Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India has crossed the one-lakh mark in sale of health insurance policies in the current financial year.

“Our health insurance sales since April 1, 2011, have been much higher than during the last financial year when the sales touched 68,000. This year we have so far sold some 1.02 lakh policies,” Ms Renu Jain, Head of Health Insurance business, LIC, told Business Line here on Thursday.

The ‘robust' sales were chiefly driven by the second health insurance benefit plan, ‘Jeevan Arogya', launched by the state insurer in June 2011 to offer comprehensive hospitalisation benefits for the whole family, including in-laws.

Over 96,000 policies of ‘Jeevan Arogya' were sold since its launch. “The benefit component and the entry up to 75 years for dependent parents and in-laws elicited enthusiastic response from customers,” Ms Jain said.

At present, the south zone of LIC, headquartered in Chennai, accounts for 33 per cent of the insurer's business followed by the north and south-central zones.

TARGET

Buoyed by the response, LIC has set a sales target of 3.6 lakh policies during 2011-12.

“After entering into health insurance in 2008, we sold 3.6 lakh policies till March 31, 2011. But now, as we have two more products in the market, we hope to reach the target this year,” the LIC official said.

The corporation intends to achieve this by focussing more on service. “To improve service, we are now chasing TPAs and hospitals for speedy processing of claims,” she said.

The agents were also being told and trained to improve customer service, she added.

REJECTED CLAIMS

As part of a special drive to reconsider claims which were rejected for want of additional details and documented in June, LIC had already settled 158 of the 917 rejected claims.

About 400 claims were in various stages of processing, Ms Jain added.

On the industry scenario, the LIC official said the health insurance market was growing at 40 per cent per annum.

“The customers now want health insurance. It is a pull-market now,” she said.

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