The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) is working on the setting up of a data repository for health, motor transport insurance and planning to developing insurance policies in vernaculars.
?It is a suggestion. Languages of the products and mechanics of the whole thing evolve through a process of interaction between the regulatory body, counsel and individual companies,? IRDA chairman J Hari Narayan said.
At present, insurance policy is only issued in English. The dry run for such a data mechanism health and motor is complete and it is likely to be made available to the insurers by the end of the current financial year. Speaking to the reporters on the sidelines of a health insurance summit, which was jointly organised by CII and KPMG in Mumbai on Tuesday, J Hari Narayan, chairman, IRDA said that the tariff advisory committee (TAC), which is part of IRDA, was working on the development of such a database.
While data warehouse has already been created, things like the regulatory requirement and software for the same were being put in place, said Narayan. In this connection the experiments in various forms are being conducted and people have been trained how to send the data to the insurers as per their requirement. The whole transmitter of information from where it is created to the warehouse has been stabilised, said Narayan.
Total healthcare market in the country currently is valued at Rs 1,70,000 crore which comprises of Rs 1,00,000 crore expenses by the out patients and the remaining Rs 70,000 crore goes for hospitalisation. “And merely 5% of the hospitalisation costs have been covered by insurance so far and hence we are planning to take it up to 20% in years to come,? said Narayan. Also, IRDA was working on how to make healthcare more affordable to the large masses, he said adding, ?We will have to look at the existing traditional systems like government hospitals, primary healthcare systems and civil hospitals and make use of modern technology as a multiplier to make available these facilities to larger and deeper areas of the country. So, we are planning to have direct intervention so as to make the healthcare facility available to the large masses, said Narayan.
Coming on the insurers? plan to increase the premia for the terror cover in view of the recent terror attack in Mumbai, Narayan said, ?We haven?t received any such proposal from them as of now. On the issue of the terror cover to the two terror-hit hotels in Mumbai, Narayan said that in the case of Taj Hotel, it was covered under fire insurance and standard fire insurance policy doesn?t cover protection against damage cost by acts of terrorism as it was the excluded part of the policy. But, if the customers want, it can be covered too, said Narayan. In fact you can buy it back, said Narayan citing the example of the Taj Hotel.
On terror pool which covers Rs 750 crore per location , Narayan said that claims settlement process from the victims of the terror attack was yet to begin and “We will come to know of the right situation once the people started claiming for settlement. ?? Asked if IRDA will allow the local insurers that were interested in going overseas, Nartayan replied that ?We are examining it?.
In reply to another query, Narayan said that we want companies to establish their own internal systems for grievance and complaints redressal and make them very robust.