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Health Insurance Plan Cost, Features Set to Change

Posted on March 12, 2013 by
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health insurance

More than 50-60% of the health insurance products offered by non-life insurance companies at present would require changes in features in line with the health insurance regulations released last month by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA). Many products would also require a revision in premium rates in line with the changes made.

Insurers may withdraw those products that don’t sell and make changes in their best-selling products.

According to the regulations, group health insurance policies that do not comply with the regulations will stand withdrawn by first July 2013, and first October 2013 for all individual health insurance policies.

The IRDA had revised the health insurance regulations last month to reduce ambiguity and conflicts in policy wordings and to protect the interest of policyholders. The new regulations are applicable to all kinds of health, personal accident and travel insurance products sold by any insurance company (life, non-life and standalone health insurers).

According to the health insurance regulations, insurers will have to offer lifetime coverage on all policies.

The entry age limit in health insurance policies would be 65 years.

The 30 day grace period beyond the expiry date of the policy will have to be provided by insurers to renew the policy.

Insurers cannot increase your premium if you have availed claims, but can increase the premium on the overall portfolio of customers. In case, an insurer is likely to increase the premium rates, they will have to inform their customers three months in advance so that a customer can port to another insurer.

Policies will have to offer a free-look period of 15 days from the date the documents received by the customer. An insurance company will have to pay minimum 50% of the pre-insurance medical checkup, if a proposal is accepted.

No-Claim Bonus (NCB), a discount offered by an insurer if the policyholder has not made any claim, cannot reduce to zero in case of a claim. The NCB will reduce at the same level as it increases when there are no claims.

The regulations has also provided a standard listing of 199 exclusions, standardized 46 definitions and standardized the claim form.

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Check for Fake Motor Insurance Policies

Posted on February 1, 2013 by
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Car-Insurance-Documents

Insurance frauds have been prevalent over the years and fact is that it can’t be completely eliminated. Hence, it becomes imperative for you to verify that motor insurance policy that you have purchased is genuine or not. Or otherwise if you come to know about it at the time of claim or a mishap then it would be very disheartening. Some might realize it after the theft of the vehicle that they had been paying premium for over a number of years expecting to benefit from it.

However, you can reduce such incidences with little caution. Some of the ways to know whether your motor insurance policy is genuine or not are:-

Contact your insurer: This is the easiest and simplest way to check whether the policy handed to you is correct or not. You can contact the insurer by sending an email to the customer care or calling their toll free numbers, which would be mentioned on the policy document. In case if the toll free number is not available, you can visit the nearest branch office.

Ask for a receipt: Always insist on premium payment receipt. Some companies mention the same on the policy document (under premium payment details) but they also provide a separate premium payment receipt, if asked for. It is always advisable to ask for premium payment receipt in case you pay by cash. Verify whether the details mentioned on the receipt are correct, such as details of cheque provided by you (cheque No., date, amount, payee bank). Do remember the validity of the policy will depend on the validity and clearance of the cheque.

Check IDV, NCB and deductibles: It is important that on receiving the policy you must check the Insured Declared Value (IDV), No Claim Bonus (NCB) and the deductibles (like voluntary excess, compulsory deductible and additional compulsory deductibles); to confirm that the policy received is genuine.

Although, it may appear as minor checks at the time of receiving the policies, this can create chaos at the time of claim. For example, your current policy might have been issued on the basis of wrong declaration of a claims made on the previous policy. This may appear economical at the time of taking the policy, but can prove costlier when your existing insurer discover it at the time of claim. Sometimes, your agent could also lure you in order to give a best economic deal. However, it is your duty to correctly reveal the same while providing details in proposal form. In case the NCB is mentioned wrong, immediately inform it to your insurance company to have a hassle free claim settlement later on.

Sign proposal form on your own: Never allow anyone else to sign the proposal form/cover note on your behalf. Always insist for self signature. This is required as you know what you want and cross-check features of your vehicle. For example, if your vehicle is fitted with CNG that the agent is not aware of and he mentions that the car runs on petrol/diesel, then you would have a  problem during a claim. Similarly, you know better whether your vehicle registered under private/commercial than the agent through whom you get this product.

Most private insurance companies have centralized the dispatch of policies, in order to check fraudulent practices. They are also coming up with bar code printing on the face of policy to verify against the proposal form.

Categories: Articles, Car Insurance, Insurance 101, News | Tags: , , , , ,

Steps for Filing a car Insurance Claim

Posted on June 18, 2010 by
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Without memorizing unpleasant moments, most of us have, at some time or another, been in car accidents that caused major or minor damage. For a lot of victims filing the car accident insurance claims has turned out to be more traumatic than the accident. Therefore, it makes sense to know the basic know-how of filing a car accident insurance claim. Here are few things to watch out while filing claims to ensure a smooth ride:

You can either go to workshops listed in the insurance company’s network garages and file for a cashless claim, or bear the expenses yourself and claim a reimbursement later.

