Life insurers want to sell indemnity-based health insurance

Life insurance companies have approached the IRDAI for approval to sell indemnity-based health insurance product. This is to the annoyance of general insurance companies because the life insurers would be moving into their market.

Currently, the regulator allows only general insurers and health insurers to offer individual health products with a minimum tenure of one year and maximum of three years, provided the premium remains unchanged for the tenure.

The IRDAI had, in 2016, issued regulations barring life insurers from selling indemnity-based health insurance products, either as an individual or a group policy, and also from offering single premium health insurance products under the unit-linked platform. This means life insurers have to tie up with a general or health insurance company to provide health+ life products.

However, given the low penetration of health insurance in the country, life insurers see that there is enough scope and also demand for more of these products, two persons familiar with the development told Hindu Business Line. Sources said life insurance companies have proposed to the IRDAI to review the current prohibition. The regulator is yet to take a decision on it.

Source: Asia Insurance Review