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Time of India
6 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Irdai seeks wider insurance coverage to prevent distress
Photo/Agencies Mumbai: The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) urged insurance companies to prioritise expanding the number of people covered under insurance, not just improving insurance penetration metrics. The regulator's call came at a time when the non-life insurance industry committed over Rs 300 crore over three years to an awareness campaign with the tagline 'Achha kiya insurance liya' (Did well by buying insurance). Irdai member Deepak Sood told industry leaders that companies should address new risks. "The face of risk is changing every day," said Sood, citing a shift from traditional physical and business risks to emerging threats such as cyber risks that now "sit in our pocket, in our mobile phones." "Premium could be anything," Sood said. "If we can keep those premiums low, make it affordable for our people, it doesn't matter what penetration percentage is, as long as we can reach out." Tapan Singhel, chairman of General Insurance Council, warned that India's low insurance penetration was heightening its economic fragility. "Every time a catastrophe hits, millions remain unprotected," he said. Singhel cited data to show that general insurance has a lower grievance ratio - 0.35 complaints per 10,000 policies - compared to 0.7 for banking and 4 for e-commerce. Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
United News of India
6 days ago
- Business
- United News of India
GIC launches ‘Achha Kiya Insurance Liya' campaign to bridge awareness gap in India's non-life insurance market
Business Economy Mumbai, May 28 (UNI) The General Insurance Council (GIC) of India, the apex industry body representing all non-life insurers in India, on Wednesday launched a nationwide awareness campaign titled 'Achha Kiya Insurance Liya'. Aligned with the ambitious goal of 'Insurance for All by 2047', the initiative aims to normalise insurance as an everyday financial safeguard and focuses on bridging the significant perception and trust gap in uptake of general insurance. Speaking on the occasion, Dr Tapan Singhel, chairman, GI Council and MD & CEO, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Co Ltd, said that insurance is still viewed more as a reluctant expense than a financial shield, the mindset shift is waiting to happen, and it begins with trust and relatability. "'Achha Kiya Insurance Liya' is our collective attempt to bring insurance closer to the lives and language of ordinary Indians. This is about demystifying insurance, making it relevant and rewarding, not intimidating," he added. UNI AAA SS Tags: #GIC launches 'Achha Kiya Insurance Liya' campaign to bridge awareness gap in India's non-life insurance market
Time of India
7 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
General insurance industry to invest Rs 100 cr annually for next 3-5 yrs in nationwide awareness campaign
The general insurance industry has committed to investing Rs 100 crore each year for the next 3–5 years in a awareness campaign to improve insurance adoption. Backed by the General Insurance Council and regulatory support, the campaign is looking to bridge the gap between insurance availability and its penetration across vast population and diverse geographies. The industry leaders today came together to discuss the need for the campaign- Achha Kiya Insurance Liya- with a vision to increase the insurance penetration which at 1% of the GDP against the global average of 3.3%. Tapan Singhel, MD & CEO of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance , said the industry quietly pays claims when it matters the most, that is at the time of need. 'Last year alone, 2.69 crore families benefited from health claims worth ₹83,000 crore. During COVID-19, the industry paid five times its annual profit in claims, without a single bailout request from the government. Insurance silently cushions people in their most vulnerable moments,' he said. Live Events Drawing a sharp comparison between developed and developing economies and how the two gets affected post a catastrophe, he said, in Florida, when a hurricane hits, the state's GDP goes up, thanks to insurance payouts fueling recovery. 'In India, GDP dips because of underinsurance. This campaign is about changing that reality,' he said. He said that ninsured MSMEs take the biggest hit during catastrophes, dragging GDP down by 1.82%. 'If we plug this leaking bucket, India's 6–7% GDP growth can climb to 10–11%. That's the power of insurance,' he said. Anuj Tyagi, Joint MD, HDFC ERGO General Insurance , stressed the role of digital infrastructure in expanding reach saying that with data from IIB, we can now pinpoint uninsured vehicles on Indian roads. 'This opens the door to precise, data-driven enforcement and outreach,' he said. 'Insurance is the only product needed from birth to death,' said Mayank Bhatwal, CEO of Aditya Birla Health Insurance. 'Whether rich or poor, people don't want to compromise on quality healthcare, and only insurance can make that quality accessible.'
