IRDAI asks insurers to come up with disease-specific plans

HYDERABAD: India’s insurance regulator has asked the health insurance companies to come up with disease-specific policies to cover a larger section of the population instead of focussing only on healthy individuals.

Addressing a virtual health insurance conference organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) on Wednesday, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) member, non-life, TL Alamelu, also stressed on the need to set up a mechanism where the person with insurance policy gets benefits even at the diagnostic centre and pharmacy.

Stressing on the need for more awareness on the health insurance, she said, “It is better to have minimal health insurance with all the exclusions, than a situation of no health insurance.”


According to her, the current growth witnessed in the health insurance sector was on a fast forward stage.

The IRDA member predicted that the health insurance segment in the non-life insurance sector in India may overtake the motor insurance segment by the yearend. Appreciating the health insurance companies for ensuing low number of grievances relating to Covid-19 policies, Alamelu said it helps gain the customers’ trust and advised the health insurance companies to extend such low grievances mechanism to all other types of health insurance policies.

Mayank Bathwal, co-chair, FICCI Health Insurance Committee, and also the chief executive of Aditya Birla Health Insurance, favoured enhancing the scope of health insurance benefits to cover the outpatient department (OPD) expenses.

According to him, OPD expenses account for more than 60% of healthcare spend and important for driving preventive care, which are still largely not covered under the insurance policies.