Kotak Life plans health product

Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance (KMOMLI) Limited, a joint venture between Kotak Mahindra Depository Financial Institution and London-based Old Mutual plc is planning to establish a standalone wellness coverage merchandise in the first one-half of 2008-09.

"The wellness coverage that we are going to establish volition be probably in the word form of a Unit Of Measurement Linked Insurance Plan (ULIP) and is likely to offer cashless transcation installation to the subscribers. We mean to restart dialogues with the different infirmaries for our wellness coverage strategy in the adjacent fiscal", Arun Patil, vice-president (training and direction development) of KMOMLI said.

The new wellness coverage merchandise would also offer an option to the endorsers for investment in equity but it will not transcend 50 per cent.

At present, Kotak makes not have got a full-fledged wellness coverage merchandise but have health covers for disabilities, critical unwellness and major surgeries.

These wellness covers come up in the word form of riders with Kotak's Life coverage merchandises to those endorsers who pay an other insurance premium for them.

Kotak Life Insurance which have already achieved a insurance premium aggregation of Rs 800 crore in this financial have put a mark of Rs 1,000 crore by the end of this fiscal.

"We are aiming at a insurance premium of Rs 2,000-2,500 crore in the adjacent fiscal. Kotak Life Insurance which now have 110 subdivisions in Republic Of India is also targeting to spread out its pan-India web to over 200 subdivisions by March 2009", Patil added.

Patil was there in the metropolis for a tie-up of Kotak Life Insurance with the Kolkata-based Aashika Insurance Broking and Hazard Management Limited for a novel strategy called 'Empowered Women' on the International Women's Day.

According to this scheme, women would have got to salvage a lower limit of Rs 1,000 per calendar month for twenty old age and on adulthood they would acquire Rs 5,51,257.

"We are looking to mobilise the nest egg of atleast a thousand women in the adjacent three years. This strategy initialy launched in Kolkata will be subsequently extended to other Indian cities", Narendra Kumar Tulsian, president of Aashika Insurance Broking claimed.

Twilight gloom

The IRDA study makes not assure any decrease in mediclaim insurance premium for senior citizens, states Srikumar Bondyopadhyay

Seventy-two-year-old Nikhil Mukherjee had approached The Telegraph in April when he got to cognize that his coverage company was going to bear down him Rs 26,000 as insurance premium this twelvemonth against Rs 13,500 he paid last December to renew the medical insurance policy he bought eight old age ago.

Many aged people, including Mukherjee, started thinking of discontinuing their medical coverage policies as one coverage company after another started making wellness insurance unaffordable for what they called the "high hazard category" by raising insurance premium rates by more than than 100 per cent.

Panel formed

Concerned about the situation, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) had constituted a commission to look into assorted issues, including incidents where people above 60 old age were denied screen by many insurers, particularly the private sector ones.

The commission submitted its study early this month.

The report, however, have nil much to offer to senior citizens, except for the fact that it had recommended that no senior citizen should be denied a wellness coverage policy by any insurer.

The commission have recommended that insurance companies should look at a alkali insurance premium of Rs 3,000 (per annum) per Rs 1 hundred thousand sum of money assured at an entry age of 50 years.

The renewal insurance insurance premium for each subsequent twelvemonth with no claim would be increased by an age burden factor of 2 per cent of the alkali premium. A 60-year-old person who desires a wellness coverage with a sum of money assured of Rs 1 hundred thousand will have got to pay a insurance premium of Rs 3,600.

No change

The coverage premium charge per unit suggested by the IRDA-appointed panel is not very different from what National Insurance Company or United Republic Of India Assurance Company is charging for its senior citizen medical insurance schemes. Both the public sector insurance companies complaint a insurance premium of between Rs 4,100 and Rs 4,200 on a sum of money assured of Rs 1 hundred thousand for a 60-year-old who desires to purchase a fresh policy.

Another public sector insurer, New Republic Of India Assurance, is also coming out with a medical coverage policy exclusively for senior citizens with a insurance premium charge per unit of around Rs 3,800 per Rs 1 hundred thousand sum of money assured. Private coverage companies that offering person wellness insurance programs exclusively to senior citizens, however, complaint a higher insurance premium in the scope of Rs 5,000 or more than per Rs 1 hundred thousand sum of money assured.

Therefore, even if the committee's recommendations are implemented, the insurance premium cost for senior citizens won't come up down appreciably.

