Nandakumar Rajeshirke was suspicious of health insurance when he first heard about the idea three years ago. He had trouble understanding why it made sense to gamble on an unforeseen illness or accident when there was no guarantee he would ever see any money in return.

But his insurance provider, a network of nongovernmental organizations called UpLift India Association, had already earned his trust by supplying him with reliable microcredit to fund his stone carving business in the city of P…

In its very first year of operations, The Star Health and Allied Insurance Company is confident of securing Rs 80-crore premium income. Within 45 days of operation, the company has opened 57 offices and plans 28 more before the middle of next month. Writing 30 lakh health policies in the current year is not a big deal, according to the company’s Managing Director, Mr. V. Jagannathan. So far, the company has earned a premium income of Rs 4 crore.

Star Health is capitalized at Rs 105 c…