IRDAI allows insurers to offer higher sums insured through Aarogya Sanjeevani

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Now, you can buy the Aarogya Sanjeevani standard health insurance policy with sums insured higher than Rs 5 lakh. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) on Tuesday eliminated this ceiling on standard covers, besides reducing the lower limit to Rs 50,000.

Mandatory offering
The products, which general and health insurers have to mandatorily offer from April, were allowed to have sums insured of Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh so far. Now, insurance companies have the option of offering higher covers too. “This move will allow insurers to offer a wider range of sums insured. The more the options customers can choose from, the better it is for them to opt for a cover which suits their requirement,” said Tapan Singhel, MD and CEO, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance. The sums insured will be offered in multiples of Rs 50,000.
However, clarity is yet to emerge on certain other aspects of the standard product. The original regulations stipulated a room rent sub-limit of 2 per cent of the sum insured or Rs 5,000, whichever was lower. For intensive care units (ICU), the limit is 5 per cent of the sum insured or Rs 10,000. “If someone is looking to buy a higher cover of, say, Rs 10 lakh, this restriction will act as a dampener,” said Pankaj Mathpal, financial planner and founder, Optima Money Managers.