LIC awaits IRDA clearance to roll out health cover products
Health insurance products from state-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) are expected to hit the market by the end of the year.
By TNN |
NEW DELHI: Health insurance products from state-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) are expected to hit the market by the end of the year. Policyholders will have the option of choosing the sum assured and accordingly decide the premium to be paid.
“We are awaiting clearance from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda), and hope to launch health insurance products by the third week of December. Policyholders will have the option of choosing the sum assured and accordingly decide the premium to be paid,” a senior LIC official associated with the company’s health division said.
“Our chairman has given us December as deadline, and company’s marketing force of over 13 lakh agents are being geared up to launch this product on a large scale,” he added.
He said initially the health insurance operations would be a part of the life insurance business. The company may set up a standalone health insurance company at a later stage, provided government approves the proposal for a subsidiary.
The prospects of health insurance providers is expected to be bolstered when the premium rates are liberalised by the Irda early next year. This will result in an increase in the rates of group health insurance premiums.
“Currently, mediclaim settlement rates are in the range of 140-150%, which would come down after the detariffing of premium shortly,” Irda chairman CS Rao said on the sidelines of a conference on health insurance organised by Ficci.
The product, which may be classified as ‘LIC Health Plus’, will give the policyholder the option to take health insurance cover for his immediate family.
“It will not be like mediclaim product, unlike some other general health insurance companies, it would not be based on cash-less transaction model,” he clarified. LIC has roped in reinsurer Munich Re to structure the new product. Though he refused to divulge details about the product, LIC was looking at a floater plan where a sum insured could be shared by the family.
As in the case of unit-linked life insurance policy (ULIP), some portion of the annual premium could go towards investments. The corpus thus built could be withdrawn by the policyholder, the source said. LIC had earlier said it was looking at a health policy on the unit-linked platform with a savings element.
The company expects to provide cover to at least one crore families within a year of launch of these products. LIC is also planning to launch a special senior citizens health insurance policy in due course, a source said. The source said the company hopes to mop up around Rs 5,000 crore by selling its unit-linked health insurance policy in the first year.
The insurer has tied up with eight third-party administrators to manage claims under the policy. LIC would not use TPAs to settle claims. For claims settlement, it has tied up with Syndicate Bank, Axis Bank and Bank of America.
“We are awaiting clearance from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda), and hope to launch health insurance products by the third week of December. Policyholders will have the option of choosing the sum assured and accordingly decide the premium to be paid,” a senior LIC official associated with the company’s health division said.
“Our chairman has given us December as deadline, and company’s marketing force of over 13 lakh agents are being geared up to launch this product on a large scale,” he added.
He said initially the health insurance operations would be a part of the life insurance business. The company may set up a standalone health insurance company at a later stage, provided government approves the proposal for a subsidiary.
The prospects of health insurance providers is expected to be bolstered when the premium rates are liberalised by the Irda early next year. This will result in an increase in the rates of group health insurance premiums.
“Currently, mediclaim settlement rates are in the range of 140-150%, which would come down after the detariffing of premium shortly,” Irda chairman CS Rao said on the sidelines of a conference on health insurance organised by Ficci.
The product, which may be classified as ‘LIC Health Plus’, will give the policyholder the option to take health insurance cover for his immediate family.
“It will not be like mediclaim product, unlike some other general health insurance companies, it would not be based on cash-less transaction model,” he clarified. LIC has roped in reinsurer Munich Re to structure the new product. Though he refused to divulge details about the product, LIC was looking at a floater plan where a sum insured could be shared by the family.
As in the case of unit-linked life insurance policy (ULIP), some portion of the annual premium could go towards investments. The corpus thus built could be withdrawn by the policyholder, the source said. LIC had earlier said it was looking at a health policy on the unit-linked platform with a savings element.
The company expects to provide cover to at least one crore families within a year of launch of these products. LIC is also planning to launch a special senior citizens health insurance policy in due course, a source said. The source said the company hopes to mop up around Rs 5,000 crore by selling its unit-linked health insurance policy in the first year.
The insurer has tied up with eight third-party administrators to manage claims under the policy. LIC would not use TPAs to settle claims. For claims settlement, it has tied up with Syndicate Bank, Axis Bank and Bank of America.
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