General and health insurers may soon offer cover for more than ₹5 lakh, under Arogya Sanjeevani, the standard individual health insurance product that IRDAI had mandated them to offer earlier this year.
The regulator on Tuesday relaxed the sum insured limits.
Coming amid a raging pandemic and mounting healthcare costs, the move would mean having an option to purchase the indemnity policy for a sum insured ₹50,000 onwards.
“The insurers are hereby allowed to offer minimum sum insured [of] less than ₹1 lakh and maximum sum insured greater than ₹5 lakh, subject to the underwriting policy of the insurers. The sum insured options shall be offered in multiples of ₹50,000,” IRDAI general manager (Health) D.V.S.Ramesh said in a circular.
Insurers can launch the modified version of Arogya Sanjeevani Policy after filing the same on a certification basis and upon getting the UIN from the authority, the communication said.
More options
“I believe the more options customers have to choose from, the better it is for them to opt for a cover which suits their requirement. This move will allow insurers to offer wider range of sum insured starting from ₹50,000 and not limiting it to ₹5 lakh on the higher side,” Bajaj Allianz General Insurance MD and CEO Tapan Singhel said.
In January, issuing guidelines on the standard individual health insurance, IRDAI had mandated general and health insurers to offer the policy from April 1.
