At a time when the concept of health insurance is unheard of across most segments of the Indian population, Medicine Shoppe, the world's largest pharmacy store chain, has linked regular medicine purchases to free medical insurance cover.

The company has, in association with Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company, launched a critical care insurance scheme for the treatment of ten critical illnesses, linked to purchases of medicines from Medicine Shoppe outlets.

However, the scheme is available only to people in the age group of 5-25 years.

Under the scheme, for every rupee spent by customers at Medicine Shoppe, they will get a free insurance cover of Rs 2, provided the cumulative purchase value exceeds Rs 5,000 (for insurance cover of Rs 10,000) over a period of six months.

For all subsequent purchases of Rs 5,000, the insurance cover will correspondingly rise, up to a ceiling of Rs 2 lakhs (Rs 200,000).

The cover will be valid for a period of one year from the date of commencement. Customers can nominate anyone, including self, to receive the claim amount.

The illnesses covered under the scheme are cancer, stroke, first heart attack, coronary artery disease requiring surgery, multiple sclerosis, renal failure, major organ transplant, aorta surgery, paralysis and primary pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Viraj Gandhi, managing director of Medicine Shoppe India, said, "India is the only country on our global network where we have launched (this kind of) insurance. We are trying to take insurance products to  customers even in small towns, where insurance is virtually unknown, through our retail network."

"This is an add-on benefit for customers making purchases at Medicine Shoppe, and will be useful especially for those who cannot meet the high cost of treatment for their children or relatives," he added.

This is the second such insurance scheme that Medicine Shoppe has launched in India together with Bajaj Allianz, the first being a personal accident cover. Sam Ghosh, CEO of Bajaj Allianz, said all claims will be processed within a fortnight, with no questions asked.