The first thing as a thumb rule, in case of cashless claim, you can do is to contact the auto insurance company as soon after the accident as possible. In order to know what to do and say when you call, make sure you go through every inch of your car accident insurance policy when it arrives. That way, you know exactly what you are entitled to and how much you can claim before you are unlucky enough to be in an accident.

Once you call your insurance company, they will guide you to the nearest workshop. Then surveyor will carry out the inspection and authorizes the claim, after which claim will be settled by workshop on a cashless basis. It is crucial to provide complete information on own vehicle involved in the accident and any other vehicle or person that may have been involved in the accident to the surveyor.

In case you carry out the repairs at your own expense and file for a reimbursement claim subsequently, you need to provide the surveyor with the requisite proofs like repair bills from the garage. In case of reimbursement claims, the disbursal process could take a week, post the submission of documents asked for.

A very vital aspect of the claims submission process is complete honesty. Sad though it is, you would be surprised at the number of car accident insurance claims that are disqualified owing to the fact that the customer supplies misleading or downright false information. It is therefore imperative that you be absolutely honest with your insurance company.

Over and above of getting your car insured you need to go through your policy document closely to know all additions and exceptions (inclusions and exclusions). It is important to keep your driving license and a copy of policy document as it is required at the time making claim.

Other thing to know in case of car accident is to assess the extent of damage caused to your car and you need to take a decision whether to apply for claim or not because sometimes amount of claim, in case of minor damage, is very little and it makes little sense to file for a claim since you will have to forego the ‘No Claims Bonus / Discount’ (NCB / NCD). In case you do not make a claim in any particular year, you are entitled to No Claims Bonus in the following year, the percentage of which keeps on increasing year by year. So making more claims means losing out more discounts due to No Claims Bonus strategy.

For renewal policies, if you are switching insurers, providing the correct information regarding claims filed is advisable since nowadays it is easy for insurers to keep track of your claims history and misleading them may land you in trouble.

Categories: Articles, Car Insurance | Tags: , , , , , ,

Save on Car Premiums – Easy Tips

Posted on January 31, 2010 by
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How you could get a cheaper car insurance premium

If you’re trying to find cheap car insurance - not cheap in terms of quality but easy on your wallet - it pays to shop around, because the car insurance market is a highly competitive one. On the one hand, the cost of accident repairs and personal injury claims is pushing car insurance premiums upwards, while on the other, competition for your premium acts to keep price rises in check. With insurance costs rising, some insurers may trim policy benefits to produce a ‘cheap’ premium, so when you’re comparing policies make sure you compare like with like, and look closely at the policy benefits rather than price alone.

Policy benefits can make a real difference to your peace of mind, so it’s worth checking whether a policy covers an extended geographical area or free pickup/towing charges of vehicles in case you made an accident. Help with the recovery of uninsured losses, which could include your out of pocket expenses following an accident, is another useful benefit to look out for. Once you’ve considered the benefits a policy offers, always check the compulsory excesses before accepting a quote.

While it pays to shop around for cheap car insurance, there are things you can do which could help reduce the cost of your current car insurance premium.

Get anti-theft devices: A secure car can reduce insurance costs. Most new cars have anti-theft devices. Some are automatic and some have to be started at the touch of a button. If the anti theft device is Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) approved it could bring you a discount of up to Rs.500 on your premium.

Automobile association’s membership: Becoming member of any of the five recognized automobile association, mentioned below, will get you a discount on your premium accompanied with other facilities from them like rebate on labor and serving charges by AA Approved Service Stations, assistance in getting driving license, break-down services, pollution under control certificates, rebate on car rental and hotel in India, etc. The automobile associations in India are:

  • Automobile Association of Eastern India
  • The United Province Automobile Association
  • The Western India Automobile Association
  • The Automobile Association of Southern India
  • The Automobile Association of Upper India

Paying a voluntary excess for cover: Consider how much you’d be prepared to pay out if you have to make a claim. One safe way to arrive at this amount is to agree for the amount which is lower than the No Claim Bonus (NCB) discount you will be eligible to get next year if you don’t make any claim this year. If you can afford to pay another Rs.2000 or Rs.3000 as a voluntary excess your annual premium costs may come down.

Ask for a bundle insurance discount: If you have taken out various policies from the same insurer you could ask for some loyalty discounts.

Think about your driving: Safe driving always pays. If you drive sensibly and safely within speed limit, it is less likely that you could get involved in any accident. Avoid any road rage. Any claim free year will add NCB discount to your next year’s premium.

Happy Driving !!

Categories: Articles, Car Insurance, Insurance 101 | Tags: , , ,