Insurance regulator IRDAI has given great relief to senior citizens. Now they have to pay a maximum of 10 percent more premium at the annual health insurance policy premium. This means that insurance companies will not be able to increase the annual health insurance policy premium of senior citizens by more than 10 percent. According to a report, IRDAI has said that insurance companies must take approval before launching targeted personal health insurance products for senior citizens.
Companies will have to get approval in these cases
The insurance regulator says that if the proposed increase in premium is more than 10% per year, approval will have to be obtained. Additionally, companies will also have to take approval in case of withdrawal of personal health insurance products offered to senior citizens. IRDAI says that senior citizens have limited sources of income. Senior citizens are the most affected when there is a huge increase in health insurance premiums. The case has attracted the attention of IRDAI and this regulator is a matter of concern. Sudden changes can be prevented, which can deprive senior citizens of necessary coverage.
These instructions were given
IRDAI said the premium rate is mainly based on the costs incurred by the insurance company, including the estimated claim amount and the acquisition cost for the insurance policy. The cost of the claim largely depends on the amount taken by hospitals for various treatments/operations. IRDAI has directed the insurance companies to provide joint penalization of hospitals like Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana and determine the package rates through negotiations.
Need to create a dedicated channel
The insurance regulator said that it is contrary to the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, where the cost of hospitalization is interacted at the central level at the package rates and thus they are standardized in all hospitals. There is no such thing in the case of health insurance products. Due to this, the cost of hospitalization is increasing, due to which the cost of claims is also increasing under health insurance products offered by insurance companies. IRDAI said that according to the regulatory structure, all insurance companies are required to create a dedicated channel for matters related to senior citizens. This information should be easily available on the insurance company’s website so that it can be easily obtained.
