New Delhi: Three in four people sampled from India's big cities have no health insurance at all or are covered for less than Rs 2 lakh, a six-city survey has suggested, highlighting inadequate levels of health protection.

The survey quizzed 4,156 respondents from Calcutta, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai and Pune.

The survey picked respondents from the top two groups of the National Consumer Classification System, which categorises households on the basis of education and consumer durables. Over half (53 per cent) of the respondents recalled a household financial emergency on account of medical needs.

"The implications are worrying," said Pankaj Krishna, head of Chrome Data Analytics and Media, a private company that conducted the survey. "The significance of health insurance is not adequately recognised even in some affluent households who should be able to afford it."