General insurance companies are set to meet next week to discuss the proposed guidelines on standardisation of individual health insurance that makes it mandatory for all insurers to have a basic and uniform health insurance cover.
Sources said the insurers, under the umbrella body of the General Insurance Council (GIC), will meet on March 6, to discuss the design and pricing of the proposed standard health insurance cover.
“It is a preliminary meeting to see how best the industry, as a whole, can come out with a simple, standardised product,” said R Chandrasekaran, Secretary General, GIC.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) had, on February 19, unveiled draft norms for standardisation of individual health cover, under which insurers are expected to offer a basic health insurance cover that is uniform across the market.
“From a customer’s perspective, this is a very welcome move. But the question is what will happen to add-ons and other products that are similar to the standard but a little different? No one knows as of now,” said an executive with an insurance firm, adding that the meeting will thrash out these issues.
More clarity needed
Another executive said insurance companies are also likely to compile a set of questions on these issues and submit it to the IRDAI for more clarity.
Industry experts believe that as of now pricing is not a concern, and the impact on premium will not be significant. “The pricing impact still has to be worked out, but it will not be much. The fact that it has a 5 per cent co-pay is likely to lower the premium price, but other provisions could increase the premium to some extent,” said the first executive.