HEALTH INSURANCE TO BECOME BETTER AND MORE TRANSPARENT

From June 1 2009, IRDA has mandated each of the health insurance providers to come clean on the policy renewal terms and conditions. It has laid down certain conditions which will go a long way in making the experience of having health insurance easier,better and more transparent for the end user.The notable changes that will result due to IRDA's instructions are as under:-
1. Insurers will have to clearly indicate the maximum age till which the policy will be renewed - The insurers as of now, only mention the minimum and maximum age of entry, in a plan along with the premium charges. They are however silent on the age till which they will renew the policy. The general understanding is that the company will renew the policy till the insured person achieves the maximum age . However , this does not happen in all cases. And
hence, now IRDA has mandated that all the health insurance providers will have to clearly state the age till which the plan will be renewed in the policy document.
2. Companies can not decline policy renewal on any ground except fraud- This is the biggest change that IRDA has brought about. There were numerous cases of companies declining the renewal of policies to its existing polciholders on grounds which were frivolous at best.They did so to avoid renewing policies where chances of claim were deemed higher. Now every insurer will have to renew the plan unless there is an issue of fraud being committed by the customer/insured person.Now, if the policy document mentions that an insured person can renew the plan till age 75, the insurer can’t refuse him a cover or nudge him into a different plan.
3.Grace period of 15 days to renew the lapsed policy- As of now, there are few companies which provide grace period after the last date of renewal of premium is over. At the same time , some companies still don't provide any such grace period and issue a fresh policy to policyholder after his earlier policy expires. In order to streamline this process, now IRDA has mandated that all the companies will have to provide 15 days grace period for renewing the policy.Here, a renewal would mean continuity in the cover. So, all pre-existing diseases covered under the policy would continue to remain covered after the renewal. Also, other benefits, such as the no-claim bonus and waiver of initial waiting period would continue.
All these changes are meant for health insurers only. This does not apply to life insurance companies or policies.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

TAX IMPLICATION ON GIFTS TO RELATIVES

We all do indulge in the practice of giving and receiving gifts both monetary and non monetary. But these gifts at times can attract income tax on it and as such one needs to know the exact tax treatment of gifts both in the hands of the person gifting and the person receiving the gift. Gift to wife or spouse - If you make a gift in kind or cash to your spouse then it is not taxable in their hands. However, any income generated by the gift in kind or cash shall be treated as your income. Gift to fiance - Any gift given in kind is tax free. However , cash gifts are tax free only till Rs 50000. If the gift amount exceeds Rs 50000 then the entire gift amount is taxable in the hands of your fiance. Gifts on marriage - All gifts received on wedding are tax free. There is no monetary limit attached here. Gifts to parents - Any gift in kind or cash is tax free in the hands of your parents and does not lead to any tax liability for you either. In all the above cases, one needs to reco...
Read more

Should you buy Gold from Banks ??

Image
The dream run up in Gold prices in last few years has enticed all and sundry as an attractive investment asset class. It has not only proved to be an excellent hedge against inflation a, reputation it holds with elan since time immemorial, but also, has delivered returns in excess of debt, equity etc as an asset class. Thus , it has emerged as the Best Investment Option in last few years. However, skeptics believe that gold has had its share of dream run and may not be possible for investors who are entering into now, to expect the same kind returns in future . But, if you are on of those who believe that best years of gold as an asset class is still ahead of us and want to invest in physical gold then you must be pondering where should you buy the gold from? These days we have seen most of the banks aggressively positioning them as place where one can buy physical gold bars/coins etc. The other option is offcourse our old Jeweller , both unorganized and large organised players...
Read more

IPO INVESTING IN PSU - GOOD WAY OF MAKING MONEY IN STOCK MARKETS

I have always stayed away from directly getting into equity markets. This was inspite of my firm belief that equity is the best asset class to invest in if one intends to make money over long period of time. The reason why I stayed away was my inability to devote enough time to research the stocks before investing and hence I always relied on Mutual Funds for equity investing. But, I always had this urge of making quick buck in equity markets. The most popular mode of short term investing in stock markets in via trading either intra day or for few days trades. But IPO investing for listing gains can be a great opportunity for common people to make money in stock markets in India. This I can talk from my own experience of investing in CIL IPO. For retail investors there was money to be made in this IPO and I personally made About RS 19000 in this IPO on an investment of Rs 46000. That's cool 46% in less than a month's time. This extra 19000 could be used to pay off my electrici...
Read more