Low-cost plans

The panel has, however, suggested low-cost limited benefit programs instead of existing mediclaims that are mostly indemnity programs in nature. Benefit policy programs supply hunk sum of money amounts on diagnosing of a specified disease for treatment or surgery.

For example, in a infirmary hard cash plan, an insurance company pays a fixed amount for each twenty-four hours of hospitalisation.

Benefit bes after cost low pressure because they come up with in-built controls such as as less policy disposal and claim colony costs on the portion of the insurer. Misuse of coverage money is also low in these sort of programs as the insured acquires a fixed wage regardless of the existent outgo — any outgo over and above the amount would have got to be borne by the insured.

Cost control

Though the commission have identified affordability and handiness as the two most of import issues in senior citizen wellness insurance, it dealt more than with cost control measurements such as as co-payment by the insured, capping entitlements under outgo heads, introducing deductibles and co-insurance.

Co-payment, deductible and co-insurance average the insured also pays portion of the expense(s) covered under the coverage plan. According to the committee, these are all in-built measurements to command costs and abuse of coverage policies. Once these surplus costs are controlled, the insurance premium will come up down.

According to B.D. Banerjee, a member of the committee, a restructuring of existing merchandises is a more than likely result rather than an all-round reduction in insurance premium rates if the panel's recommendations are accepted.

So, if you don't desire to pay much, you will have got to be satisfied with programs that offering limited benefits such as as lone the cost of getting treatment in a general ward.

If you would wish to acquire your prostate gland operation covered during the first twelvemonth itself of the policy commencement, you will have got to pay higher.

In short, senior citizens will be offered a assortment of products, but will have got to take the benefits according to their paying capacity.

Irda balm for elders soon

Regulator moots coverage pool for high-risk senior citizens.

Senior citizens, who are aged 80 and above, may bask hassle-free treatment in infirmaries if the authorities accepts the recommendations of the Senior Citizens Health Insurance Committee constituted by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda).

The seven-member committee, which was formed in May to look into issues pertaining to wellness coverage for senior citizens and propose commercially feasible coverage schemes, submitted its recommendations to the coverage regulator last week. The suggestions have got to be approved by the Irda board this week.

Since coverage companies position people who are 80 old age old and above as high-risk entities and make not see profitableness in insuring them, the commission have recommended the formation of a wellness coverage pool to take attention of their claims. The commission have suggested that the pool should be funded by the authorities and 50 per cent of the service taxation on wellness coverage policies should be invested in it.

"We have got recommended a wellness coverage pool, created with active support by the authorities and other stakeholders to take over high-risk cases such as as those above 80 old age of age or a individual with a risk-based burden of 40 per cent and above (for example, people suffering from ailments)," said a member of the committee.

"After every five years, the coverage company can re-examine the insured from the medical point of position and complaint a insurance premium accordingly in lawsuit the senior citizen is establish agony from any disease. The Irda authorization is that they should not lade more than than 75 per cent. In lawsuit the insurance premium have to increase by more than than 40 per cent, he is then classified as a high-risk individual and travels to the pool," explained Type B Vitamin D Banerjee, a member of the committee.

"The cost of the medical diagnostic tests will be borne by the senior citizen and the coverage company in the ratio of 50:50 unlike the present practice, where the senior citizen bears all the charges," added Banerjee.

Based on the senior citizen's wellness coverage policy (Varisht Bima Yojana) launched by National Insurance Company some calendar months ago, the commission have given an declarative insurance premium of Rs 3,000 for a screen of Rs 1 hundred thousand for a healthy individual aged 50 years.

In order to command medical costs, the commission have accepted the introduction of co-payment (the policyholder pays a portion of the claim), bounds and sub-limits. It have suggested that insurance companies loading the insurance premium each year, not exceeding by 2 per cent.

Likewise, they should offer a loyalty price reduction of 1 per cent every twelvemonth so that the effectual addition in insurance premium for a senior citizen come ups to 1 per cent.

At present, coverage companies complaint a insurance premium of over Rs 6,000 to people in the age set of 56 to 60 years. The insurance premium additions according to the age bands. The commission have also suggested discontinuance of the present pattern of coverage companies fixing a insurance premium in age bands.

The commission have also said that coverage companies should not deny coverage to senior citizens unless they are establish agony from an incurable or terminus disease.

The commission have recommended assorted types of screens such as as a infirmary hard cash screen for critical illnesses, cashless hospitalization screen provided the hospitalization is less than 7 days, medical reimbursement covers, screen for all types of diseases having a higher sum of money insured with bounds and sub-limits.