Skip to main content

Health policies by life insurance companies will not be portable

YOUR plan to switch your existing health insurance policy from a non-life insurer to a life insurance company may not be possible, at least for now. The insurance regulator is likely to confine the portability of health insurance policies to non-life insurance companies.

"To start with, only mediclaim policies offered by general insurance companies will be portable. Health insurance policies offered by life insurance companies, which are much more complex in nature, will not come under it," said a senior official of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda).

One of the primary reasons for not extending the facility is that the term of the policies offered by general insurance companies is one year. However, for life insurance companies, it is long-term, raging between three and 15 years. Portability allows a policyholder to shift the policy offered by one insurer to the other, while keeping the terms and conditions of the cover unchanged.

"Most health plans offered by life insures are indemnity policies or benefit policies, which are associated with lump sum benefits at the end of the term, subject to certain pre-specified conditions. Hence, it is very difficult to port credits, since these policies require completely different underwriting techniques," said a life insurance company official.

More than 90 per cent of the health insurance business is confined to the general insurance industry. Policies offered by general insurers are fixed-benefit plans and are renewed annually. This is different from plans offered by the life insurance companies. So, portability between health products offered by life and non-life insurance companies is not feasible.

In short, for mediclaim policies, there are no survival benefits or life covers. So, general insurance companies would not be able to service these kinds of health insurance plans, he the official said.

Another aspect is the pricing of the policies. "One of the important issues is how to price the benefits. Different companies offer different benefits to add exclusivity to their products. For instance, in the case of portability, one has to forgo some benefits. Thus, the policyholder might claim some discount, which the insurer might not allow," said an actuary in a life insurance company.

Last week, the insurance regulator decided to postpone the execution of portability of health insurance policies by three months to October 1, as industry officials sought more clarifications from the regulator.

In a bid to facilitate data sharing among insurance companies, Irda had embarked upon providing a web-based facility for insurers to feed in all relevant details on health insurance policies issued by them. This data would be accessible by the company to which a policyholder wishes to port his policy. "Such a system would enable the new insurer to obtain efficiently data on history of health insurance of the policyholder wishing to port. It is necessary to enable the smooth running of the system," Irda had said.
 

Popular posts from this blog

ICICI Pru Mutual Fund Dividend

ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund has announced dividend under the following schemes: Scheme Dividend ( Rs /unit) ICICI Pru Capital Protection Oriented Ser V Plan B-D 0.03611325 ICICI Pru Capital Protection Oriented Ser V Plan B Direct-D 0.03611325 ICICI Pru Balanced Advantage Direct-DM 0.06 The record date has been fixed as February 08, 2017. ------------------------------ ------ Invest Rs 1,50,000 and Save Tax upto Rs 46,350 under Section 80C. Get Great Returns by Investing in Best Performing ELSS Funds Top 4 Tax Saver Mutual Funds for 2017 - 2018 Best 4 ELSS Mutual Funds to invest in India for 2017 1. DSP BlackRock Tax Saver Fund 2. Invesco India Tax Plan 3. Tata India Tax Savings Fund 4. BNP Paribas Long Term Equity Fund Invest in Best Performing 2017 Tax Saver Mutual Funds Online Invest Best Tax Saver Mutual Funds Online Download Top Tax Saver Mutual Funds  Application Forms For further information contact  SaveTaxGetRich on 94 8300 8300 ------------------------------ ------ Leave y...
Read more

What is Financial Freedom?

Invest In Tax Saving Mutual Funds Online Download Tax Saving Mutual Fund Application Forms Buy Gold Mutual Funds Call 0 94 8300 8300 (India)     There were many things common between our Freedom fighters. All had the Single vision (Free India), common goal (independence) and had a disciplined and focused approach. They were ready to do anything and everything and had made so many sacrifices to see India free . But the road to freedom was not easy .They had faced lot many hardships, went to jail so many times and even confronted physical and mental torture from the British. There was one more thing which proved to be an advantage to our fighters that most of them were professional lawyers. The knowledge of legal issues and its impact on our country at large has helped them counter various bills and proposed new laws by the then government. It is due to their continuous effort that we are able to achieve the goal of Independent Indi...
Read more

Hidden Bank Fees

  What Banks Hide From Customers Imagine after a peaceful and exciting holiday you receive your bank statement with steep charges. You then rush to your bank and start confronting staff members and to your dismay, you come to know that the high end debit card was charged very heavily. Wouldn't this cause damage to your finances? So remember, the world outside is full of deceptive and double cheating people. Unethical practices are always used by company sales person in order to meet the target. Credit card companies, mutual funds and bank institutions always play dirty tricks to lure customers and the practices are rampant. So here's how you should be careful while dealing with your banks: High End Debit Card Charges While opening an account with a bank you opt for a debit card with minimal charges. But later on when you upgrade your card and opt for high end debit card the annual charge rise by a good amount. Though such a card has slew of features but it all comes at a high ...
Read more

Updating a minor PAN card upon becoming adults

  Updating a minor's PAN card once they become adults A PAN card issued in the name of a minor does not contain the minor's photograph or signature, and therefore, cannot be used as a valid proof of identity. Once a minor PAN card holder turns 18, the relevant changes must be made in the PAN records. A new card is then issued bearing a photograph and signature. Application The applicant is required to fill up the "Request for new PAN card andor changes or correction in PAN data" form. The form can be filled up online by accessing NSDL's Tax Information Network website and clicking on the online PAN application tab. Information The applicant must mention the existing PAN number in the application and check the `photo mismatch' and `signature mismatch' boxes, and submit the online form. The form must also be printed out, signed by the applicant, and submitted along with two photographs. Documents Identity and address proof in the form of a copy of the app...
Read more

Partial withdrawal from PPF

  Public Provident Fund (PPF) account has a lock in period   If you opened a PPF account to meet your retirement needs,, think twice about withdrawing from this fund before retirement. But provided it's an emergency here are the rules. Public Provident Fund (PPF) account has a lock in period before which you cannot withdraw your money.   The partial withdrawal is allowed after the completion of 6 financial years . This means that you will be allowed a partial withdrawal from 1 April 2017. The maximum partial withdrawal allowed is the least of the following: 50 percent of the account balance at the end of fourth financial year, 31 March 15 50 percent of the account balance of the end of previous financial year, 31 March 17.   There's a loan option available on your PPF account between the fourth and the sixth financial year. You can obtain a loan of up to 25 per cent of the balance in your account. However, this will attract interest of 2 percent more than the prevailing ...
Read more
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Invest in Tax Saving Mutual Funds Download Any Applications
Transact Mutual Funds Online Invest Online
Buy Gold Mutual Funds Invest Now