Insurance policy request or claim rejected? Blame the bot

Artificial intelligence bots are now slowly starting to take decisions on whether your insurance claim should be paid or whether you should be allowed to buy a new policy. From your driving habits to fitness behaviour, everything has started being tracked.

COVID-19 claim settlements have been swift after our intervention, says IRDAI chairman

There were a number of complaints by health insurance customers in 2020 about the delay in claim payments and also about the dropping of many components from settlement in the final hospital bill.

How you can increase your term insurance cover amount

You can buy a new term policy or choose the increasing cover option with your existing insurer.

IRDAI gives approval for Axis Entities-Max Life Insurance deal

Axis Bank proposes to acquire up to 9 percent and Axis Capital Limited and Axis Securities Limited together propose to acquire up to 3 percent of the share capital of Max Life in the first leg of the transaction.

Aditya Birla Health launches initiative of up to 100% premium return, mental health counselling coverage

The Activ Health policy offers up to 100 percent premium returns and up to 100 percent reload of sum insured. Here, the consumer is offered a cash equivalent which can be used for health expenses or payment of future premiums.

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance launches pension plan with deferred annuity option

The insurer said in a statement that it is the only life insurance plan that offers a regular premium deferred annuity option.

Exclusive | PSB-merged banks may get time till FY22 end to cut stake in insurance JVs

Considering that stake sale by merged banks in their insurance joint ventures could be lengthy, they are being given additional time. One entity cannot be a promoter of multiple insurance companies in life and non-life categories.

How to increase fire insurance adoption of homes and small businesses

SME and home insurance products have a large potential market. An easy-to-understand product that is attractively priced will help drive adoption

Buying a life insurance policy? Don’t go by the claim settlement ratio alone

For policies that come with larger sum-assured, the claim settlement ratio could be misleading.

Life insurers seek reprieve from ban on sale of indemnity health plans

Life insurers are only allowed to sell fixed-benefit health plans, which offer a lumpsum benefit on diagnosis of an ailment. However, these insurers want to sell cashless and reimbursement health policies as well

Go beyond premiums while choosing among standardized insurance policies

The insurance regulator's diktat on standardised insurance products means that the features would be similar across firms. But opting for a policy with low premiums can prove to be a costly mistake

Fewer women bought life insurance in FY20

How a missed opportunity in insuring rural India became the business model for Gramcover

Set up in 2017, insurtech firm Gramcover wants to be the one-stop shop for all insurance need for rural India. When even big insurance firms look at rural insurance only from the mandatory angle, Gramcover sells livestock, health, motor and crop insurance -- only to rural customers.

Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance looks to double protection share, millennial contribution in two years

Pre-approved sum insured is being offered to customers based on data analytics for ease of purchase, said Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance MD & CEO Kamlesh Rao

Twists in COVID-19: Insurers cry foul over high treatment costs, non-adherence to standard rates

Guarantors are worried about the price of high claims, which will impact balance sheets in FY21. Customers will bear the brunt of rising health costs in the form of increased premiums.

Twists in COVID-19 cover: Here’s why your insurer can no longer deny, delay hospitalisation claims

Customers will not have to worry about claims delays in Coronavirus hospitalisation incidents after IRDAI nudging insurers to make settlements quickly.

IRDAI pushes for digital insurance policies via DigiLocker

Insurers should also inform their retail policyholders about DigiLocker, and how to use it, the circular said.

Explained: Here’s what a standard drone insurance policy will look like in India

Among other things, regulator IRDAI has said that drone insurance policies should cover an operator’s legal liabilities and damages. Insurers will also have to pay for repair/replacement of insured drones. Optional covers related to cyber liability, invasion of privacy, and night flying can also be offered by insurers.

You can soon use Digilocker to store your insurance policies

Digilocker is a 'digital locker app' for citizens to securely save copies of all their documents in their mobile phones. Google/Apple Play/ App store allows users to download it easily.

ULIP taxation: Limited clarity on key aspects after Budget announcement

Tax experts differ over the implications of early ULIP surrenders, debt fund options

COVID-19 led to rise in underwriting losses for non-life insurers in FY20: IRDAI Annual Report

The underwriting losses of the general insurance industry increased by 6.27 percent YoY in FY20 to Rs 23,720 crore.

EXCLUSIVE: We are working towards the Q3 timeline for our IPO, says LIC chairman MR Kumar

Since the Finance Ministry is looking at having Life Insurance Corporation’s IPO in Q3FY22, says LIC chairman MR Kumar, the first step will be to get the state-owned life insurer’s valuation carried out. Meanwhile, amidst the challenging business environment, LIC is eyeing 15 percent growth in new premiums this fiscal year

EXCLUSIVE: LIC gross investments will exceed Rs 5 lakh crore in FY21, says chairman MR Kumar

LIC's`contrarian’ strategy when investing in equity markets, to sell when the sentiment is bullish and buy when the mood is bearish, has paid rich dividends

General insurers post 2.7% premium growth in April-January period

The growth was led by standalone health insurers who posted an 8 percent YoY rise in premiums to Rs 12,108.74 crore in this period.

Tax saving season helps boost life insurers' new premiums in January

While the life insurance sector reported positive numbers for January 2021, year-to-date (YTD) growth in first year premium collections has stayed negative negative