Heavy air pollution in the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) is unlikely to have an impact on health insurance premiums anytime soon, according to Mr Gurdeep Singh Batra, head, retail underwriting, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance.

Speaking to Mint, he referred to “severe" and “hazardous" Air Quality Index (AQI) readings for most of the past two weeks. He said, “Pollution has been around for a long time but this is a spike that prevails for a month or so and should pass soon.”

Mr Abhishek Bondia, principal officer and managing director, Securenow.in, an insurance broking firm, said that insurers haven’t started having serious discussions on the issue of air pollution yet, primarily because the data needed to be put together first. “Of course, there’s been a rise in hospitalisation but the impact on claims has not been much," he said.

Considering overall claims, for asthmatic patients or people with respiratory disorders, the chances of surgery (which is expensive) are low compared to someone with cancer, heart problems, and so on.

“If acute pollution creates a long-term health hazard and it shows up in five to seven years, then insurers may consider it," said Mr Bondia.

Insurers already charge different premium rates for different zones in the country, primarily based on hospitalisation cost which is higher in the metros compared to tier II and tier III cities.

“A few insurers already have slightly higher premium rates in Delhi-NCR and most parts of north India because the loss ratio in this region is higher compared to the rest of the country," said Amit Chabbra, head, health insurance, Policybazaar.com, an online insurance marketplace.

Source : AIR