactively, alongside cashless in-patient cover bringing routine care and acute episodes under one integrated health proposition.

Abhishek Goswami, ABHI customer, who has been with ABHI for over three years was able to bring his diabetes under control through this program. Simple changes such as daily walking and following the right meal plan as guided by his doctor made a meaningful difference, turning insurance into a partner in everyday health, not just a claims safety net.​

A broader impact on health behaviours

Wellness-linked insurance models are gradually reshaping how people engage with health, bringing prevention and everyday choices into the insurance conversation alongside protection and claims. As more Indians focus on staying well rather than responding only after diagnosis, insurance is evolving from a reactive safety net into a longer-term health enabler.

Approaches such as ABHI’s Health First philosophy reflect this shift, recognising that sustained health outcomes are shaped as much by daily behaviour and chronic care management as by financial protection. In this model, insurance moves beyond paying for illness to supporting healthier lives over time.

Note to readers: This article is part of Mint’s paid consumer connect Initiative. Mint assumes no editorial involvement or responsibility for errors, omissions, or content accuracy.

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