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Business Standard
08-05-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Non-life insurers post 13.5% premium growth to Rs 33,688 cr in April
Gross direct premium underwritten by non-life insurers grew 13.5 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 33,688.48 crore in April, supported by healthy growth in premiums from multiline general insurers and standalone health insurers. According to data released by the General Insurance Council, general insurance companies recorded 14 per cent YoY growth in premiums to Rs 30,662 crore, while standalone health insurance companies posted an 11 per cent YoY growth to Rs 2,932.8 crore. Premium figures are not directly comparable with the same period last year (April 2024) due to a change in the accounting format by the insurance regulator, effective from October last year. Among major general insurers, state-owned New India Assurance reported a 14.6 per cent YoY rise in premiums to Rs 6,026 crore. ICICI Lombard General Insurance saw a 6.72 per cent increase to Rs 3,592 crore, while Bajaj Allianz General Insurance's premium remained flat at Rs 2,402.8 crore. National Insurance Company posted a 10.92 per cent rise to Rs 1,533.53 crore, Oriental Insurance saw a sharp 56.53 per cent YoY growth to Rs 2,692.88 crore, and United India Insurance recorded a 3.44 per cent increase to Rs 2,093.11 crore. Among standalone health insurers, the largest player—Star Health & Allied Insurance—reported a 4.63 per cent YoY rise in premium to Rs 1,060.13 crore. Care Health Insurance posted 8.72 per cent growth to Rs 724.48 crore. Meanwhile, specialised insurers saw their premium decline 20.25 per cent YoY to Rs 93.44 crore in April 2025. The market share of general insurers in April stood at 91.02 per cent, up from 90.70 per cent in April 2024. The share of standalone health insurers dropped to 8.71 per cent from 8.90 per cent in the same period.
Economic Times
01-05-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
ET Explainer: Common empanelment & health cover costs
The General Insurance Council (GIC) has begun rolling out the regulator's common empanelment of hospitals, with a target to onboard 4,000-5,000 hospitals in the coming months, which will have uniform pricing terms. ADVERTISEMENT Starting with 600 eye hospitals and over 100 general hospitals, the initiative seeks to streamline cashless treatment in line with government health programmes, such as the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY). Despite resistance from large multispecialty chains, the move will offer insurers better claims control. In FY24, the industry settled 26.9 million claims. Could this bring down health insurance premiums? ET explains. What is the common empanelment process? In January, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) introduced a common empanelment system requiring all general insurers to jointly onboard hospitals with standardised terms and rates, similar to those under PMJAY. The goal is to expand cashless treatment across a wider network. Currently, around 30,000 hospitals are empanelled under the government's Ayushman Bharat Yojana. However, these are mostly government hospitals, including the private sector, India has over 70,000 hospitals. ADVERTISEMENT A key feature of common empanelment is that hospitals will no longer need separate agreements with each insurer. Instead of having separate agreements with multiple insurance companies, one agreement with the common network would suffice. Does it help policyholders? A wider network will mean that the customer could have cashless access at more hospitals. With a unified network, switching insurers won't affect access to cashless facilities. Similarly, top-up policies from different insurers can be used more seamlessly. ADVERTISEMENT If a hospital is empanelled with insurance companies, policyholders can get treated without paying upfront - insurers will settle the bill directly, ensuring cashless treatment. Who is implementing it and how? ADVERTISEMENT GIC, along with insurance companies, is leading the rollout. So far, the council has approached over 600 eye hospitals and 150 general hospitals. The initial focus is on procedure-based specialities like cataract and lasik before scaling up to general hospitals. The target is to cover 4,000-5,000 hospitals in the next 2-3 months. Why are eye hospitals being targeted first? Eye care involves fewer complex procedures where pricing and procedures are relatively minimal. Cataract surgery - widely used by senior citizens - is one of the most common procedures, and growing cashless access will be facilitated by widening the panel of eye hospitals. ADVERTISEMENT What are hospitals concerned about?While some hospitals support the initiative, larger multispecialty chains are wary of standardised pricing, fearing it could hurt their profitability as their cost structure is high. They are concerned about delayed some empanelled hospitals have raised concerns about friction with insurers over claim rejections and unexplained deductions. For instance, in Ahmedabad, hospitals accused insurers like Star Health, Care, and Tata AIG of arbitrary claim denials and delayed price revisions. Some were even delisted without prior notice. The Ahmedabad association of hospitals had threatened to discontinue cashless services with these three. Will this reduce premium costs for policyholders? That is the goal. Standardisation of packages and billing practices could reduce treatment costs. If hospitals agree to fixed rates, insurers can better control claim payouts. Lower claims mean lower costs for insurers, which could eventually lead to more affordable premiums for policyholders. So, your health insurance premium may not fall immediately, but it's possible if this experiment works. (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)
