Comments
Genetic disorders will no longer be grounds for exclusion from health covers provided by insurers.
In a significant directive, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has asked insurers not to reject claims on the basis of exclusions related to genetic disorders.
The directive comes in the wake of a recent judgment of the Delhi High Court in the case of United India Insurance Company Ltd vs Jai Parkash Tayal, which held that the exclusionary clause arising from ‘genetic disorders’ in the policy is violative of Article 14 of the Constitution.
Citing the court order, IRDAI said: “All insurance companies offering contracts of health insurance are hereby directed that no claim in respect of any existing health insurance policy should be rejected based on exclusions related to genetic disorder.”
It also asked insurance companies not to include ‘Genetic Disorders’ under the list of exclusions in new health insurance policies issued in respect of their existing products and also in the new products launched or filed under the existing norms for health insurance products.
Insurers watchful
Insurers are still cautious on their views on impact of the regulator’s order and are still evaluating the implications.
Sanjay Datta, Chief—Underwrting & Claims, ICICI Lombard, said the directive will have a short-term and long-term impact, and each individual policy will have to be aligned with the new directive.
According to Sandeep Patel, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Cigna TTK Health Insurance, genetic disorders disclosed at the time of purchasing the policy or at the time of renewal under THE existing line of health products will be covered subject to underwriting review and others terms and conditions of the policy.
“On acceptance of risk, coverage will be provided subject to applicable waiting periods under the policy,’’ he said.
According to IRDAI data, health insurance accounted for 27 per cent of premium underwritten in general insurance products in 2016-17. The total premium underwritten in the last financial year was ₹1,28,128 crore against ₹96,378 crore in the previous year.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.