Page 43 - Insurance Times February 2021

"Risk Management, a great tool for reduction in

perceived risks"

Dr. Subhash Chandra Khuntia, Chairman, Insurance Regulatory and
Development Authority of India

On the sidelines of 17th Annual healthcare providers for standardisation of costs and see
Insurance Brokers’ Summit, that heathcare costs does not rise abnormally.
Insurance Regulatory and In respect of floating annuity rate, he said it is going to be
Development Authority of India introduced soon and a working group has been constituted
(IRDAI) Chairman Dr. Subhash to make recommendations.
Chandra Khuntia spoke at
length about the developments For Sandbox he added that the second window for approval
in the Insurance Industry in of sandbox products will open soon and there is a continuous
India. Excerpts from his address. need for experimentation and pilot launching of products.
With regards to health Dr Khuntia said there is a huge opportunity for the brokers
insurance he said as many as and insurers in the country after the pandemic and it has
1.28 crore lives have been covered under corona-specific made people realise the need to get insured.
insurance products in the country so far with a premium Khuntia said there should be more focus on tier-II, -III and -
collection of over Rs 1,000 crore. During the pandemic, two IV cities now as the growth will come from these areas.
corona-specific products -- Corona Kavach and Corona "I have suggested them (brokers) that they should look at tier-
Rakshak -- were launched by insurers. II, -III, -IV towns and possibly the rural areas, because the
"Under Corona Kavach, which is the standard product higher economic growth will come from those areas now.
(introduced during the pandemic), 42 lakh lives have been Hopeful for an economic revival with the falling cases of
protected; while 5.36 lakh lives have been protected through coronavirus in the country and that people are getting
Corona Rakshak. vaccinated, he said huge opportunities lie in terms of insuring
On being asked about whether Risk Management needs a the small business units, properties and dwelling units,
more focussed approach, he said Risk Management is of among others.
utmost importance and it helps in bringing down the Also, presenting statistics related to reach of the insurance
perceived risks, prevent possible risks and help in reducing brokers in soliciting policies, he said the focus more is on the
the premium. non-life segment by them and it has to be enhanced in life

On the issue of digital revolution in insurance industry post segment also. He said it is the responsibility of the Brokers
covid he said digital services are the need of the hour and to give correct advice and support to policyholder’s right
post pandemic the digital revolution will continue. The need from Underwriting to Claims settlement.
for face to face interaction will gradually decrease. He also The number of active brokers right now is 482 in the country
said the usage of mobile will be extremely useful in and their contribution to general insurance business is 26
increasing insurance penetration and help in customer per cent. It has gone up from 22 per cent in 2017-18 to 26
engagement. He stressed upon the need for creating a per cent now. In health insurance their contribution is 23
digital environment to facilitate growth of the Insurance per cent. They have better contribution in the group health
sector. insurance business at 36 per cent; and in individual health
"And, from all kinds of corona-specific products, a total of business, it is only 4.3 per cent.
1.28 crore lives have been covered with a total premium of "So, there is opportunity for improvement. In case of life
more than Rs 1,000 crore," Khuntia said. insurance their contribution is only 1.1 per cent, so they are
He added that Insurers must enter into agreements with mostly concentrated in the non life sector," he added.

The Insurance Times, February 2021