Soon, you may be able to buy a health insurance policy for a term of two or three years at once. A proposal in this regard is being examined by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), according to its Chairman TS Vijayan. At present, health insurance policies are being sold for a term of one year.

He was speaking to newspersons at a function organised by ICICI Lombard to mark the sale of one lakh long-term two-wheeler insurance policies here on Wednesday.

The regulator had earlier formed a panel to look into various aspects of health insurance, including long-term policies and health savings accounts. “The report is almost ready and we will examine it,’’ Vijayan said.

FDI limit

When asked about the response of foreign joint venture partners of Indian insurance companies to increasing their stake to 49 per cent from 26 per cent, the Chairman said: “Six or seven companies have shown interest in increasing their stake.’’ However, they have not made a formal request to the authority.

Earlier, addressing the gathering, he said there was a need to insure all assets in the country. “In the US, 80 per cent of assets are insured, while in India this is only 7 per cent,” he said.

There are 54 life and general insurance companies in the country and there is huge scope for increasing insurance penetration, Vijayan said. Insurance penetration is less than 4 per cent of gross domestic product now. Digitisation of policies to reduce the cost of distribution and speedy settlement of claims are important, he said.

Bhargav Dasgupta, MD and CEO of ICICI Lombard, said the response for the product offering long-term insurance was 'good’.

About 60-70 per cent of over 16 crore two-wheelers plying in the country do not have insurance, he pointed out.

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