The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has proposed a major change in the rules related to insurance. If this proposal of IRDAI is accepted, then it can bring about a significant change in the insurance sector.
Insurance regulator IRDAI has asked insurance companies to consider giving a waiver on renewal of general and health insurance policies to policyholders who have taken three shots of the Kovid-19 vaccine amid a rise in coronavirus cases in several countries.
Along with this, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has asked both life and non-life insurance companies to settle COVID-related claims at the earliest and reduce paperwork. Last week, during a meeting to create awareness about COVID-19, the regulator also emphasized that insurers should incentivize policyholders to get RT-PCR tests done through their wellness network.
What is the proposal of IRDAI
IRDAI asks insurers to encourage COVID-compliant behavior through social media outreach. With regard to foreign travel insurance, IRDAI urged sharing of such policies with various countries. Also IRDAI asked to spread information about covid testing requirements.
The regulator also urged insurers to ensure that COVID-19 patients are not forced to deposit money for hospitalisation. In fact, it has been observed that despite having a cashless policy, some hospitals demanded deposits for COVID treatment during the first and second wave.
What is the proposal of the insurance regulator
IRDAI said that insurers should prepare for the worst and create a war room for COVID-related assistance to all stakeholders. The regulator told the industry that the data should be reported in a prescribed format, so that there is no discrepancy. Insurers asked the regulator to frame rules for treatment protocols, so that fraud cases could be reduced.
IRDAI in its annual report released last week said that till March 2022, over 2.25 lakh death claims due to Covid were settled by insurance companies. General insurers and standalone health insurers received a large number of claims related to COVID treatment. Which were handled efficiently by the industry and claims worth Rs 25,000 crore were settled. As per the data in the report, a total of 26,54,001 health insurance claims were settled. Insurance companies settled over 2.25 lakh death claims due to the pandemic and paid Rs 17,269 crore towards claims till March 31, 2022.
