Public sector insurer, National Insurance Company (NIC) on Wednesday made a strong pitch for monitoring pricing in private hospitals and a need for a regulator in this regard.

According to AV Girija Kumar, Chairman and Managing Director, NIC, there was a need to have a regulator who would monitor pricing in private hospitals and stop them from charging exorbitant rates.

“There is a need for monitoring pricing in private hospitals,” he told newspersons on the sidelines of an interactive session organised by the MCC Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

“Healthcare financing and delivery should be integrated and this will help the insured people immensely,” he added.

Policy renewals

According to Kumar, the Centre along with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) was also working on a mechanism to tackle the problem of non-renewal of motor insurance policies. Instances of such non-renewal are on the rise.

Plans are afoot to introduce a two-wheeler insurance policy where a bike owner would have to make a one-time premium payment for a three-five-year period.

At present, two-wheeler insurance is paid on annual basis.

The final details are yet to take shape, he said.

“We are working on a policy where there will be one-time payment of two-wheeler insurance for a three-five-year policy. This will protect insurers to some extent from non-renewals. However, things are still at a discussion stage,” he said.

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